I've been struggling with the concepts of these three terms - Fermi Energy, Fermi Level and Workfuction. Now, I was given these definitions (in the context of semi-conductors):

• Fermi Level is the energy where at 0K, all energy levels below it are occupied and all energy levels above it are empty.
• Fermi Energy depends on the temperature; it consists of the Fermi Level + thermal energy.
• Workfunction - the energy required to release an electron from the outer most shell.

I'm not sure how to grasp the relationship between these definitions. In one of the classes, our TA gave us this "formula"; WF=|FL+FE|

Meaning, the workfunction of a metal equals the absolute value of the sum of its Fermi Level and Fermi Energy. I tried to visualize this through the Band Model, and this is the result:

Is this visualization correct? Are these definitions (again, in the context of semiconductors) correct? If not, what are the correct definitions and is there a connection between the three of them?

I've been struggling with the concepts of these three terms - Fermi Energy, Fermi Level and work fuction. Now, I was given these definitions (in the context of semi-conductors):

• Fermi Level is the energy where at $0\rm K$, all energy levels below it are occupied and all energy levels above it are empty.
• Fermi Energy depends on the temperature; it consists of the Fermi Level + thermal energy.
• Workfunction - the energy required to release an electron from the outer most shell.

I'm not sure how to grasp the relationship between these definitions. In one of the classes, our TA gave us this "formula"; $WF=\left|FL+FE\right|$

Meaning, the workfunction of a metal equals the absolute value of the sum of its Fermi Level and Fermi Energy. I tried to visualize this through the Band Model, and this is the result:

Is this visualization correct? Are these definitions (again, in the context of semiconductors) correct? If not, what are the correct definitions and is there a connection between the three of them?

I've been struggling with the concepts of these three terms - Fermi Energy, Fermi Level and Workfuction. Now, I was given these definitions (in the context of semi-conductors):

• Fermi Level is the energy where at 0K, all energy levels below it are occupied and all energy levels above it are empty.
• Fermi Energy depends on the temperature; it consists of the Fermi Level + thermal energy.
• Workfunction - the energy required to release an electron from the outer most shell.

I'm not sure how to grasp the relationship between these definitions. In one of the classes, our TA gave us this "formula"; WF=|FL+FE| Meaning, the workfunction of a metal equals the absolute value of the some of its Fermi Level and Fermi Energy. I tried to visualize this through the Band Model, and this is the result: Band theory visualization... maybe http://i.imgur.com/cfEYF4f.png?1

Is this visualization correct? Are these definitions (again, in the context of semiconductors) correct? If not, what are the correct definitions and is there a connection between the three of them?

I've been struggling with the concepts of these three terms - Fermi Energy, Fermi Level and Workfuction. Now, I was given these definitions (in the context of semi-conductors):

• Fermi Level is the energy where at 0K, all energy levels below it are occupied and all energy levels above it are empty.
• Fermi Energy depends on the temperature; it consists of the Fermi Level + thermal energy.
• Workfunction - the energy required to release an electron from the outer most shell.

I'm not sure how to grasp the relationship between these definitions. In one of the classes, our TA gave us this "formula"; WF=|FL+FE|

Meaning, the workfunction of a metal equals the absolute value of the sum of its Fermi Level and Fermi Energy. I tried to visualize this through the Band Model, and this is the result:

Is this visualization correct? Are these definitions (again, in the context of semiconductors) correct? If not, what are the correct definitions and is there a connection between the three of them?