The molecular-orbital model for Ge shows it to be
A)a conductor, because all the lower energy band orbitals are filled and the gap between the lower and higher bands is large.
B)an insulator, because all the lower energy band orbitals are filled and the gap between the lower and higher bands is large.
C)a semiconductor, because the gap between the filled lower and empty higher energy bands is relatively small.
D)a semiconductor, because the gap between the filled lower and empty higher energy bands is large.
E)a conductor, because its lower energy band orbitals are only partially filled.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Germanium (Ge) is a semiconductor because it has a small energy gap between the filled valence band and the empty conduction band, allowing electrons to be thermally excited across the gap.

The Molecular-Orbital Model for Ge Shows It to Be