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A metalloid is a chemical element which has a preponderance of properties in between, ... They also said that metalloids are typically semiconductors, though antimony ...
Metalloids are metallic-looking, often brittle solids that are either semiconductors or exist in semiconducting forms, and have amphoteric or weakly acidic oxides. Typical elemental nonmetals have a dull, coloured or colourless appearance; are often brittle when solid; are poor conductors of heat and electricity; and have acidic oxides. Most or ...
A compound semiconductor is a semiconductor compound composed of chemical elements of at least two different species. These semiconductors form for example in periodic table groups 13–15 (old groups III–V), for example of elements from the Boron group (old group III, boron, aluminium, gallium, indium) and from group 15 (old group V, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth).
Some examples of semiconductors are silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, and elements near the so-called "metalloid staircase" on the periodic table. After silicon, gallium arsenide is the second-most common semiconductor and is used in laser diodes , solar cells , microwave-frequency integrated circuits , and others.
Recognition status, as metalloids, of some elements in the p-block of the periodic table. Percentages are median appearance frequencies in the lists of metalloids. [n 2] The staircase-shaped line is a typical example of the arbitrary metal–nonmetal dividing line found on some periodic tables.
According to electronic band theory, solids can be classified as insulators, semiconductors, semimetals, or metals. In insulators and semiconductors the filled valence band is separated from an empty conduction band by a band gap. For insulators, the magnitude of the band gap is larger (e.g., > 4 eV) than that of a semiconductor (e.g., < 4 eV).
It is commonly regarded as a nonmetal, but is sometimes considered a metalloid or even a heavy metal. Selenium has a hexagonal polyatomic (CN 2) crystalline structure. It is a semiconductor with a band gap of 1.7 eV, and a photoconductor meaning its electrical conductivity increases a million-fold when illuminated.
[202] [203] The idea of designating elements like arsenic as metalloids had been considered. [199] By as early as 1866, some authors began preferring the term "nonmetal" over "metalloid" to describe nonmetallic elements. [204] In 1875, Kemshead [205] observed that elements were categorized into two groups: non-metals (or metalloids) and metals ...