Density of states

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Density of state is defined as the number of different states at a particular energy level
that a particle ( electrons generally) are allowed to occupy. Mathematically,

d N(E )
g(E ) =
dE
Where, g(E )dE is the number of states in the system whose energies lie in the range
from E to E + dE.
0
Obviously, density
I
N(E ) =
∫0
E
g(E )dE
granted
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 Formula
EE
(i) 0 Dimension :
I
g(E ) = 2δ(E )

(ii) 1 Dimnesion:
m
g(E ) = E −1/2 L
2ℏ π
2 2

(ii) 2 Dimnesion:
m 2
g(E ) = L
2ℏ2 π a

(ii) 3 Dimnesion:
1 m 3/2 3 1/2
g(E ) = ( ) L E
2π 2 ℏ2

Value Added Points

Qunatum Wells (2D) - a potential well that confines particles in one dimension, forcing
them to occupy a planar region.
Quantum Wire (1D) - an electrically conducting wire, in which quantum transport
effects are important.
Quantum Dots (0D) - a semiconductor crystal that confines electrons, holes, or
electron-pairs to zero dimension.
The density of states plays an important role in the kinetic theory of solids. The product
of the density of states and the probability distribution function is the number of
occupied states per unit volume at a given energy for a system in thermal equilibrium.
This value is widely used to investigate various physical properties of matter.
The density of states is directly related to the dispersion relations of the properties of
the system. High DOS at a specific energy level means that many states are available
for occupation.

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 Calculating the density of states for small structures shows that the distribution of
electrons changes as dimensionality is reduced. For quantum wires, the DOS for
certain energies actually becomes higher than the DOS for bulk semiconductors, and
for quantum dots the electrons become quantized to certain energies.
The photon density of states can be manipulated by using periodic structures with
length scales on the order of the wavelength of light. Some structures can completely
inhibit the propagation of light of certain colors (energies), creating a photonic band
gap: the DOS is zero for those photon energies.
Semiconductor with quantum dots as a material is used in cascade laser and IR
photodetectors.
Qunatum Dots are also useful in Quantum Computing Scheme; Optical &
optoelectronic devices; Injection lasers; fast DNA testing and 3-D imaging inside
living organism.
well
Density of state is considered to be homogeneous and continuous. quantum
The role of density of states and quantum statistics in determining the Fermi level diode
Applications of density of states and quantum statistics to determine carrier concen-
tration in materials, including in doped semiconductors. p
The assessment of energy and density of states of the quantum well has a tremendous
impact in nano-technology which may revolutionize technology.

Questions nd
exdusion
Pauli
steroids
Q 1. Calculate the density of states for an electron moving freely inside a metal with the
to
help of quantum mechanical Schrodinger’s equation for free particle in a box. (2016) [10
marks ]

Q 2. Show that for free electron gas, the density of states in three dimensions (3D) varies
as E 1/2, and this dependence changes to E 0 for 2D (quantum well), E −1/2 for 1D
(quantum wire) and 𝛿 function for 0D (quantum dot). (2018) [15 marks]

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Q 3. How do you define density of states? Show that the density of states with wave
vector less than k ⃗ in a three-dimensional cubic box of volume V can be given by

f D(ω) = V 2 dω
k ( )
2π 2 dk

in the frequency spectrum between 𝜔 and 𝜔 + 𝑑𝜔. Here, assume that the number of
modes per unit range of 𝑘 is 𝐿/(2𝜋), 𝐿 being the length of each side of the cubic box.
(2019) [20 marks]

Q 4. (i) Consider a particle in a three-dimensional box. Derive an expression for g(E ), the
density of states.(ii) Show thatg( p)/g(E ) = dE /dp, where g( p) is the density of states
in the momentum space. Deduce that g( p) is proportional to p 2 for a free non-relativistic
particle. [20 marks ]

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