AlAs
Aluminum arsenide
Aluminum arsenide is a stable III-V semiconductor widely utilized in the construction of complex electronic and optoelectronic device structures.
About Aluminum arsenide
Aluminum arsenide is a key member of the III-V semiconductor family, known for its robust thermodynamic stability and favorable electronic characteristics. As a binary compound, it serves as a critical component in the development of sophisticated semiconductor heterostructures, particularly those requiring precise lattice matching in multilayer device architectures.
Its utility is primarily driven by its semiconducting nature, which allows it to be integrated into high-performance electronic and photonic devices. With a vast body of structural data available, it remains a highly characterized material that facilitates the engineering of advanced bandgap-engineered systems for modern technology.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Aluminum arsenide, aggregated across 6 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of AlAs. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for AlAs, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 1.50 | 0.0000 | -11.347 | 3.70 |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 1.69 | 0.0074 | -11.339 | 3.71 |
| Pa-3 (No. 205) | cubic | 1.19 | 0.1498 | -11.197 | 3.91 |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.2483 | -11.099 | 4.55 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.2764 | -11.070 | 4.55 |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.6253 | -10.722 | 4.26 |
| F-43m (No. 216) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P21/m (No. 11) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 4.60 |
| P63mc (No. 186) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 3.70 |
Applications
Where Aluminum arsenide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Aluminum arsenide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is AlAs?
Aluminum arsenide is a stable III-V semiconductor widely utilized in the construction of complex electronic and optoelectronic device structures.
What is AlAs used for?
What is the band gap of AlAs?
Is AlAs a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is AlAs thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of AlAs?
What is the density of AlAs?
How many polymorphs of AlAs are known?
What elements does AlAs contain?
Where does the data for AlAs come from?
How It Compares
Within the iii-v semiconductors class.
Within the expansive III-V semiconductor class, AlAs is frequently compared to its structural sibling AlP due to their similar chemical composition and role as wide-gap materials. While it shares the fundamental characteristics of other members like GaN or InP, AlAs is uniquely valued for its ability to form high-quality epitaxial layers when paired with gallium-based compounds, making it a cornerstone in the fabrication of distributed Bragg reflectors and laser diodes.
Related Compounds
Other III-V Semiconductors in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
- nomad — Data from NOMAD. Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019).
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