Introduction to the Electronic Properties of Materials

The subject of electronics, and in particular the electronic properties of materials, is one which has experienced unprecedented growth in the last thirty years. The discovery of the transistor and the subsequent development of integrated circuits has enabled us to manipulate and control the electronic properties of materials to such an extent that the entire telecommunications and computer industries are dependent on the electronic properties of a few semiconducting materials. The subject area is now so important that no modern physics, materials science or electrical engineering degree programme can be considered complete without a significant lecture course in electronic materials. Ultimately the course requirements of these three groups of students may be quite different, but at the initial stages of the discussion of electronic properties of materials, the course requirements are broadly identical for each of these groups. Furthermore, as the subject continues to grow in importance, the initial teaching of this vital subject needs to occur earlier in the curriculum in order to give the students sufficient time later to cover the increasing amount of material.

One Fundamentals of Electrons in Materials.- 1 Properties of a material continuum.- 1.1 Relationships between macroscopic properties of materials.- 1.2 Mechanical properties.- 1.3 Electrical properties.- 1.4 Optical properties.- 1.5 Thermal properties.- 1.6 Magnetic properties.- 1.7 Relationships between various bulk properties.- 1.8 Conclusions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 2 Properties of atoms in materials.- 2.1 The role of atoms within a material.- 2.2 The harmonic potential model.- 2.3 Specific heat capacity.- 2.4 Conclusions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 3 Conduction electrons in materials - classical approach.- 3.1 Electrons as classical particles in materials.- 3.2 Electrical properties and the classical free-electron model.- 3.3 Thermal properties and the classical free-electron model.- 3.4 Optical properties of metals.- 3.5 Conclusions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 4 Conduction electrons in materials - quantum corrections.- 4.1 Electronic contribution to specific heat.- 4.2 Wave equation for free electrons.- 4.3 Boundary conditions: the Sommerfeld model.- 4.4 Distribution of electrons among allowed energy levels.- 4.5 Material properties predicted by the quantum free-electron model.- 4.6 Conclusions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 5 Bound electrons and the periodic potential.- 5.1 Models for describing electrons in materials.- 5.2 Solution of the wave equation in a one-dimensionalperiodic square-well potential.- 5.3 The origin of energy bands in solids: the tight-bindingapproximation.- 5.4 Energy bands in a solid.- 5.5 Reciprocal or wave vector k-space.- 5.6 Examples of band structure diagrams.- 5.7 Conclusions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- Two Properties of Materials.- 6 Electronic properties of metals.- 6.1 Electrical conductivity of metals.- 6.2 Reflectance and absorption.- 6.3 The Fermi surface.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 7 Electronic properties of semiconductors.- 7.1 Electron band structures of semiconductors.- 7.2 Intrinsic semiconductors.- 7.3 Extrinsic (or impurity) semiconductors.- 7.4 Optical properties of semiconductors.- 7.5 Photoconductivity.- 7.6 The Hall effect.- 7.7 Effective mass and mobility of charge carriers.- 7.8 Semiconductor junctions.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 8 Electrical and thermal properties of materials.- 8.1 Macroscopic electrical properties.- 8.2 Quantum mechanical description of conduction electronbehaviour.- 8.3 Dielectric properties.- 8.4 Other effects caused by electric fields, magnetic fieldsand thermal gradients.- 8.5 Thermal properties of materials.- 8.6 Other thermal properties.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 9 Optical properties of materials.- 9.1 Optical properties.- 9.2 Intèrpretation of optical properties in terms of simplifiedelectron band structure.- 9.3 Band structure determination from optical spectra.- 9.4 Photoluminescence and electroluminesence.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- 10 Magnetic properties of materials.- 10.1 Magnetism in materials.- 10.2 Types of magnetic material.- 10.3 Microscopic classification of magnetic materials.- 10.4 Band electron theory of magnetism.- 10.5 The localized electron model of magnetism.- 10.6 Applications of magnetic materials.- References.- Further Reading.- Exercises.- Three Applications of Electronic Materials.- 11 Microelectronics - semiconductor technology.- 11.1 Use of materials for specific electronic functions.- 11.2 Semiconductor materials.- 11.3 Typical semiconductor devices.- 11.4 Microelectronic semiconductor devices.- 11.5 Future improvements in semiconductors.- References.- Further Reading.- 12 Optoelectronics - solid-state optical devices.- 12.1 Electronic materials with optical functions.- 12.2 Materials for optoelectronic devices.- 12.3 Lasers.- 12.4 Fibre optics and telecommunications.- 12.5 Liquid-crystal displays.- References.- Further Reading.- 13 Quantum electronics - supercondu