Solid state physics (winter term 2012/2013)

Lecturer:

Dr. Semn Gorfman (ENC B-011)

Exercise tutor: Ali Abboud (ENC B-025)

Solid State Physics: Questions/topics for the assessment

1. Crystallography
Definition of crystalline solids. Differences between crystalline and amorphous solids. Crystal
structure, crystal lattice and unit cell. Basis vectors of a crystal lattice. Lattice parameters.
Multiple choices of basis vectors of a crystal lattice. Separation of a lattice into the lattice
planes. Equation of lattice planes. Miller indices. Reciprocal basis vectors, reciprocal lattice:
definition and the reason for introduction. Crystal morphology, the angles between natural facets
of crystals. Symmetry operations: symmetry axes, mirror planes, inversion symmetry operation.
Theorem about symmetry of a crystal lattice. Lattice symmetries (crystal systems) in 2D and 3D
space. Bravais types of lattices (2D and 3D cases). Difference between crystal system and
Bravais lattices. The choice of lattice basis vectors / crystallographic unit cell in different crystal
systems. Relationship between Bravais types of normal and reciprocal lattices. Wigner-Seitz unit
cell and Brillouin zones.

2. The elements of X-ray diffraction theory

The experiment of Max von Laue (1912). General principles of X-ray diffraction phenomena.
Thomson scattering at a free electron. Polarization factor. The amplitude of X-ray scattering at
an arbitrary object. Real and reciprocal spaces. Scattering amplitude as a Fourier transform of an
electron density. Relationship between scattering amplitude and scattering intensity. Atomic
scattering factor. Calculation of atomic scattering factor. X-ray diffraction by crystals,
contribution of a crystal lattice and unit cell. Laue interference function. Structure factor. The
role of reciprocal lattice in the description of X-ray diffraction intensity. Laue equation. Bragg

equation. Derivation of Bragg equation from Laue equation. Systematic extinction rules for
different Bravais lattices.

3. Experimental techniques to study crystal structures

Generation of X-rays. Sealed X-ray tube. Continuous and characteristic parts of X-ray spectrum,
their physical origin. Synchrotron radiation. X-ray diffraction by a still (unmoved) crystal in a
monochromatic X-ray beam. Ewald sphere. X-ray diffraction by a rotated crystal, rocking curve.
Rotation photographs. Single crystal X-ray diffractometry. Powders. X-ray diffraction by
powder samples. Ewald construction for the case of powder diffraction. Angular positions of
powder diffraction peaks. Diffraction in a polychromatic beam. Laue method.

Ewald

construction for the case of diffraction in a polychromatic beam. Electron and neutron diffraction
techniques, the main differences between X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction.

4. Lattice dynamics
Harmonic approximation for the lattice potential. Mathematical description of the interatomic
force constants and potential energy. Normal vibration modes. Wave vector and frequency of a
normal vibration mode. Dynamical matrix. Eigenvectros and eigenvalues of a dynamical matrix.
Dispersion relations / dispersion curves. Acoustical and optical branches of dispersion curves.
Dispersion relation for the vibrations in chain of identical atoms. Dispersion relations for
diatomic chain. Relationship between dispersion curves of diatomic chain and a chain of
identical atoms.

5. Phonons
The energy of a normal vibration mode. Quantization of vibration energies. Phonons as
quasiparticles. Phonons creation and annihilation. Phonon population numbers as a function of
temperature. Bose - Einstein statistics. Energy stored in a phonon system.

6. Thermal properties of crystals

Heat capacity (definition). Lattice vibration contribution to the heat capacity of a crystal.
Periodic boundary conditions and density of states. Einstein and Debye model for the density of
states. Heat capacities according to Einstein and Debye model. Heat capacities of solids at high
and low temperature limits. Dulong Petit law. T3 law. The differences between Einstein and
Debye model.

7. Experimental methods to investigate phonon dispersion curves

General principles of inelastic scattering techniques. The momentum and energy conservation
equations. Inelastic neutron scattering. Experimental methods of the determination of energy of
neutron and X-ray photons. Time-of-flight based neutron scattering techniques. Monochromator
crystal based techniques. Synchrotron radiation based inelastic scattering experiment. Inelasic
scattering of light: Raman scattering and Brillouin scattering.

8. Electrons in crystals
Physical meaning of one-electron wave function. Atomic, molecular and crystal orbitals.
Shroedinger equation for an electron in a periodic potential and its solution in a general form.
Blochs theorem. Blochs functions. Blochs quantum number. Periodicity of Bloch function in
the k-space. Electron bands and typical band structure. Filling electron band states with
electrons. Pauli principle. Electron density of states. Number of electron states per single energy
band. Density of states of the free electron (Fermi) gas. Fermi energy for a free electron gas.
Fermi-Dirac distribution function. Fermi energy and Fermi level (what is the difference). The
model of nearly free electrons. Band structure for the model of nearly free electrons. Formation
of energy band gaps. Tight binding approximation.

9. Electronic properties of solids

Definition of electrical conductivity. The processes influencing conductivity in crystals.
Conductivity of a free electron gas. Representation of conductivity in the momentum space (kspace). The equation of motion of electrons in crystal under the influence of external force.
Quasi-classical equation of motion in a real space: effective mass of an electron in a crystal.
Contribution of completely filled and half-filled energy bands to the conductivity. Classification
of solids according to their electronic properties. Metals, insulators and semiconductors. Valence
and conduction bands.

11. The elements of physics semiconductors

Conductivity of pure semiconductor crystals at 0 K. Electron and hole related conductivity of
semiconductor. The equation of motion of a hole under the influence of applied external field.
Hole and electron effective masses. Thermal excitations of hole-electron pairs. Concentration of
conduction band electrons and valence band holes in pure semiconductor. Calculation of Fermi
level in pure semiconductor. Doping of semiconductor. Donor impurities. Donor impurity level.
Acceptor impurities. Acceptor impurity level. Calculation of Fermi level in doped
semiconductor. p-type and n-type semiconductors. Fermi levels in p-type and n-type
semiconductors. Semiconductor devices: p-n junction. Unbiased p-n junction. Energy scheme of
p-n junction. Formation of charge carrier depletion layer on the p-n junction in semiconductor.
Forward and reverse bias in p-n junction. Energy scheme of biased p-n junctions.