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Electrical
properties of
materials
EIGHTH EDITION

L. Solymar
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Imperial College, London

D. Walsh
Department of Engineering Science
University of Oxford

1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
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Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
in the UK and in certain other countries
Published in the United States
by Oxford University Press Inc., New York
© Oxford University Press, 1970, 1979, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2010
First edition 1970
Second edition 1979
Third edition 1984
Fourth edition 1988
Fifth edition 1993
Sixth edition 1998, reprinted 1999
Seventh edition 2004
Eighth edition 2010
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
Database right Oxford University Press (maker)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press,
or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate
reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,
Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Data available
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
on acid-free paper by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wilts
ISBN 978–0–19–956592–4 (HB)
ISBN 978–0–19–956591–7 (PB)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Data on specific materials
in text

Errors using inadequate data are much

less than using no data at all
Charles Babbage

Table 1.1 Threshold wavelengths for alkali metals 11

Table 1.2 Electrical and thermal conductivities measured at 20
293 K
Figure 4.5 The periodic table of the elements 60
Table 4.1 The electronic configurations of the elements 62
Table 5.1 Mohs hardness scale (modified) 70
Table 6.1 Fermi levels of metals 84
Table 6.2 Work functions of metals 88
Figure 6.10 Field-ion micrograph of a tungsten tip 94
Table 8.1 Energy levels of donor (group V) and acceptor 125
(group III) impurities in Ge and Si
Figure 8.7 Electron and hole mobilities in Ge and Si as a 132
function of impurity concentration
Figure 8.8 Electron and hole mobilities in GaAs as a 134
function of impurity concentration
Table 8.2 Size of atoms in tetrahedral bonds 135
Table 8.3 Semiconductor properties I. Energy gap and 136
structure
Table 8.4 Semiconductor properties II. Current carriers 142
Figure 8.18 (a) General arrangement of an optical 146
transmission measurement and the result for
(b) GaAs and (c) Si
Exercise 9.6 Specific doping data in Ge and Si 219
Table 10.1 Dielectric constant and refractive index of some 227
non-polar, weakly polor, polar, and
semiconducting materials
Table 10.2 Frequencies of maximum reflection (fr ) and 233
minimum transmission (ft ) for a number of
alkali halides
Table 10.3 Piezoelectric ceramics 237
xiv Data on specific materials in text

Exercise 10.5 Dielectric loss in thoria 247

Figure 11.9 Hysteresis loops of (a) Supermalloy and 259
(b) Alnico 5 and 9
Table 11.1 Major families of soft magnetic materials with 261
typical properties
Figure 11.12 Hysteresis curves of some rare-earth magnets in 263
the second quadrant
Table 11.2 Hard magnetic materials 263
Exercise 11.6 Magnetic susceptibility of Ni at varying 284
temperature
Figure 12.15 Relationship between energy gap and lattice 307
spacing for some mixed III–V semiconductors
Table 12.1 Compounds for laser diodes 307
Table 13.1 Electronegativities of elements 332
Table 13.2 Properties of electro-optic materials 335
Table 13.3 Properties of some materials used for 342
acousto-optic interaction
Table 14.1 The critical temperature and critical magnetic 364
field of a number of superconducting elements
Figure 14.9 Temperature dependence of the specific heat of 370
tin near the critical temperature (after Keesom
and Kok, 1932)
Figure 14.13 The temperature variation of the energy gap 378
(related to the energy gap at T = 0) as a function
of T /Tc
Table 14.2 The critical temperature and critical magnetic 383
field (at T = 4.2 K) of the more important hard
superconductors
Figure 14.21 The maximum critical temperature against time 385
for traditional and oxide superconductors
Table 14.3 Approximate critical temperatures (K) of a 386
selection of high-Tc superconductors
Figure 14.24 Critical current densities as a function of 389
magnetic field at 77 K (- - -) and at 4.2 K(- - -) for
BSCCO, Nb–Ti and Nb3 Sn
Figure A1.4 The benzene series, showing optical absorption 419
progressing from the uv to the visible
Appendix III Physical constants 426
 Introduction
Till now man has been up against Nature;
from now on he will be up against his own nature.
Dennis Gabor Inventing the future
It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.
W.S. Churchill Roving commission in my early life (1930)

Engineering used to be a down-to-earth profession. The Roman engineers, who

provided civilized Europe with bridges and roads, did a job comprehensible to
all. And this is still true in most branches of engineering today. Bridge-building
has become a sophisticated science, the mathematics of optimum structures
is formidable; nevertheless, the basic relationships are not far removed from
common sense. A heavier load is more likely to cause a bridge to collapse, and
the use of steel instead of wood will improve the load-carrying capacity.
Solid-state electronic devices are in a different category. In order to
understand their behaviour, you need to delve into quantum mechanics. Is
quantum mechanics far removed from common sense? Yes, for the time being,
it is. We live in a classical world. The phenomena we meet every day are classical
phenomena. The fine details represented by quantum mechanics are averaged
out; we have no first-hand experience of the laws of quantum mechanics; we
can only infer the existence of certain relationships from the final outcome. Will
it be always this way? Not necessarily. There are quantum phenomena known to
exist on a macroscopic scale as, for example, superconductivity, and it is quite
likely that certain biological processes will be found to represent macroscopic
quantum phenomena. So, a ten-year-old might be able to give a summary of
the laws of quantum mechanics—half a century hence. For the time being there
is no easy way to quantum mechanics; no short cuts and no broad highways.
We just have to struggle through. I believe it will be worth the effort. It will
be your first opportunity to glance behind the scenes, to pierce the surface and
find the grandiose logic of a hidden world.
Should engineers be interested at all in hidden mysteries? Isn’t that the duty
and privilege of the physicists? I do not think so. If you want to invent new
electronic devices, you must be able to understand the operation of the existing
ones. And perhaps you need to more than merely understand the physical
mechanism. You need to grow familiar with the world of atoms and electrons,
to feel at home among them, to appreciate their habits and characters.
We shall not be able to go very deeply into the subject. Time is short, and few
of you will have the mathematical apparatus for the frontal assault. So we shall
approach the subject in carefully planned steps. First, we shall try to deduce
as much information as possible on the basis of the classical picture. Then, we
shall talk about a number of phenomena that are clearly in contrast with classical
ideas and introduce quantum mechanics, starting with Schrödinger’s equation.
You will become acquainted with the properties of individual atoms and what
happens when they conglomerate and take the form of a solid. You will hear
xvi Introduction

about conductors, insulators, semiconductors, p–n junctions, transistors, lasers,

superconductors, and a number of related solid-state devices. Sometimes the
statement will be purely qualitative but in most cases we shall try to give the
essential quantitative relationships.
These lectures will not make you an expert in quantum mechanics nor will
they enable you to design a computer the size of a matchbox. They will give
you no more than a general idea.
If you elect to specialize in solid-state devices you will, no doubt, delve more
deeply into the intricacies of the theory and into the details of the technology. If
you should work in a related subject then, presumably, you will keep alive your
interest, and you may occasionally find it useful to be able to think in quantum-
mechanical terms. If your branch of engineering has nothing to do with quantum
mechanics, would you be able to claim in ten years’ time that you profited from
this course? I hope the answer to this question is yes. I believe that once you
have been exposed (however superficially) to quantum-mechanical reasoning,
it will leave permanent marks on you. It will influence your ideas on the nature
of physical laws, on the ultimate accuracy of measurements, and, in general,
will sharpen your critical faculties.
Preface to the eighth edition

Once more we have taken the opportunity to bring our book up to date. The
major change is due to the recent upsurge of interest in artificial materials
(metamaterials in the modern jargon), which persuaded us to turn a small
appendix into a full-blown chapter. In order to supply the theoretical foundations
for this new chapter we have expanded our coverage of plasma phenomena in
Chapter 1, and included a section in Chapter 10 on anomalous dispersion with
the aim to introduce backward waves. Another expansion of Chapter 10 is due to
the increasing interest in THz devices. We have included a treatment of optical
phonons which have resonances in that frequency range.
Given the five years since the last edition, it is not surprising that we had
to make some changes in every chapter, occasionally because we thought that
the existing explanation could be improved upon, but mostly because of new
developments. The chapter that received the greatest amount of new additions
is that on semiconductor devices. We have included plasma etching, expanded
the treatment of microelectromechanical systems, and pointed out the means
by which those further miraculous reductions in minimum feature size have
taken place. The progress in spintronics has been noted by trebling the size of
the relevant section. The main addition to the laser chapter is on quantum dot
devices; we have also added a brief section on laser cooling. The main change
in the chapter on optoelectronics is our reassessment of too optimistic previous
predictions on LEDs. Some modest advances in superconductors have also been
noted. We have added new entries to existing tables and introduced three new
tables: on infrared resonances of alkali halides, on piezoelectric constants, and
on the critical temperatures of high-Tc superconductors.
Additions of which we could have thought earlier are explicit references to
Nobel Prizes whenever we write about the relevant topics. We ourselves were
surprised that the number of Nobel laureates included came to a figure as high
as 50. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the research that has had the greatest
influence upon the way we live has also attracted the best scientific minds. A
list of these Nobel laureates is given in Appendix II.
We wish to thank, first, all those students and lecturers whose comments
helped us to prepare this edition. We are grateful to Richard Syms, who gave
us all the information needed to include mass spectrometers in Section 9.26
and who kindly read the final draft. We also wish to acknowledge the help we
received from John Allen, Kristel Fobelets, and Paul Stavrinou, all of them from
Imperial College, London, in the field of semiconductor devices and lasers.
Contents

Data on specific materials in text xiii

Introduction xv

1 The electron as a particle

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The effect of an electric field—conductivity and Ohm’s law 2
1.3 The hydrodynamic model of electron flow 4
1.4 The Hall effect 5
1.5 Electromagnetic waves in solids 6
1.6 Waves in the presence of an applied magnetic field: cyclotron resonance 13
1.7 Plasma waves 16
1.8 Heat 19
Exercises 21

2 The electron as a wave

2.1 Introduction 23
2.2 The electron microscope 26
2.3 Some properties of waves 27
2.4 Applications to electrons 29
2.5 Two analogies 31
Exercises 33

3 The electron
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Schrödinger’s equation 36
3.3 Solutions of Schrödinger’s equation 37
3.4 The electron as a wave 38
3.5 The electron as a particle 39
3.6 The electron meeting a potential barrier 39
3.7 Two analogies 42
3.8 The electron in a potential well 43
3.9 The potential well with a rigid wall 45
3.10 The uncertainty relationship 45
3.11 Philosophical implications 46
Exercises 48
vi Contents

4 The hydrogen atom and the periodic table

4.1 The hydrogen atom 51
4.2 Quantum numbers 56
4.3 Electron spin and Pauli’s exclusion principle 57
4.4 The periodic table 57
Exercises 61

5 Bonds
5.1 Introduction 64
5.2 General mechanical properties of bonds 65
5.3 Bond types 67
5.3.1 Ionic bonds 67
5.3.2 Metallic bonds 68
5.3.3 The covalent bond 68
5.3.4 The van der Waals bond 71
5.3.5 Mixed bonds 72
5.3.6 Carbon again 72
5.4 Feynman’s coupled mode approach 73
5.5 Nuclear forces 78
5.6 The hydrogen molecule 78
5.7 An analogy 79
Exercises 80

6 The free electron theory of metals

6.1 Free electrons 81
6.2 The density of states and the Fermi–Dirac distribution 82
6.3 The specific heat of electrons 85
6.4 The work function 86
6.5 Thermionic emission 86
6.6 The Schottky effect 89
6.7 Field emission 92
6.8 The field-emission microscope 92
6.9 The photoelectric effect 93
6.10 Quartz–halogen lamps 95
6.11 The junction between two metals 95
Exercises 96

7 The band theory of solids

7.1 Introduction 98
7.2 The Kronig–Penney model 99
7.3 The Ziman model 102
7.4 The Feynman model 106
7.5 The effective mass 109
7.6 The effective number of free electrons 111
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 Contents vii

7.7 The number of possible states per band 112

7.8 Metals and insulators 114
7.9 Holes 114
7.10 Divalent metals 116
7.11 Finite temperatures 117
7.12 Concluding remarks 118
Exercises 119

8 Semiconductors
8.1 Introduction 120
8.2 Intrinsic semiconductors 120
8.3 Extrinsic semiconductors 125
8.4 Scattering 129
8.5 A relationship between electron and hole densities 131
8.6 III–V and II–VI compounds 133
8.7 Non-equilibrium processes 137
8.8 Real semiconductors 138
8.9 Amorphous semiconductors 140
8.10 Measurement of semiconductor properties 140
8.10.1 Mobility 140
8.10.2 Hall coefficient 143
8.10.3 Effective mass 143
8.10.4 Energy gap 144
8.10.5 Carrier lifetime 148
8.11 Preparation of pure and controlled-impurity single-crystal semiconductors 148
8.11.1 Crystal growth from the melt 148
8.11.2 Zone refining 149
8.11.3 Floating zone purification 150
8.11.4 Epitaxial growth 151
8.11.5 Molecular beam epitaxy 152
8.11.6 Metal–organic chemical vapour deposition 153
8.11.7 Hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) for nitride devices 154
Exercises 155

9 Principles of semiconductor devices

9.1 Introduction 157
9.2 The p–n junction in equilibrium 157
9.3 Rectification 162
9.4 Injection 164
9.5 Junction capacity 166
9.6 The transistor 166
9.7 Metal–semiconductor junctions 172
9.8 The role of surface states; real metal–semiconductor junctions 174
9.9 Metal–insulator–semiconductor junctions 176
9.10 The tunnel diode 179
9.11 The backward diode 182
9.12 The Zener diode and the avalanche diode 182
9.12.1 Zener breakdown 183
9.12.2 Avalanche breakdown 183
9.13 Varactor diodes 184
viii Contents

9.14 Field-effect transistors 185

9.15 Heterostructures 190
9.16 Charge-coupled devices 194
9.17 Silicon controlled rectifier 196
9.18 The Gunn effect 197
9.19 Strain gauges 200
9.20 Measurement of magnetic field by the Hall effect 201
9.21 Gas sensors 201
9.22 Microelectronic circuits 201
9.23 Plasma etching 205
9.24 Recent techniques for overcoming limitations 207
9.25 Building in the third dimension 208
9.26 Microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) 209
9.26.1 A movable mirror 210
9.26.2 A mass spectrometer on a chip 211
9.27 Nanoelectronics 213
9.28 Social implications 217
Exercises 218

10 Dielectric materials
10.1 Introduction 220
10.2 Macroscopic approach 220
10.3 Microscopic approach 221
10.4 Types of polarization 222
10.5 The complex dielectric constant and the refractive index 223
10.6 Frequency response 224
10.7 Anomalous dispersion 225
10.8 Polar and non-polar materials 226
10.9 The Debye equation 228
10.10 The effective field 229
10.11 Acoustic waves 231
10.12 Dielectric breakdown 235
10.12.1 Intrinsic breakdown 235
10.12.2 Thermal breakdown 235
10.12.3 Discharge breakdown 236
10.13 Piezoelectricity 236
10.14 Interaction of optical phonons with drifting electrons 241
10.15 Ferroelectrics 242
10.16 Optical fibres 243
10.17 The Xerox process 245
10.18 Liquid crystals 245
Exercises 247

11 Magnetic materials
11.1 Introduction 249
11.2 Macroscopic approach 250
11.3 Microscopic theory (phenomenological) 250
11.4 Domains and the hysteresis curve 254
 Contents ix

11.5 Soft magnetic materials 258

11.6 Hard magnetic materials (permanent magnets) 260
11.7 Microscopic theory (quantum-mechanical) 264
11.7.1 The Stern–Gerlach experiment 268
11.7.2 Paramagnetism 268
11.7.3 Paramagnetic solids 270
11.7.4 Antiferromagnetism 271
11.7.5 Ferromagnetism 271
11.7.6 Ferrimagnetism 272
11.7.7 Garnets 272
11.7.8 Helimagnetism 272
11.8 Magnetic resonance 272
11.8.1 Paramagnetic resonance 272
11.8.2 Electron spin resonance 273
11.8.3 Ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and
ferrimagnetic resonance 273
11.8.4 Nuclear magnetic resonance 273
11.8.5 Cyclotron resonance 274
11.8.6 The quantum Hall effect 274
11.9 Some applications 276
11.9.1 Magnetic bubbles 276
11.9.2 Magnetoresistance and spintronics 278
11.9.3 Isolators 282
11.9.4 Sensors 283
11.9.5 Medical imaging 283
11.9.6 Electric motors 284
Exercises 284

12 Lasers
12.1 Equilibrium 286
12.2 Two-state systems 286
12.3 Lineshape function 290
12.4 Absorption and amplification 292
12.5 Resonators and conditions of oscillation 292
12.6 Some practical laser systems 293
12.6.1 Solid state lasers 294
12.6.2 The gaseous discharge laser 295
12.6.3 Dye lasers 296
12.6.4 Gas-dynamic lasers 297
12.6.5 Excimer lasers 298
12.6.6 Chemical lasers 298
12.7 Semiconductor lasers 298
12.7.1 Fundamentals 298
12.7.2 Wells, wires, and dots 303
12.7.3 Bandgap engineering 307
12.7.4 Quantum cascade lasers 309
12.8 Laser modes and control techniques 310
12.8.1 Transverse modes 310
12.8.2 Axial modes 311
12.8.3 Q switching 312
12.8.4 Cavity dumping 312
12.8.5 Mode locking 312
12.9 Parametric oscillators 313
12.10 Optical fibre amplifiers 314
12.11 Masers 315
12.12 Noise 317
x Contents

12.13 Applications 317

12.13.1 Nonlinear optics 318
12.13.2 Spectroscopy 318
12.13.3 Photochemistry 318
12.13.4 Study of rapid events 318
12.13.5 Plasma diagnostics 319
12.13.6 Plasma heating 319
12.13.7 Acoustics 319
12.13.8 Genetics 319
12.13.9 Metrology 319
12.13.10 Manipulation of atoms by light 319
12.13.11 Optical radar 320
12.13.12 Optical discs 320
12.13.13 Medical applications 321
12.13.14 Machining 321
12.13.15 Sensors 321
12.13.16 Communications 322
12.13.17 Nuclear applications 323
12.13.18 Holography 323
12.14 The atom laser 326
Exercises 327

13 Optoelectronics
13.1 Introduction 328
13.2 Light detectors 329
13.3 Light emitting diodes (LEDs) 331
13.4 Electro-optic, photorefractive, and nonlinear materials 334
13.5 Volume holography and phase conjugation 336
13.6 Acousto-optic interaction 340
13.7 Integrated optics 342
13.7.1 Waveguides 344
13.7.2 Phase shifter 344
13.7.3 Directional coupler 345
13.7.4 Filters 347
13.8 Spatial light modulators 347
13.9 Nonlinear Fabry–Perot cavities 349
13.10 Optical switching 352
13.11 Electro-absorption in quantum well structures 354
13.11.1 Excitons 354
13.11.2 Excitons in quantum wells 355
13.11.3 Electro-absorption 355
13.11.4 Applications 357
Exercises 359

14 Superconductivity
14.1 Introduction 361
14.2 The effect of a magnetic field 363
14.2.1 The critical magnetic field 363
14.2.2 The Meissner effect 364
14.3 Microscopic theory 365
14.4 Thermodynamical treatment 366
14.5 Surface energy 370
14.6 The Landau–Ginzburg theory 372
 Contents xi

14.7 The energy gap 378

14.8 Some applications 382
14.8.1 High-field magnets 382
14.8.2 Switches and memory elements 383
14.8.3 Magnetometers 383
14.8.4 Metrology 384
14.8.5 Suspension systems and motors 384
14.8.6 Radiation detectors 385
14.8.7 Heat valves 385
14.9 High-T c superconductors 385
14.10 New superconductors 390
Exercises 392

15 Artificial materials or metamaterials

15.1 Introduction 394
15.2 Natural and artificial materials 395
15.3 Photonic bandgap materials 396
15.4 Equivalent plasma frequency of a wire medium 398
15.5 Resonant elements for metamaterials 400
15.6 Polarizability of a current-carrying resonant loop 401
15.7 Effective permeability 402
15.8 Effect of negative material constants 405
15.9 The ‘perfect’ lens 407
15.10 Detectors for magnetic resonance imaging 413

Epilogue 415
Appendix I: Organic semiconductors 417
Appendix II: Nobel laureates 424
Appendix III: Physical constants 426
Appendix IV: Variational calculus. Derivation of Euler’s equation 428
Appendix V: Suggestions for further reading 430
Answers to exercises 433

Index 437
 The electron as a particle
1
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees.
Shelley The Cloud

1.1 Introduction
In the popular mind the electron lives as something very small that has
something to do with electricity. Studying electromagnetism does not change
the picture appreciably. You learn that the electron can be regarded as a negative
point charge and it duly obeys the laws of mechanics and electromagnetism. It
is a particle that can be accelerated or decelerated but cannot be taken to bits.
Is this picture likely to benefit an engineer? Yes, if it helps him to produce a
device. Is it a correct picture? Well, an engineer is not concerned with the truth;
that is left to philosophers and theologians: the prime concern of an engineer
is the utility of the final product. If this physical picture makes possible the
birth of the vacuum tube, we must deem it useful; but if it fails to account for
the properties of the transistor then we must regard its appeal as less alluring.
There is no doubt, however, that we can go quite far by regarding the electron
as a particle even in a solid—the subject of our study.
What does a solid look like? It consists of atoms. This idea originated a few
thousand years ago in Greece, and has had some ups and downs in history, but
today its truth is universally accepted. Now if matter consists of atoms, they
must be somehow piled upon each other. The science that is concerned with the
spatial arrangement of atoms is called crystallography. It is a science greatly
revered by crystallographers; engineers are respectful, but lack enthusiasm.
This is because the need to visualize structures in three dimensions adds to the
hard enough task of thinking about what the electron will do next. For this
chapter, let us assume that all materials crystallize in the simple cubic structure
of Fig. 1.1, with the lattice ions fixed (it is a solid) and some electrons are
free to wander between them. This will shortly enable us to explain Ohm’s
law, the Hall effect and several other important events. But if you are sceptical
about over simplification, look forward to Fig. 5.3 to see how the elemental
semiconductors crystallize in the diamond structure, or get a greater shock with
Fig. 5.4 which shows a form of carbon that was discovered in meteorites but
has only recently been fabricated in laboratories.
Let us specify our model a little more closely. If we postulate the existence
of a certain number of electrons capable of conducting electricity, we must
also say that a corresponding amount of positive charge exists in the solid. It Fig. 1.1
must look electrically neutral to the outside world. Second, in analogy with Atoms crystallizing in a cubical
our picture of gases, we may assume that the electrons bounce around in the lattice.
2 The electron as a particle

interatomic spaces, colliding occasionally with lattice atoms. We may even go

further with this analogy and claim that in equilibrium the electrons follow the
same statistical distribution as gas molecules (that is, the Maxwell–Boltzmann
distribution) which depends strongly on the temperature of the system. The
average kinetic energy of each degree of freedom is then 12 kB T where T is
absolute temperature and kB is Boltzmann’s constant. So we may say that the
∗ We shall see later that this is not so for mean thermal velocity of electrons is given by the formula∗
metals but it is nearly true for conduction
2
electrons in semiconductors. 1
2 mvth = 32 kT (1.1)
vth is the thermal velocity, and m is
the mass of the electron. because particles moving in three dimensions have three degrees of freedom.
We shall now calculate some observable quantities on the basis of this
simplest model and see how the results compare with experiment. The success
of this simple model is somewhat surprising, but we shall see as we proceed
that viewing a solid, or at least a metal, as a fixed lattice of positive ions held
together by a jelly-like mass of electrons approximates well to the modern view
of the electronic structure of solids. Some books discuss mechanical properties
in terms of dislocations that can move and spread; the solid is then pictured as a
fixed distribution of negative charge in which the lattice ions can move. These
views are almost identical; only the external stimuli are different.

1.2 The effect of an electric field—conductivity

and Ohm’s law
Suppose a potential difference U is applied between the two ends of a solid
length L. Then an electric field
U
E= (1.2)
L
is present at every point in the solid, causing an acceleration
e
a = E. (1.3)
m
Thus, the electrons, in addition to their random velocities, will acquire a velocity
in the direction of the electric field. We may assume that this directed velocity
is completely lost after each collision, because an electron is much lighter than
a lattice atom. Thus, only the part of this velocity that is picked up in between
collisions counts. If we write τ for the average time between two collisions, the
final velocity of the electron will be aτ and the average velocity
vaverage = 12 aτ . (1.4)
This is simple enough but not quite correct. We should not use the average time
† See, for example, W. Shockley, between collisions to calculate the average velocity but the actual times and
Electrons and holes in semiconductors, then the average. The correct derivation is fairly lengthy, but all it gives is a
D. van Nostrand, New York, 1950, pp. factor of 2.† Numerical factors like 2 or 3 or π are generally not worth worrying
191–5. about in simple models, but just to agree with the formulae generally quoted in
the literature, we shall incorporate that factor 2, and use
vaverage = aτ . (1.5)
The average time between collisions, τ , has many other names; for example,
mean free time, relaxation time, and collision time. Similarly, the average
 The effect of an electric field—conductivity and Ohm’s law 3

velocity is often referred to as the mean velocity or drift velocity. We shall call
them ‘collision time’ and ‘drift velocity’, denoting the latter by vD .
The relationship between drift velocity and electric field may be obtained
from eqns (1.3) and (1.5), yielding

e 
vD = τ E, (1.6)
m

where the proportionality constant in parentheses is called the ‘mobility’. This The higher the mobility, the more
is the only name it has, and it is quite a logical one. mobile the electrons.
Assuming now that all electrons drift with their drift velocity, the total
number of electrons crossing a plane of unit area per second may be obtained
by multiplying the drift velocity by the density of electrons, Ne . Multiplying
further by the charge on the electron we obtain the electric current density

J = Ne evD . (1.7)

Notice that it is only the drift velocity, created by the electric field, that
comes into the expression. The random velocities do not contribute to the
electric current because they average out to zero.∗ ∗ They give rise, however, to electrical
We can derive similarly the relationship between current density and electric noise in a conductor. Its value is
usually much smaller than the signals
field from eqns (1.6) and (1.7) in the form we are concerned with so we shall not
worry about it, although some of the
most interesting engineering problems
Ne e2 τ arise just when signal and noise are
J = E. (1.8) comparable.
m

This is a linear relationship which you may recognize as Ohm’s law

J = σE, (1.9)

where σ is the electrical conductivity. When first learning about electricity you
looked upon σ as a bulk constant; now you can see what it comprises of. We
can write it in the form In metals, incidentally, the
mobilities are quite low, about two
e  orders of magnitude below those
σ = τ (Ne e) of semiconductors; so their high
m
= μe (Ne e). (1.10) conductivity is due to the high
density of electrons.

That is, we may regard conductivity as the product of two factors, charge density
(Ne e) and mobility (μe ). Thus, we may have high conductivities because there
† It seems reasonable at this stage to
are lots of electrons around or because they can acquire high drift velocities,
assume that the charge and mass of the
by having high mobilities. electron and the number of electrons
Ohm’s law further implies that σ is a constant, which means that τ must present will be independent of the electric
be independent of electric field.† From our model so far it is more reasonable field.
4 The electron as a particle

to assume that l, the distance between collisions (usually called the mean free
path) in the regularly spaced lattice, rather than τ , is independent of electric
field. But l must be related to τ by the relationship,

l = τ (vth + vD ). (1.11)

Since vD varies with electric field, τ must also vary with the field unless

vth  vD . (1.12)

In a typical metal μe = 5 × As Ohm’s law is accurately true for most metals, this inequality should hold.
10−3 m2 V−1 s−1 , which gives a The thermal velocity at room temperature according to eqn (1.1) (which actually
drift velocity vD of 5 × 10−3 m s−1 gives too low a value for metals) is
for an electric field of 1 V m−1 .
 1/2
3kT ∼
vth = = 105 m s−1 . (1.13)
m

∗ This is less true for semiconductors as

Thus, there will be a constant relationship between current and electric field
they violate Ohm’s law at high electric accurate to about 1 part in 108 .∗
fields.
This important consideration can be emphasized in another way. Let us draw
vx
the graph (Fig. 1.2) of the distribution of particles in velocity space, that is with
rectilinear axes representing velocities in three dimensions, vx , vy , vz . With
no electric field present, the distribution is spherically symmetric about the
origin. The surface of a sphere of radius vth represents all electrons moving in
vth all possible directions with that r.m.s. speed. When a field is applied along the
x-axis (say), the distribution is minutely perturbed (the electrons acquire some
additional velocity in the direction of the x-axis) so that its centre shifts from
vx (0, 0, 0) to about (vth /108 , 0, 0).
Taking copper, a field of 1 V m−1 causes a current density of 108 A m−2 .
vy It is quite remarkable that a current density of this magnitude can be achieved
with an almost negligible perturbation of the electron velocity distribution.
Fig. 1.2
Distributions of electrons in velocity
space.
1.3 The hydrodynamic model of electron flow
By considering the flow of a charged fluid, a sophisticated model may be
developed. We shall use it only in its crudest form, which does not give much
of a physical picture but leads quickly to the desired result.
The equation of motion for an electron is

dv
m = eE . (1.14)
dt

If we now assume that the electron moves in a viscous medium, then the
forces trying to change the momentum will be resisted. We may account for
this by adding a ‘momentum-destroying’ term, proportional to v. Taking the
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