GeH4
Germane · Germanium tetrahydride, Monogermane
Germane is a colorless, flammable gas that serves as a primary source of germanium in the semiconductor industry. It is primarily utilized in chemical vapor deposition processes to create thin films and specialized electronic components.
GeH
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Germane, aggregated across 3 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.
1.14–5.93 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
24
3 databases, 8 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for GeH4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P212121 (No. 19) | orthorhombic | 5.93 | 0.0000 | -3.676 | 1.52 |
| P2/c (No. 13) | monoclinic | 5.77 | 0.0080 | -3.668 | 1.21 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 1.14 | 0.2934 | -3.383 | 2.17 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.3635 | -3.313 | 2.94 |
| Pmma (No. 51) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.3664 | -3.310 | 3.00 |
| Cmmm (No. 65) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.5124 | -3.164 | 1.91 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 4.17 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.17 |
| P212121 (No. 19) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 1.54 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.17 |
| P212121 (No. 19) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 1.52 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.17 |
Uses
Applications
Where Germane is used.
Semiconductor manufacturingChemical vapor depositionEpitaxial growthOptoelectronics
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Germane, answered from cross-validated data.
What is GeH4?
Germane is a colorless, flammable gas that serves as a primary source of germanium in the semiconductor industry. It is primarily utilized in chemical vapor deposition processes to create thin films and specialized electronic components.
More questions
What is GeH4 used for?
Germane (GeH4) is used in semiconductor manufacturing, chemical vapor deposition, epitaxial growth, and optoelectronics.
What is the band gap of GeH4?
Germane (GeH4) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.14–5.93 eV across 24 reported structures.
Is GeH4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 5.93 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is GeH4 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Germane (GeH4) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of GeH4?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Germane (GeH4) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group P212121 (No. 19).
What is the density of GeH4?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Germane (GeH4) is 1.52 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of GeH4 are known?
24 structures of GeH4 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 8 distinct space groups.
What elements does GeH4 contain?
Germane (GeH4) contains Ge and H (2 elements).
Where does the data for GeH4 come from?
GeH4 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
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