An example of a quantum phase transition would be the Anderson Transition in semiconductors. It stems from the fact that disordered lattice defects can lead to insulation\cite{Anderson_1958}. This is better understood as the coherent backscattering from the random defects \cite{Bergmann_1984}.This effect is well understood in semiconductors as a sharp increase in conductivity after passing a dopant concentration. Afterwhich there is an increase in conductivity given by a power law\cite{Thomas_1985}.

A similar effect can be driven from the competition between internal energy and the entropy of a system such that an ordered system is formed at low temperatures. This breaks the continuous symmetry of the Hamiltonian and changes the electronic properties. We can refer to this type of transition as a thermodynamic phase transition, since it is thermodynamically driven.