Ambipolar mobility is the effective mobility of both carrier types in a semiconductor, defined as μ_a = 2μ_eμ_h/(μ_e + μ_h), where μ_e is electron mobility and μ_h is hole mobility. The source archive boron arsenide dossier presents high ambipolar mobility as a key reason BAs is a promising semiconductor, distinguishing it from silicon.
Why it matters
Silicon has high electron mobility but low hole mobility, which limits complementary (p-type) device performance. BAs is reported to have high mobility for both electrons and holes — "ambipolar" behavior — making it attractive for p-type semiconductor applications.
Reported values
- UCSB growth page: intrinsic electron mobility 1,400 cm²/V·s and hole mobility 2,110 cm²/V·s.
- Wikipedia excerpt: electron and hole mobility >1000 cm²/V·s.
- Advanced Science paper: theoretically high hole mobility of 2100 cm²/V·s, versus silicon's 450, GaN's 40, and GaAs's 400; an experimentally confirmed ambipolar mobility of 1600 cm²/V·s.
- Patent US2023257907 ("Ultra-high ambipolar mobility cubic boron arsenide"): claims c-BAs single crystals with room-temperature ambipolar mobility greater than or equal to 1500, 1600, 1700, … up to 10000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, with thermal conductivity ≥1000 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹.
Claim vs. measurement
The patent's upper mobility figures (up to 10000 cm²/V·s) are claims, not measured results, and sit far above the ~1600 cm²/V·s experimentally confirmed elsewhere in the dossier. This gap is one of the central claim-vs-evidence tensions in the source. See Boron Arsenide Claims vs. Evidence: Measured Values, Patent Claims and the Theory–Experiment Gap.
Related pages
- Boron Arsenide (BAs)
- Ultrahigh Thermal Conductivity in Boron Arsenide
- Boron Arsenide Claims vs. Evidence: Measured Values, Patent Claims and the Theory–Experiment Gap
Source notes & attribution
- https://rexresearch.com/BoronArsenide/BoronArsenide.html