MS 1050 - Physics of Solids

- Ranjith Ramadurai
 Best nut-shell ever made by humankind

What is a metal?

Vast majority of what we see as elements are metals

PoS course Lecture 1 2

Metals occupy special position in study of solids, sharing a
variety of
properties.

Excellent conductors of heat and electricity

Ductile and malleable

Striking luster on freshly exposed surfaces.

Nucleus

Core electrons

Valence electrons
 Cohesion of matter

What holds atoms together?

Attractive electrostatic interaction between the ve charge of

Valence electrons and the +ve charges of atomic nuclei.

Magnetic forces and gravitational forces have negligible effects

ohesive energy:

nergy added to crystal to separate its components into neutral free atoms at
est at infinite separation with same electronic configuration

Energy differs from bond energy in certain conditions

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 Cohesive energies overview
kJ/mol
eV/atom
kC/mol

Cohesive energies for elemental solids

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 Consequence of cohesive energy

Melting point (K)

A1-Look at the bulk modulus of various elemental solid and give your 6
feedback on it
 What decides the properties of a solid ?

Nature of electron distribution in the

solid.

+ + +
+ +

+ + +

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 Physical Properties

How to understand metals behaviors? delocalized

cloud.

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 Historical Background

Accountability for these metallic features - starting point of modern

theory of solids.

Drude treated electron as gas obeying kinetic theory of gases

Time of a single collision is negligible and no interaction among particles.

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Metals occupy special position in study of solids, sharing
a variety of
properties.

Excellent conductors of heat and electricity

Ductile and malleable

Striking luster on freshly exposed surfaces.

Nucleus

Core electrons

Valence electrons 10
 Free electron theory (FET) of Metals
Apriori observations on the property modeling a metal
e (Za-Z)

eZa

eZ

Nucleus
e electronic charge
Core electrons
Z number of free electrons
Za number of electrons in a given metal atom.
Valence electrons

Drude constructed his theory of electrical and thermal conduction considering

a metal as a gas of electrons

Isolated metal condenses to form a metal - valence electrons wander - conduction electrons

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 Assumptions of Free Electron Theory

Major assumptions - borrowed from kinetic theory of gases

1. The free electrons collide with the massive ions. However, does not
interact with the positive ion core and also among them.

electron electron zero interaction independent electron approx.

electron ion interaction free electron approx.

indep. Electron approx is surprisingly good in many cases

free electron approx needs to be abandoned to arrive at even qualitative
understanding.

2. Collisions are instantaneous events - as in k.T of gases. abrupt change in velocity

after collision no memory.

collision with massive ion core - contradiction with k.T of gas.

e- - e- collision least important for many practical purposes.

Noncommitant - how the actual scattering takes place.

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 Assumptions of FET Contd..

3. The electron experiences a collision with a probability per unit time 1/.

Probability for electron to experience collision in dt dt/

- relaxation time, collision time, mean free time

instantaneous pick will/would experience(d) collision after/before Secs.

- magnitude independent of position and velocity.

4. Thermal equilibrium with surroundings - by collision.

after collision e emerges with new abrupt velocity local temp of collision

no memory effect.

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 FET Contd..

What would be the conduction electron

density? (no./cc)

N Avagadro number 6.023x1023

Z number of free electrons per atom.
m - mas density (g/cc)
A atomic mass of the element.
What would be the volume per conduction electron?
Cs 0.91 to Be 24.2 x 10 22

n = N/V

V = 1/n = , )1/3

R ranges from 0.99 to 2.98 x 10-8 cm. Few atomic distan

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 DC electrical conductivity

Ohms Law current flowing in a wire is proportional to the potential drop

V= IR

V potential drop, I - Current and R Resistance

R is independent of the V and I but dimensional dependence

To remove dimensional dependence - (resistivity) generally used

Resistivity characteristic of a material proportionality constant

relating electric field (E) and current density (j).

E = j

= R.A/L .cm
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 DC electrical conductivity Contd

Total charge through a conductor in a given time dt, and velocity v.

-nevdtA A cross sectional area

Current density j charge / area.time

j = -nev

v = eEt/m (Force.time/m)

Pick up electrons of interest at a given time.

Average time is
j = ne2E /m (j = E)

=
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 DC electrical conductivity Contd

Resistivity at 273K and normal atm. pressures few micro-ohm.cm.

Relaxation time in the range of 10-15 10-14 sec @ R.T

Mean free path of the electrons ~ 1 to 10

Consistent with Drudes assumption on collision.

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 18
Solid state physics, Ashcroft & Mermin
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Solid state physics, Ashcroft & Mermin
 Mobility

v = -eEt/m (Force.time/m)

On application of electric field electron responds with

drift velocity (vd)

In equilibrium electron keeps moving in random direction on

application of electric field it gains a net velocity.

How quickly the electrons can move in a conductor on application of E?

Mobility () measure of how quick an electron can move inside a conductor

= vd/E (m2/V.s)

Mobility = drift velocity / applied field.

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 Mobility Contd

= vd/E

Reminder: vd = -e E/m (Force.time/m)

= e /m

Metals conductivity is more important.

Higher carrier concentration and low mobility, lower carrier concentration

and higher mobility can give rise to similar conductivity.

Mobility is an insignificant entity in metals.

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 Mobility and drift velocity Contd

Eg. Cu wire of 1m length,1mm dia, density 8.94 g/cc and 3 Amp current

Vd ~ 0.00028 m/s roughly ~ 1 m/hour.

@ room temperature

Si has an electron mobility of ~ 1200 cm2/V.s (orientation dependent)

Ge has an electron mobility of ~ 1000 cm2/V.s

Cu has an electron mobility of ~ 23 cm2/V.s

Graphene a 2D solid electron mobility @ low temp 200000 cm2/V.s

High mobility needed mainly in semiconducting devices used for data

processing and optoelectronic applications.

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 DC electrical conductivity Contd

Resistivity at 273K and normal atm. pressures few micro-ohm.cm.

Relaxation time in the range of 10-15 10-14 sec @ R.T

Mean free path of the electrons ~ 1 to 10

Consistent with Drudes assumption on collision.

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 Resistivity in metals

Origin: Dominated by collision of conduction electrons with ions

@ lower temperatures resistivity dominated by scattering with impurities.

Net resistivity of a metal

= ion core + impurities

Resistivity of a metal is non zero at lower temperatures extrapolated

Resistivity @ 0K is Residual resistance of a metal.

Empirical observation is called Matthiessens Rule.

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