What is Degenerate semiconductor?

A semiconductor doped so heavily that the Fermi level lies inside the conduction or valence band. It behaves almost like a metal and is used in tunnel diodes and low-resistance contacts.

Field: Semiconductor physics

Degenerate semiconductor in the explanations

Questions that mention Degenerate semiconductor (2)

  1. Where is the Fermi level located in an n-type semiconductor?
  2. What is a semiconductor called whose impurity concentration is so high that the Fermi level lies inside the conduction or valence band?

Related terms

Fermi level Donor Acceptor Auger recombination Band gap Diffusion length Effective mass Einstein relation Electron affinity Indirect band gap

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