Nonmetal as nonmetals. Among the reactive nonmetals, carbon, phosphorus, selenium, and iodine—which border the metalloids—show some metallic character, as does hydrogen. Among the noble gases, radon is the most metallic and begins to show some cationic behaviour, which is unusual for a nonmetal. The seven metalloids are boron (B), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), tellurium (Te), and astatine (At). On a standard periodic table, they occupy a diagonal area in the p-block extending from boron at the upper left to astatine at lower right, along the dividing line between metals and nonmetals shown on some periodic tables. They
Silicon Hence pure silicon is an insulator at room temperature. However, doping silicon with a pnictogen such as phosphorus, arsenic, or antimony introduces one extra electron per dopant and these may then be excited into the conduction band either thermally or photolytically, creating an n-type semiconductor. Similarly, doping silicon with a group 13 element such as boron, aluminium, or gallium results in the introduction of acceptor levels that trap electrons that may be excited from the filled valence band, creating a p-type semiconductor. Joining n-type silicon to p-type silicon creates a p-n junction with a common Fermi level; electrons flow from