Talk:semimetal

I do not think that metalloid and semimetal are synonyms. Metalloids can very well be semiconductors (e.g. Si, Ge) rather than semimetals. A good example of a semimetal is tin (Sn) usually not considered a metalloid.

A semimetal is a semiconductor (not necessarily an element!) with a negative indirect bandgap. The Fermi level therefore crosses both the valence and the conduction band and there is conduction from both electrons and from holes albeit in a different part of the Brillouin zone. Superficially the material behaves as a metal but its electronic structure is different because a true metal usually only has one type of charge carrier.

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