Matls 3Q03 Assignment #1, Due Date: January 29th, 2016.

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Materials Science and Engineering 3Q03

January 15th, 2016

Assignment #1

Deadline: Friday, Jan.29th, 2016, 2:59 pm.

Dropbox, MSE wing, third floor JHE
TA: Isobel Bicket
JHE A406, ext: 28625
email: bicketic@mcmaster.ca
Office hours: Wed. 3-4:30pm
Show your work for all solutions!
1. Silicon is one of the most common semiconductors found in electronic devices. For the following
questions, assume an electron freely travelling in a silicon lattice. Consider only thermal contributions
to the kinetic energy.
(a)

For a powered-off laptop at room temperature (25 deg C), calculate the kinetic energy of an
electron. Express your answer in Joules and in electron-volts.

(b)

Once the laptop is turned on and has been calculating game mechanics for a while, reaching an
internal temperature of 70 deg C, calculate the kinetic energy of an electron in the same silicon
chip. Express your answer in Joules and in electron-volts.

(c)

Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of the electron in (a), in nanometers. Assume an effective
mass in silicon of 0.98 melectron.

(d)

Given a lattice parameter in silicon of 5.43 , what minimum temperature does the electron
need to be at to diffract in this lattice (consider only thermal energy)? Is this likely to happen in
your laptop?

2. Radiation is emitted from the transition of an electron from a high energy atomic orbital to a lower
orbital. You may use Bohr theory for the following questions.
(a)

Calculate the energy, momentum, wavelength, and frequency of a photon emitted from the
transition between the lowest two allowed orbitals of a neon atom.

(b)

Do the same calculations for the energy, momentum, wavelength, and frequency of a photon
emitted from the transition between the same orbitals in a xenon atom.

(c)

What regions of the spectrum do the photons you considered in (a) and (b) belong to?

Matls 3Q03 Assignment #1, Due Date: January 29th, 2016.

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3. For this problem we will consider the behaviour of an electron incident on a potential barrier, as
might be encountered by a junction between two semiconductor materials or a change in the electronic
structure of a material.

(a)

The general solution to Schrdinger's wave equation (Equation 3.1) for an electron travelling in
region 1 (V1 = 0) in the figure above is given by Equation 3.2:
Equation 3.1:
Equation 3.2:

! ! !! !
!! !

!! !!!
!

! = 0

! = ! ! + ! !

Explain what the terms 1, 1, and 1 mean in this equation in terms of the electron wave. Give
an expression for 1 based on the relationship between Equation 3.1 and 3.2.
(b)

Solve Equation 3.1 for an electron wave travelling in region 2, 2, if E < V2. Apply appropriate
boundary conditions based on your knowledge of physics and the parameters in the equations
given above. What does the solution tell you about the electron in region 2?

(c)

Another, more general, solution to Schrdinger's wave equation (not for the geometry given
above) is given by Equation 3.3.
Equation 3.3:

, =

+ +

What is the difference between Equation 3.2 and 3.3 and why are they different?
What does the variable represent in terms of the electron wave?
4. Both x-rays and electrons are used to study the structure of crystalline matter. The Cu K1 line is
often used in x-ray diffraction experiments, while electron diffraction experiments are often done in
an electron microscope at high accelerating voltages.
(a)

Find the energy of this x-ray line. From this energy, calculate the wavelength and momentum of
the x-ray photon.

(b)

Assuming an electron energy of 200 keV, calculate the wavelength and momentum of the
electron.

(c)

How does the spatial resolution compare, based on the wavelength of the two waves considered
in (a) and (b)?

(d)

Which of these particles is more likely to cause knock-on damage to the sample, based on
considerations of momentum transfer?
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