Er
Erbium · metallic erbium
Erbium is a stable, metallic rare-earth element widely utilized for its unique optical and electronic properties in advanced technological applications.
About Erbium
Erbium is a metallic rare-earth element known for its distinct electronic character and robust thermodynamic stability. As a member of the lanthanide series, it maintains a stable structure that allows it to exist reliably under standard conditions, supported by a significant body of structural data across scientific databases.
Its importance lies in its unique atomic configuration, which facilitates specialized interactions in optical and electronic systems. Because it is thermodynamically stable, it serves as a reliable building block for advanced materials and high-performance components in various industrial sectors.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Erbium, aggregated across 5 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 Er. 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 Er, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.143 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.016 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.016 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -33.925 | 8.99 |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -0.004 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -0.004 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.143 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0001 | 0.000 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0010 | 0.001 | — |
Applications
Where Erbium is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Erbium, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Er?
Erbium is a stable, metallic rare-earth element widely utilized for its unique optical and electronic properties in advanced technological applications.
What is Er used for?
What is the band gap of Er?
Is Er a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Er thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Er?
How many polymorphs of Er are known?
What elements does Er contain?
Where does the data for Er come from?
How It Compares
As a pure elemental metal, Erbium stands as a fundamental reference point within the broader category of rare-earth elements, providing the baseline metallic behavior from which more complex alloys and compounds are derived.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
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