5.4.

Some Approximate models

To obtain a specific values of E and ψ, one needs to
solve Schrodinger equation for the actual potential
V(r) in the solid of interest. But since this is a very
tough task, it is preferable to solve Schrodinger
equation using some simplified potentials.

Empty-lattice model:
* In this simplest case the crystal potential is
assumed to be exactly zero ;V(r)=0.
i.e. the electron is completely free.
* For 1D; the state functions and energies are:

1 ik . x
ψ k0 = 1/ 2
e (6)
and L

h 2k 2
E =
0
(7)
2 m∗
k

where L =Na is the length a long x axis and the

superscript 0 indicates that these solutions obtained
at V(x)=0.

* According to eq. (7) the dispersion curve of

electrons has the familiar parabolic shape shown in
Fig.a .
The extended-zone
scheme

The periodic-zone scheme The reduced-zone scheme

Nearly-free-electron model (NFE):

* In this model the crystal potential is assumed to be
so weak ; i.e. the electron is nearly free.
* This model can serve as a rough approximation to
the valence bands in the simple metals such as: Na, K,
Al, etc.
* On the basis of perturbation method one finds that
the crystal potential will only affect the regions near
the zone boundaries. This effect is to smooth over
the sharp corners, and hence, to create energy gaps
at these regions with values of,
 Eg , n = 2 V− n 2π / a

where V-2π/a is the Fourier component of the

potential, that is,
1
∫
i ( 2π / a ) x
V− 2π / a = V ( x ) e dx
L

* Physically, energy gaps can be explained according

to Bragg reflection of electron waves in crystal:
1- When Bragg condition k = ± nπ / a is satisfied at
the zone boundaries, a wave traveling to the right is
Bragg reflected to the left forming a standing wave.
2- Two different standing waves ψ(+) & ψ(-) will be
formed from the two traveling waves eikr & e-ikr .
3- Each of these standing wave will pile up electrons
at two different directions for the same K, and this
the origin of the energy gap.
tight-binding model (TB):
* In this model the crystal potential is assumed to be
strong so that the electron is captured by ions for
some intervals. During each interval the electron
orbits around a single ion, i.e. its state function is
that of an atomic orbital.
* This model can serve as a rough approximation to
the narrow, inner bands in solids.

5.5. Metals, Insulators &Semiconductors

* The fact that used to distinguish between these
types of solids is:

A band which is completely full carries no electric

current, even in the presence of an electric field.
* If the gap between the valance band and the band
immediately above it is small, electrons may be
thermally excited across the gap and the solid is
called a semiconductor.
* At room temperature a substance behaves as a
semiconductor if Eg is less than 2eV.
* In insulators Eg ~ 7eV.
 5.6. Electron Density of states

Let g(E) defines the electron density of states, i.e.

g(E) dE = number of electron states per unit volume

in the energy range (E - E+dE ).

For regions near the zone center:

- Dispersion relation is given by;

h 2k 2 (7)
Ek =
2 m∗
- The corresponding energy contours in k-space are
spheres surrounding the origin.

- Volume of shell confined between E &E+dE is:

4πk2dk

Hence:
V
g ( E )dE =
(2π )3
1
= 4πk 2
dk
(2π ) 3

3/ 2
1 ⎛ 2m ∗
⎞
= ⎜ 2
2 ⎜
⎟⎟ E1 / 2 dE
4π ⎝ h ⎠
Or, 3/ 2
1 ⎛ 2m ∗
⎞
g(E) = ⎜ 2
2 ⎜
⎟⎟ E1 / 2
4π ⎝ h ⎠
Taking into account the spin degeneracy leads to

3/ 2
1 ⎛ 2 m∗ ⎞
g ( E ) = 2 ⎜⎜ 2 ⎟⎟ E1 / 2 (8)
2π ⎝ h ⎠

Note:

* The larger the energy the greater the radius, and

hence the larger the number of states.

* The greater the mass the larger the number of

states.

For regions near the zone boundaries:

- Dispersion relation given by (7) is not valid.

- As a result the density of states will has a more
complicated formula. The following Fig. shows how
g(E) will vary with E near the zone boundaries.
 5.7 The Fermi Surface

Recall: FS is the surface in k-space inside which all

states are occupied by valence electrons.
Or: FS is the surface in k-space below which all
states are occupied and all states above it are
empty.

* We will determine the Fermi energy EF in the

regions where the relation (7) is applicable.
From definition;
EF
(9)
∫ g ( E )dE = n
0
Using (8) & (9) we get;

EF =
h2
2m ∗
3π n(
2 2/3
)
Or

h 2 k F2 (10)
EF =
2 m∗

Where

(
k F = 3π 2 n ) 1/ 3
 5.8 Velocity of The Bloch Electron

Consider an electron in a state ψk, the velocity by

which it moves through the crystal should be related
to the energy of the state according to;

v = ∇ kω (k )
But since ω = E / h , then

1
v= ∇ k E (k )
h
Note:

The velocity v is constant unless the periodicity of

the lattice is changed.
 5.9 The Effective Mass

When an electric field ε is applied to a crystal, the

Bloch electron will undergo an acceleration a where;
dv dv dk
a= = (12)
dt dk dt

The electric force F that caused this acceleration is

given by,
dk
F =h (13)
dt
Substituting from (11) & (13) into (12) leads to;

1 d 2E (14)
a= 2 2
F
h dk

Eq. (14) has the same form as Newton’s second law,

hence one can define the electron effective mass
as,

2 ⎛ d 2E ⎞
m =h
∗
⎜⎜ 2 ⎟⎟ (15)
⎝ dk ⎠
Note:
1- When the curvature is large the mass is
small, and the small curvature indicates a large
mass.
2- The effective mass m* could be (+ve) or (-
ve). Near the bottom of the band, the electron
accelerates and m* is positive. But as the
electron approaches the top of the band it will
decelerate, and hence m* is negative.
3- the effective mass m* is related to the free
electron mass me by the following relation:

Fext
m∗ = me
Fext + FL

5.10 The Electrical conductivity

* Recall: In the free electron model the electrical
conductivity is given by;

ne 2τ F (16)
σ=
m∗

* Within the framework of band theory, a

corresponding formula can be obtained as following:
 - When an external electric field is applied, FS will
be shifted a distance δk on the k-space. For 1D;

F eε eε (17)
δk x = δt = − δt =− τF
h h h
- The current density can be then written as;
J x = −evF , x g ( EF )δE
(18)
⎡ ∂E ⎤
= −evF , x g ( EF ) ⎢ ⎥ δk x
⎣ ∂k x ⎦ E F

But
∂E (19)
= hv F , x
∂k x
Substituting from (17) & (19) into (18), we get

J x = e 2vF2 , xτ F g ( EF )ε

If FS is a sphere, v 2 = 1 v 2 , hence;
F,x 3 F

J = 13 e 2vF2 τ F g ( EF )ε
Therefore σ is;

σ = 13 e 2vF2 τ F g( EF ) (20)
In (20) the predominant factor in determining σ is
the density of state at FS, and not the electron
density n as (16) states.
In fact (16) is an special case of (20), results when
Fermi energy is taken as (10).

5.11 The Hall Effect

Define: a hole as one vacant state occurs in a totally

full band.
* When two bands overlap with each other, electrons
will exist in the upper band and holes in lower.
* The Hall constant expression for a metal contains
both electrons and holes is;

Reσ e2 + Rhσ h2 (21)

R=
(σ e + σ h ) 2

where Rh is the hole Hall constant given by,

1
Rh = (22)
nh e

The total Hall constant R may be (-ve) or (+ve)

depending on whether the contribution of the
electrons or the holes dominates.
 Intrinsic Semiconductors

Intrinsic Semiconductors :
- The substance is pure, and hence the carrier
concentration is an intrinsic property.
- The substance conducts current by both
carriers electrons and holes.
- The concentration of electrons and the
concentration of holes are equal ~ 1015/cm3.
3/ 2
⎛ kT ⎞
n = p = 2⎜ 2 ⎟
(memh )3 / 4 e− E g / 2 kT (1)
⎝ 2πh ⎠
Or,

n= p∝e
− E g / 2 kT (2)

- The Fermi level lies at the middle of the energy

gap, i.e.
EF ~ 1/2 Eg (3)
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Ga
 Extrinsic Semiconductors :
- The substance contains a large number of
impurities which supply most of the carriers.
Hence the carrier concentration is an extrinsic
property.
- The substance conducts current only by one type
of carriers: electrons or holes.
- The carrier concentration is about ~ 1015/cm3.
But by heavy doping one can get sample with
concentration of 1018/cm3.
- When a tetravalent sample (Si) is doped by a
pentavalent atoms (As), each impurity atom will
contribute an electron to the CB. Because of that
these impurities are called donors and the
substance is known as n-type Semiconductor .

- When a tetravalent sample (Si) is doped by a

trivalent atoms (Ga), each impurity atom will
contribute a hole to the VB. Because of that
these impurities are called acceptors and the
substance is known as p-type Semiconductor .
 Semiconductors Statistics
To find the carrier concentration in a semiconductor
contain both donors and acceptors, it is easily to
divide the substance into two regions:
Intrinsic region :
- The concentration of electrons equals to the
concentration of holes equals to what called the
intrinsic concentration ni ;
3/ 2
⎛ kT ⎞
n = p = ni = 2⎜ 2 ⎟
(me mh )3 / 4 e− E g / 2 kT
(4)
⎝ 2πh ⎠

- This region obtains when the impurity doping is

so small, i.e.

ni 〉〉 ( N d − N a ) (5)

where Nd, Na are the concentration of donors and

acceptors respectively.

- Since ni ∝ e − E g / 2 kT all semiconductors become

intrinsic at high temperatures .
 Extrinsic region :
- Using the common doping rate ~ 1015/cm3 ,the
condition (4) is not satisfied, and the number of
carriers supplied by impurities at 300K is large
enough to change the intrinsic concentration ni.
- In this case :
np = n 2 (6)
i

- When Nd >> Na (n-type Semiconductor );

n = Nd
And ni2 (7)
p=
Nd

- When Na >> Nd (p-type Semiconductor );

p = Na
and ni2 (8)
n=
Na
 Electrical Conductivity and Mobility

* Assume an n-type semiconductor, using the free

electron model the electrical conductivity is given
by;
ne 2τ e
σe = (9)
me

* In semiconductors, transport characteristic is

often described by mobility, the ratio between the
electron velocity and the applied field μ=vd/ε

eτ e
μe = (10)
me

One can express the electrical conductivity in terms

of mobility as;
σ e = neμe (11)

A typical value may be obtained by substituting

σ e = 1 (Ω.m) −1 , and n = 1021 m −3
Then
μe ≈ 10 − 2 m 2 / V .s = 100 cm 2 / V .s
* Total conductivity in a sample contains both
carriers is
σ = neμe + neμ h
(12)
Temperature dependence of Conductivity:
1- A semiconductor in the intrinsic region:
Its conductivity is expressed by (12). But in this
situation the concentration n increases exponentially
with temperature, thus;
− E g / 2 KT (13)
σ = f (T )e
where f(T) is a function which depends only weakly
on the temperature (The function depends on the
mobilities and effective masses of the particles.)
If one takes the logarithms
of both sides of the equation,
he will get;
Eg
log σ = Cons. −
2 KT
A plot of log σ versus l/T
should give a straight line
with a slope of ( - Eg/2k)
that determines the energy
gap of the material.

2- A semiconductor in the extrinsic region:

In that case the temperature dependence of σ on T
is not usually as strong as indicated above. Suppose
that the substance is extrinsic n-type. The
conductivity is
σ e = neμe
But the electron concentration n is now a constant
equal to Nd, the donor concentration. And any
temperature dependence present must be due to the
mobility of electrons .

Temperature dependence of Mobility:

μe ∝ T −3 / 2

Hall Effect in Semiconductors

* The Hall constant expression for a semiconductor
contains both electrons and holes is;

Reσ e2 + Rhσ h2
R=
(σ e + σ h ) 2

or
pμ h2 − nμ e2
R= (13)
e(nμ e + pμ h ) 2
The total Hall constant R may be (-ve) or (+ve)
depending on whether the contribution of the
electrons or the holes dominates. It may vanish in
semiconductors that reflect a high degree of
symmetry.

Direct and Indirect-Gap Semiconductors

 The Fundamental Absorption:
In fundamental absorption, an electron absorbs a photon
(from the incident beam), and jumps from the valence
into the conduction band. The photon energy must be
equal to the energy gap, or larger. Therefore, the
frequency must be
υ ≥ (Eg/h)
The frequency υο = Eg/h is referred to as the absorption
edge.
In the photon absorption process , the total energy and
momentum of the electron-photon system must be
conserved. Therefore

E f = E i + hν
k f = ki + q

However, since the wave vector of the photon q is

negligibly small. Thus, the momentum condition reduces
to
k f = ki

This selection rule means that only vertical transitions in

k-space are allowed between the valence and conduction
bands.
For Direct-Gap Semiconductors:
the absorption coefficient has the form

α d = A(hν − E g )1 / 2

where A is a constant involving the properties of the

bands.
A useful application of these
results is their use in measuring
energy gaps in semiconductors.
Thus Eg is directly related to
the frequency edge, Eg = hυ0 .
This is now the standard
procedure for determining the
gap, because of its accuracy
and convenience.
Since the energy gaps in semiconductors are small (1 eV
or less) the fundamental edge usually occurs in the
infrared region.

For Indirect-Gap Semiconductors:

In this case, the electron cannot make a direct
transition from the top of the valence band to the
bottom of the conduction band because this would
violate the momentum selection rule.
 Such a transition may still take
place, but as a two-step process.
The electron absorbs both a
photon and a phonon
simultaneously. The photon
supplies the needed energy,
while the phonon supplies the required momentum.

The absorption coefficient in this case has the form

α i = A′(T )( hν − E g ) 2

where A'(T) is a constant depends on temperature due

to the phonon contribution to the process.
Note that αi increases as the second power of (hv - Eg),
much faster than the half-power of this energy
difference, as in the direct transition. So we may use
the optical method to discriminate between direct- and
indirect-gap semiconductors.
 The Gunn Effect
Hot electrons:
At high electric fields electrons gain more energy and,
their temperature Te may be higher than the lattice
temperature TL , i.e. the electrons become “hot”.

Gunn effect:
Deviation of the linear relation between ε ana J at high
electric fields to an oscillatory one known as Gunn
effect.

* to explain this we have to consider the band

structure of the semiconductors that show such
phenomena. eg. GaAs:

ΔE=0.36eV
* Under normal situations, all electrons move to the
central valley, and
J = n1eμ1ε

* When a strong electric field is applied, electrons will

be “hot” , and start to populate the secondary valley,
hence,
J = n1eμ1ε + n2eμ 2ε

* Since the effective mass of valley 2 is much larger

than that of valley 1 (m2 =5 m1), the mobility in valley
2 is very small (μ2 = μ1 /50 ). Because of this small
mobility of the secondary valley, the increase in J2 is
much smaller than the sharp decrease in J1. And as a
result the total current actually decreases.
 10. Superconductivity
• A superconductor: is a material that has zero
electrical resistance when cooled below a
particular transition temperature known as the
critical temperature (Tc).

• This zero resistivity (or infinite conductivity) is

called Superconductivity.

• Main characteristics:
1- Zero resistance: Under patrticular values of the
magnetic field ( Bc) and the current density (Jc) , the
superconductor material show a zero resistance.
 ⎡ ⎛ T ⎞2 ⎤ B
BT = Bc ⎢1 − ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ ⎥
⎢⎣ ⎝ Tc ⎠ ⎥⎦ Bc2

Bc1

Type l superconductor Type ll superconductor

2- Meissner effect : superconductors expel magnetic

flux such that B = 0 inside.

Important Notes:
1- Good conductors at RT do not superconduct at low
temp.
2- Tc of two different isotopes are found to be
proportional to M-1/2. where M is the atomic mass.
What are Cooper pairs?
Below Tc electrons form pairs mediated by phonons
known as Cooper pairs.

BCS theory:
Pairs of electrons can behave very differently from single
electrons which are fermions and must obey the Pauli
exclusion principle. The pairs of electrons act more like
bosons which can condense into the same energy level. The
electron pairs have a slightly lower energy and leave an energy
gap above them on the order of .001 eV which inhibits the
kind of collisions which lead to ordinary resistivity.
For temperatures such that the thermal energy is less than
the band gap, the material shows zero resistivity.
Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer received the Nobel Prize in
1972 for the development of the theory of superconductivity.

Simple picture:
• when two electrons pass near an ion, both are
attracted to the ion, leading to an effective
attraction between the electrons.
• Above Tc, Cooper pairs are easily destroyed

by thermal energy of the electrons , but below Tc,

Cooper pairs are stable.
 • Zero resistance arise because Cooper 1995

pairs cannot be scattered by the

normal scattering mechanisms in a
metal.
High Tc superconductors:
• Typical value of Tc ~ mK – several K.
• New class of superconductors
discovered in 1986, which have
considerable higher Tc ~ 30 – 138K.

Applications
* Transmission cables that carry current
without energy losses will increase the
capacity of the transmission system, saving
money, space, and energy.
* Motors and Generators made with superconducting
wires will be smaller and more efficient
* Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines
enhance medical diagnostics by imaging internal organs.
MRIs, which currently are made with low-temperature
superconductors, will be smaller and less expensive
when made with HTS.
* Maglev trains seem to
float on air as a result of
using superconducting
magnets. The newest
prototype may exceed 547
Km/hr.
 Superconducting magnets

The simplest, and perhaps most clear, application is to

use the supercurrent to generate an intense magnetic
field.
€ Let us first consider an electromagnet made from a
normal metal wire. The magnetic field produced by a long
solenoid is given by
B= μ0 n I
where n is the number of turns per unit length and I is
the current in the wire.

€ For example, the maximum current density for copper

is 400 A cm-2. Thus, an electromagnet formed by winding
150 turns per meter using copper wire of diameter 3 mm
will give maximum current equals to:

Imax= Jmax π r2= (400×104 A m-2)(3.14)(1.5×l0-3 m)2 = 28.3 A

Such current will produce maximum field of;

Bmax = = μ0 n Imax= 5.34×10-3 T
B

This is too small for most practical applications.

However, by placing an iron core within the solenoid,
this magnetic field can be enhanced to about 2T. The
main disadvantage of this arrangement is that the iron
core is extremely heavy and uncomfortable.
Let us now consider a similar structure using a
superconducting wire.
€ In this case the maximum current is determined by
the critical current density. Since it is common to
achieve critical current densities of 107 A cm-2, it is
possible to produce very large magnetic fields (of few
hundred tesla) with a superconducting solenoid.

€ An additional advantage is that no iron core is

required in this case. This dramatically reduces the size
and weight of the electromagnet and so opens up a whole
new range of applications which cannot be performed
using large and heavy conventional electromagnets.

SQUID magnetometers:
SQUID is an acronym for (Superconducting QUantum
Interference Device) magnetometer which is capable of
measuring extremely small magnetic fields. It has
already found applications in such various areas as
medicine (measuring the small magnetic fields produced
by activity in the brain), geology (detecting changes in
the Earth's magnetic field due to the presence of oil or
other mineral deposits) and particle physics (searching
for quarks and other exotic particles).