What is the work function of a metal?

What is the work function of a metal?

The work function of a given metal can be defined as the amount of energy which is required to pull out an electron from an atom. This energy is equal to the energy of the electron revolving around the nucleus. In photoelectric effect, we shine a light of certain frequency on a metal.

What is the work function of aluminum?

4.08
Work Functions for Photoelectric Effect

Is work function same for all metals?

Is different for different metals. Hint: The different metals consist of different values of work function because of difference in their electronegativity behaviour. Therefore the work function is that amount of energy which is required to get an electron out of the metal plate without any kinetic energy.

Which metal has less work function?

The work function (ϕo) depends on the properties of the metal and the nature of its surface. The work function of platinum is the highest while it is the lowest for cesium. The work function for platinum is 5.65 eV. The work function for cesium is 2.14 eV.

Does work function depend on metals?

EXPLANATION: Work function solely depends on the material of the metal used. Different metals have electrons present at different energy levels, depending on which the work function varies.

Why work function is less than ionisation energy?

The removal of the electrons from a sea of electrons needs less energy (generally) since they are attracted to many kernels at the same time, due to which the forces cancel out, resulting in free electrons. Hence, the work function is generally lower than the ionization energy for a particular element.

Is work function binding energy?

The workfunction of a metal is the minimum amount of energy (E) necessary to remove an electron from the surface of the bulk (solid) metal (sometimes referred to as binding energy).

Why is GaAs a good material for Schottky diode?

Secondly the high density of surface states on GaAs makes the resulting Schottky diode properties almost independent of surface preparation and this creates favourable conditions for fabricating repro- ducible devices. An estimate of surface states on GaAs surface was made by Cowley and Sze [1] in 1965.

How to measure the work function of a metal?

Absolute methods allow one to measure the work function value directly. Here, the electrons in the metal are supplied with sufficient kinetic energy to overcome the barrier at the metal / vacuum interface, and can thus escape the metal, and the work function can be obtained from the resulting electric current.

Why is effective mass m* field dependent on electric field in GaAs?

In GaAs, transfer of electrons from small effective mass valley to large effective mass valley occurs under the action of high electric field present in the barrier region and this makes the effective mass m* field dependent. Because of 0.1 0.2 Forward Bias (V) Fig. 2.

What is the work function of an electric current in metals?

Here, the electrons in the metal are supplied with sufficient kinetic energy to overcome the barrier at the metal / vacuum interface, and can thus escape the metal, and the work function can be obtained from the resulting electric current.