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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Surface band-gap narrowing in quantized electron accumulation layers.
Tim D. VealVicente Muñoz-sanjoséPhil D. C. KingE. D. L. RienksM. Fuglsang JensenMark HopkinsonJesús Zúñiga-pérezChristopher F McconvillePh. Hofmannsubject
Materials scienceCondensed matter physicsIntrinsic semiconductorBand gapKondo insulatorGeneral Physics and AstronomyMetal-induced gap statesDirect and indirect band gapsElectron holeSemimetalQuasi Fermi leveldescription
An energy gap between the valence and the conduction band is the defining property of a semiconductor, and the gap size plays a crucial role in the design of semiconductor devices. We show that the presence of a two-dimensional electron gas near to the surface of a semiconductor can significantly alter the size of its band gap through many-body effects caused by its high electron density, resulting in a surface band gap that is much smaller than that in the bulk. Apart from reconciling a number of disparate previous experimental findings, the results suggest an entirely new route to spatially inhomogeneous band-gap engineering.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-24 |