ErF3
Erbium trifluoride · Erbium(III) fluoride
Erbium trifluoride is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound frequently employed in optical technologies and laser systems.
About Erbium trifluoride
Erbium trifluoride is a robust inorganic compound that exists as a wide-band-gap insulator. Its status as a thermodynamically stable phase on the convex hull makes it a reliable material for high-performance applications where chemical and thermal resilience are required. The compound is well-documented in structural databases, reflecting its significance in materials science research. It is primarily utilized for its unique optical properties, particularly in the development of advanced photonic devices and specialized glass compositions.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Erbium trifluoride, 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 ErF3. 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 ErF3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 8.31 | 0.0000 | -4.442 | — |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 8.09 | 0.0000 | -4.377 | — |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 7.62 | 0.0000 | -7.047 | 8.11 |
| — | — | 8.40 | 0.0005 | -4.441 | — |
| — | — | 7.58 | 0.0143 | -4.427 | — |
| — | — | 8.85 | 0.0183 | -4.423 | — |
| — | — | 8.26 | 0.0904 | -4.351 | — |
| — | — | 7.50 | 0.0974 | -4.344 | — |
| — | — | 7.61 | 0.1025 | -4.339 | — |
| — | — | 7.76 | 0.1157 | -4.326 | — |
| — | — | 8.03 | 0.1177 | -4.324 | — |
| — | — | 7.45 | 0.1335 | -4.308 | — |
Applications
Where Erbium trifluoride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Erbium trifluoride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is ErF3?
Erbium trifluoride is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound frequently employed in optical technologies and laser systems.
What is ErF3 used for?
What is the band gap of ErF3?
Is ErF3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is ErF3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of ErF3?
How many polymorphs of ErF3 are known?
What elements does ErF3 contain?
Where does the data for ErF3 come from?
How It Compares
As a stable fluoride compound, ErF3 serves as a key representative of rare-earth trifluorides, which are widely valued for their transparency across broad spectral ranges and their ability to host lanthanide ions for light-emitting applications.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
Analyze ErF3 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 85 source databases.
Explore the Platform →