Boron arsenide
Encyclopedia
Boron arsenide is a chemical compound of boron
and arsenic
. It is a cubic (sphalerite
) semiconductor
with a lattice constant
of 0.4777 nm and an indirect bandgap of roughly 1.5 eV. It can be alloyed with gallium arsenide.
Boron arsenide also occurs as an icosahedral boride, B12As2.
It belongs to R-3m space group with a rhombohedral structure based on clusters of boron atoms and two-atom As-As chains. It's a wide bandgap semiconductor (3.47 eV) with the extraordinary ability to “self-heal” radiation damage. This form can be grown on substrates such as silicon carbide
.
s can be fabricated from boron arsenide. It's also an attractive choice for devices exposed to radiation which can severely
degrade the electrical properties of conventional semiconductors, causing devices to cease functioning. Among the particularly intriguing possible applications for B12As2 are beta cells, devices capable of producing electrical energy by coupling a radioactive beta emitter to a semiconductor junction, another space electronics.
Boron
Boron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...
and arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
. It is a cubic (sphalerite
Sphalerite
Sphalerite is a mineral that is the chief ore of zinc. It consists largely of zinc sulfide in crystalline form but almost always contains variable iron. When iron content is high it is an opaque black variety, marmatite. It is usually found in association with galena, pyrite, and other sulfides...
) semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
with a lattice constant
Lattice constant
The lattice constant [or lattice parameter] refers to the constant distance between unit cells in a crystal lattice. Lattices in three dimensions generally have three lattice constants, referred to as a, b, and c. However, in the special case of cubic crystal structures, all of the constants are...
of 0.4777 nm and an indirect bandgap of roughly 1.5 eV. It can be alloyed with gallium arsenide.
Boron arsenide also occurs as an icosahedral boride, B12As2.
It belongs to R-3m space group with a rhombohedral structure based on clusters of boron atoms and two-atom As-As chains. It's a wide bandgap semiconductor (3.47 eV) with the extraordinary ability to “self-heal” radiation damage. This form can be grown on substrates such as silicon carbide
Silicon carbide
Silicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...
.
Applications
Solar cellSolar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s can be fabricated from boron arsenide. It's also an attractive choice for devices exposed to radiation which can severely
degrade the electrical properties of conventional semiconductors, causing devices to cease functioning. Among the particularly intriguing possible applications for B12As2 are beta cells, devices capable of producing electrical energy by coupling a radioactive beta emitter to a semiconductor junction, another space electronics.
External links
- Fiz Chemie Berlin thermophysical database entry
- Matweb data