Surface state (source code)

= Surface state
{wiki}

A <surface state> is an electronic state localized near a material boundary. Its occupation can store <electric charge> and change the near-surface <electric potential>, producing <band bending>.

<Walter Houser Brattain>'s surface studies combined changes of contact potential under <light>, <electrical conductivity>, and transient response to distinguish surface effects from bulk properties. His Nobel lecture distinguishes fast and slow charge responses and warns that slow behavior can involve the surrounding gas rather than a simple electronic state.<Surface properties of semiconductors by Walter Houser Brattain>[Printed pp. 381–383]{ref}