Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The difference in energy between electron orbitals in which the electrons are not free to move (called valence bands) and orbitals in which they are relatively free and can carry a current (called conduction bands).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun physics The energy difference between two allowed ranges of electron energy in a solid; especially the difference between the energies of the valence band and the conduction band.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The indirect bandgap occurs when the maximum valence point and minimum conduction point are not aligned on the same wave vector.

    Photovoltaics 2009

  • The bandgap is the difference between the maximum energy point in the valence band and the minimum point in the conduction band.

    Photovoltaics 2009

  • The bandgap is the difference between the maximum energy point in the valence band and the minimum point in the conduction band.

    Featured Articles - Encyclopedia of Earth 2010

  • The indirect bandgap occurs when the maximum valence point and minimum conduction point are not aligned on the same wave vector.

    Featured Articles - Encyclopedia of Earth 2010

  • "Graphene doesn't naturally have a bandgap, which is necessary for most electronic applications," said IBM Fellow Phaedon Avouris, who oversees the company's carbon-based materials efforts.

    Softpedia News - Global 2010

  • The direct bandgap occurs when these maximum and minimum points are aligned along the same wave vector.

    Featured Articles - Encyclopedia of Earth 2010

  • The direct bandgap occurs when these maximum and minimum points are aligned along the same wave vector. [

    Photovoltaics 2009

  • The bandgap of GaAs corresponds to wavelengths longer than 1 micron.

    Living the Big Bang Theory Life 2010

  • If silicon is alloyed with other materials like germanium, amorphous silicon could reach a lower, and thus more optimal, bandgap.

    Photovoltaics 2009

  • To excite an electron across a direct bandgap, the valence electron and a photon, bundles of a large amount of energy with a small amount of momentum that come from the sun, must have an energy and momentum equal to or greater than that of the empty conduction band state.

    Photovoltaics 2009

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