SiP

Silicon monophosphide

Silicon monophosphide is a stable semiconducting material known for its diverse structural configurations and potential utility in electronics.

PSi
Crystal structure of SiP (orthorhombic, Cmc21 (No. 36))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Silicon monophosphide

Silicon monophosphide is a robust, thermodynamically stable semiconductor that occupies a unique position in the silicon-phosphorus binary system. Its stability on the convex hull makes it a reliable candidate for fundamental materials research and potential integration into specialized electronic architectures.

With extensive documentation across multiple structural databases, this compound demonstrates significant polymorphic variety. This structural richness provides researchers with a versatile platform for exploring how atomic arrangement influences the electronic properties of phosphorus-based semiconductors.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Silicon monophosphide, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

1.24–1.56 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: narrow gap

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
3 DFT sources

Structures

229
3 databases, 24 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of SiP. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for SiP, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Cmc21 (No. 36)orthorhombic1.740.0000-9.0582.26
——1.560.0000-0.276—
Cmc21 (No. 36)orthorhombic1.240.0000-0.149—
——0.000.2023-0.074—
——0.000.2024-0.073—
F-43m (No. 216)cubic0.000.3663-8.6922.57
——0.000.38240.107—
F-43m (No. 216)cubic0.000.39850.250—
——0.000.55700.281—
——0.000.68580.410—
——0.000.68640.411—
——0.000.79580.520—
Uses

Applications

Where Silicon monophosphide is used.

Semiconductor researchElectronic device developmentMaterials science studies
Intellectual Property

Patent Landscape

3 patents reference SiP or close compositional variants.

PatentTitleAssigneeGranted
11932933Cooling device and process for cooling double-sided SiP devices during sputtering——
11434561Cooling device and process for cooling double-sided SiP devices during sputtering——
12385128Cooling device and process for cooling double-sided SiP devices during sputtering——
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Silicon monophosphide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is SiP?

Silicon monophosphide is a stable semiconducting material known for its diverse structural configurations and potential utility in electronics.

More questions
What is SiP used for?
Silicon monophosphide (SiP) is used in semiconductor research, electronic device development, and materials science studies.
What is the band gap of SiP?
Silicon monophosphide (SiP) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.24–1.56 eV across 229 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is SiP a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 1.56 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is SiP thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Silicon monophosphide (SiP) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of SiP?
The reference structure of Silicon monophosphide (SiP) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Cmc21 (No. 36).
What is the density of SiP?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Silicon monophosphide (SiP) is 2.26 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of SiP are known?
229 structures of SiP are reported across 3 databases, spanning 24 distinct space groups.
What elements does SiP contain?
Silicon monophosphide (SiP) contains P and Si (2 elements).
Where does the data for SiP come from?
SiP data is cross-referenced from materials_project, oqmd, jarvis, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a distinct binary semiconductor, silicon monophosphide serves as a primary reference point for silicon-phosphorus materials, representing a stable phase that bridges the gap between elemental silicon and more complex phosphide systems.

Data sources & attribution
  • 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)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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