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Band Gap – Energy Gap in Semiconductors

semiconductor detectors - table of parametersThe name semiconductor comes from the fact that these materials have electrical conductivity between a metal, like copper, gold, etc., and an insulator, like glass. They have an energy gap of less than 4eV (about 1eV). In solid-state physics, this energy gap or band gap is an energy range between the valence and conduction bands where electron states are forbidden. Properties of semiconductors are determined by the energy gap between valence and conduction bands. To understand, what a semiconductor is, we must define these terms.

In solid-state physics, the energy gap or the band gap is an energy range between the valence band and conduction band where electron states are forbidden. In contrast to conductors, semiconductors’ electrons must obtain energy (e.g., from ionizing radiation) to cross the band gap and reach the conduction band. Band gaps are naturally different for different materials. For example, diamond is a wide-bandgap semiconductor (Egap = 5.47 eV) with high potential as an electronic device material in many devices. On the other side, germanium has a small band gap energy (Egap = 0.67 eV), which requires operating the detector at cryogenic temperatures.

References:

Radiation Protection:

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  2. Stabin, Michael G., Radiation Protection, and Dosimetry: An Introduction to Health Physics, Springer, 10/2010. ISBN-13: 978-1441923912.
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Nuclear and Reactor Physics:

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See above:

Properties of Semiconductors