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Q. Carbon, silicon and germanium have four valence electrons each. At room temperature which one of the following statements is most appropriate?

AIEEEAIEEE 2007Semiconductor Electronics: Materials Devices and Simple Circuits

Solution:

$C$, Si and Ge have the same lattice structure and their valence electrons are $4$ .
For $C$, these electrons are in the second orbit, for $Si$ it is third and germanium it is the fourth orbit. In solid state, higher the orbit, greater the possibility of overlapping of energy bands.
Ionization energies are also less therefore $Ge$ has more conductivity compared to $Si$.
Both are semiconductors. Carbon is an insulator.