Narrow-gap semiconductors are
semiconducting materials with a
band gap
In solid-state physics, a band gap, also called an energy gap, is an energy range in a solid where no electronic states can exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap generally refers to the energy difference ( ...
that is comparatively small compared to that of
silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...
, i.e. smaller than 1.11 eV at room temperature. They are used as
infrared detectors or
thermoelectrics.
List of narrow-gap semiconductors
:
See also
*
List of semiconductor materials
*
Wide-bandgap semiconductor
Wide-bandgap semiconductors (also known as WBG semiconductors or WBGSs) are semiconductor materials which have a larger band gap than conventional semiconductors. Conventional semiconductors like silicon have a bandgap in the range of 0.6 ...
References
* Dornhaus, R., Nimtz, G., Schlicht, B. (1983). ''Narrow-Gap Semiconductors''. Springer Tracts in Modern Physics 98, (print) (online)
*
Semiconductor material types
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