Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How does the band gap of silicon compare with the band gap of gallium arsenide?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
semiconductor
Typical range of conductivities for insulators, semiconductors, and conductors.
In the study of semiconductors, the band gap represents the energy range where electrons cannot exist, separating the valence band from the conduction band. Both silicon and gallium arsenide are important semiconductor materials with band gaps that fall within the typical range of 0.25 to 2.5 electron volts (eV).12
When comparing the two, gallium arsenide has a wider band gap than silicon:
- Silicon (Si): 1.12 eV12
- Gallium arsenide (GaAs): 1.42 eV12
Because of these differences in their electronic properties, silicon is the most widely used material for integrated circuits, while gallium arsenide is frequently utilized for specialized optoelectronic and radio frequency applications.31