Electrical Properties and Electronic Structures

Group #7

Group members :
· Eufracio, Kenneth San Buenaventura

· Rivera, Federico Jr Fortunato

· Manera, John Carlo Babaran

· Bata, John Lister Barbo

Materials Science and Engineering

M-F/5:00-7:00pm

CEIT-29-202P
Electrical Properties
1) Electrical Conduction- is the movement of electrically charged particles through a
transmission medium. The movement can form an electric current in response to an electric field.
The underlying mechanism for this movement depends on the material.

· Ohm’s Law- states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly
proportional to the voltage across the two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality, the
resistance one arrives at the usual mathematical equation that describes this relationship.

· Electrical Conductivity- is the measure of the amount of electrical current a material can
carry or it's ability to carry a current. Electrical conductivity is also known as specific
conductance. Conductivity is an intrinsic property of a material.

· Ionic Conduction-is the movement of an ion from one site to another through defects in the
crystal lattice of a solid or aqueous solution. Ionic conduction is one mechanism of current.

·Electrical Conduction-Electrical conduction is the movement of electrically charged

particles through a transmission medium. The movement can form an electric current in
response to an electric field. The underlying mechanism for this movement depends on the
material.

· Energy Band Structures in Solids- When atoms come together to form a solid, their valence
electrons interact due to Coulomb forces, and they also feel the electric field produced by their
own nucleus and that of the other atoms. In addition, two specific quantum mechanical effects
happen. First, by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, two specific quantum mechanical effects
happen. First, by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, constraining the electrons to a small volume
raises their energy, this is called promotion. The second effect, due to Pauli Exclusion Principle,
limits the number of electrons that can have the same property (which include the energy). As a
result of all these effects, the valence electrons of atoms form wide valence bands when they
form a solid. The bands are separated by gaps, where electrons cannot exist. The precise location
of the bands and band gaps depends on the type of atom, the distance between atoms in the solid,
and the atomic arrangemen.

· Conduction-occurs when two object at different temperatures are in contact with each other.
Heat flows from the warmer to the cooler object until they are both at the same temperature.
Conduction is the movement of heat through a substance by the collision of molecules.

· Electron Mobility-characterises how quickly an electron can move through a metal or

semiconductor, when pulled by an electric field. There is an analogous quantity for holes, called
hole mobility. The term carrier mobility refers in general to both electron and hole mobility.
Electron and hole mobility are special cases of electrical mobility of charged particles in a fluid
under an applied electric field. When an electric field E is applied across a piece of material, the
electrons respond by moving with an average velocity called the drift velocity.

· Electrical Resistivity of Metals- is a result of the movement of electrically charged

particles. The atoms of metal elements are characterized by the presence of valence electrons,
which are electrons in the outer shell of an atom that are free to move about. It is these 'free
electrons' that allow metals to conduct an electric current.Because valence electrons are free to
move they can travel through the lattice that forms the physical structure of a metal. Under an
electric field, free electrons move through the metal much like billiard balls knocking against
each other, passing an electric charge as they move.

· Electrical Characteristics of Commercial Alloys-The best material for electrical

conduction (lower resistivity) is silver. Since it is very expensive, copper is preferred, at an only
modest increase in r. To achieve low r, it is necessary to remove gases occluded in the metal
during fabrication. Copper is soft, hence it is not suitable for applications where mechanical
strength is important. In these instances, the alloy CuBe is used, which has a resistivity close to
copper. When the weight is an important consideration, aluminium is used which is half as good
as copper. Aluminium also has a higher resistance to corrosion.When high resistivity materials
are needed, like in electrical heaters, especially those that operate at high temperature, nichrome
(NiCr) or graphite are used.

2) Semiconductors-has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a metal,

like copper, gold, etc. and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistance decreases as its temperature
increases, which is behaviour opposite to that of a metal. Its conducting properties may be
altered in useful ways by the deliberate, controlled introduction of impurities ("doping") into the
crystal structure. Where two differently-doped regions exist in the same crystal, a semiconductor
junction is created. The behavior of charge carriers which include electrons, ions and electron
holes at these junctions is the basis of diodes, transistors and all modern electronics. Some
examples of semiconductors are silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide. After silicon, gallium
arsenide is the second most common semiconductor and is used in laser diodes, solar cells,
microwave-frequency integrated circuits and others. Silicon is a critical element for fabricating
most electronic circuits.

· Intrinsic Semiconductor- also called an undoped semiconductor or i-type semiconductor,

is a pure semiconductor without any significant dopant species present. The number of charge
carriers is therefore determined by the properties of the material itself instead of the amount of
impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors the number of excited electrons and the number of holes
are equal: n = p. This may even be the case after doping the semiconductor, though only if it is
doped with both donors and acceptors equally. In this case, n = p still holds, and the
semiconductor remains intrinsic, though doped.

· Extrinsic Semisonductor- An extrinsic semiconductor is one that has been doped; during
manufacture of the semiconductor crystal a trace element or chemical called a doping agent has
been incorporated chemically into the crystal, for the purpose of giving it different electrical
properties than the pure semiconductor crystal, which is called an intrinsic semiconductor. In an
extrinsic semiconductor it is these foreign dopant atoms in the crystal lattice that mainly provide
the charge carriers which carry electric current through the crystal. The doping agents used are of
two types, resulting in two types of extrinsic semiconductor. An electron donor dopant is an
atom which, when incorporated in the crystal, releases a mobile conduction electron into the
crystal lattice. An extrinsic semiconductor which has been doped with electron donor atoms is
called an n-type semiconductor, because the majority of charge carriers in the crystal are
negative electrons. An electron acceptor dopant is an atom which accepts an electron from the
lattice, creating a vacancy where an electron should be called a hole which can move through the
crystal like a positively charged particle. An extrinsic semiconductor which has been doped with
electron acceptor atoms is called a p-type semiconductor, because the majority of charge
carriers in the crystal are positive holes.

· Factors that Affect Carrier Mobility – The most significant is scattering, the motion-
impending collisions within the crystal. These collisions can be an electron bumping into
another electron, or a hole or ionized impurities.
· The Hall Effect –is the production of a voltage difference (the Hall voltage) across an
electrical conductor, transverse to an electric current in the conductor and to an applied magnetic
field perpendicular to the current. It was discovered by Edwin Hall in 1879. For clarity, the
original effect is sometimes called the ordinary Hall effect to distinguish it from other "Hall
effects" which have different physical mechanisms. The Hall coefficient is defined as the ratio of
the induced electric field to the product of the current density and the applied magnetic field. It is
a characteristic of the material from which the conductor is made, since its value depends on the
type, number, and properties of the charge carriers that constitute the current.

· Semiconductor Devices – is an electronic component that exploits the electronic properties

of semiconductor material, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as
organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced vacuum tubes in most
applications. They use electrical conduction in the solid state rather that the gaseous state or
thermionic emission in a vacuum. Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single
discrete devices and as integrated circuits (ICs), which consist of two or more devices—which
can number in the billions—manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor wafer
(also called a substrate). Semiconductor materials are useful because their behavior can be easily
manipulated by the deliberate addition of impurities, known as doping. Semiconductor
conductivity can be controlled by the introduction of an electric or magnetic field, by exposure to
light or heat, or by the mechanical deformation of a doped monocrystalline silicon grid; thus,
semiconductors can make excellent sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs due
to mobile or "free" electrons and electron holes, collectively known as charge carriers. Doping a
semiconductor with a small proportion of an atomic impurity, such as phosphorus or boron,
greatly increases the number of free electrons or holes within the semiconductor. When a doped
semiconductor contains excess holes, it is called a p-type semiconductor (p for positive electric
charge); when it contains excess free electrons, it is called an n-type semiconductor (n for
negative electric charge). A majority of mobile charge carriers have negative charge. The
manufacture of semiconductors controls precisely the location and concentration of p- and n-type
dopants. The connection of n-type and p-type semiconductors form a p–n junctions.
Semiconductor devices made per year have been growing by 9.1% on average since 1978, and
shipments in 2018 are predicted for the first time to exceed 1 trillion, meaning that well over 7
trillion has been made to date, in just in the decade prior.

3) Electrical Conduction in Ionic Ceramics and in Polymers

 Conduction in Ionic Materials- is the movement of an ion from one site to another
through defects in the crystal lattice of a solid or aqueous solution. Ionic conduction in
solids has been a subject of interest since the beginning of the 19th century.

4) Dielectric Behavior

 Capacitance- is the ratio of the change in an electric charge in a system to the

corresponding change in its electric potential. There are two closely related notions of
capacitance: self capacitance and mutual capacitance. Any object that can be electrically
charged exhibits self capacitance. A material with a large self capacitance holds more
electric charge at a given voltage than one with low capacitance. The notion of mutual
capacitance is particularly important for understanding the operations of the capacitor,
 one of the three elementary linear electronic components (along with resistors and
inductors). The capacitance is a function only of the geometry of the design (e.g. area of
the plates and the distance between them) and the permittivity of the dielectric material
between the plates of the capacitor. For many dielectric materials, the permittivity and
thus the capacitance, is independent of the potential difference between the conductors
and the total charge on them. The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (symbol: F), named
after the English physicist Michael Faraday. A 1 farad capacitor, when charged with 1
coulomb of electrical charge, has a potential difference of 1 volt between its plates.The
reciprocal of capacitance is called elastance.
 Field vectors and Polarization- The orientation of a linearly polarized electromagnetic
wave is defined by the direction of the electric field vector. For example, if the electric field
vector is vertical (alternately up and down as the wave travels) the radiation is said to be
vertically polarized.

 Frequency Dependence of dielectric constant- In materials, the dielectric

“constant” and permeability are actually frequency dependent. ... This result changes when
there is time dependence to the electric field, with the dielectric constant showing frequency
dependence.
 Types of Polarization
o Linear Polarization- linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic
radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given
plane along the direction of propagation. See polarization and plane of polarization for
more information.
o Circular Polarization- is a polarization state in which, at each point, the electric
field of the wave has a constant magnitude but its direction rotates with time at a
steady rate in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
o Elliptical Polarization- is the polarization of electromagnetic radiation such that
the tip of the electric field vector describes an ellipse in any fixed plane intersecting, and
normal to, the direction of propagation. An elliptically polarized wave may be resolved
into two linearly polarized waves in phase quadrature, with their polarization planes at
right angles to each other. Since the electric field can rotate clockwise or
counterclockwise as it propagates, elliptically polarized waves exhibit chirality.
 Dielectric Strength- The theoretical dielectric strength of a material is an intrinsic property
of the bulk material, and is independent of the configuration of the material or the electrodes
with which the field is applied. This "intrinsic dielectric strength" corresponds to what would be
measured using pure materials under ideal laboratory conditions. At breakdown, the electric
field frees bound electrons. If the applied electric field is sufficiently high, free electrons from
background radiation may be accelerated to velocities that can liberate additional electrons by
collisions with neutral atoms or molecules, in a process known as avalanche breakdown.
Breakdown occurs quite abruptly (typically in nanoseconds), resulting in the formation of an
electrically conductive path and a disruptive discharge through the material. In a solid material,
a breakdown event severely degrades, or even destroys, its insulating capability.

 Dielectric Materials-
5) Others Electrical Characteristics of Materials
 Ferroelectricity- is a characteristic of certain materials that have a spontaneous electric
polarization that can be reversed by the application of an external electric field All ferroelectrics
are pyroelectric, with the additional property that their natural electrical polarization is
reversible. The term is used in analogy to ferromagnetism, in which a material exhibits a
permanent magnetic moment. Ferromagnetism was already known when ferroelectricity was
discovered in 1920 in Rochelle salt by Valasek, Thus, the prefix ferro, meaning iron, was used to
describe the property despite the fact that most ferroelectric materials do not contain iron.
Materials that are both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic are known as multiferroics.
 Piezoelectricity- is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials (such as
crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA and various proteins) in
response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from
pressure and latent heat. It is derived from the Greek word πιέζειν; piezein, which means to
squeeze or press, and ἤλεκτρον ēlektron, which means amber, an ancient source of electric
charge. French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity in 1880.

Electronic Structures
- is the state of motion of electrons in an electrostatic field created by stationary
nuclei.The term encompass both the wave functions of the electrons and the energies associated
with them. Electronic structure is obtained by solving quantum mechanical equations for the
aforementioned clamped-nuclei problem.

 Atoms- is the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that has the properties of a
chemical element. Every solid, liquid, gas, and plasma is composed of neutral or ionized
atoms. Atoms are extremely small; typical sizes are around 100 picometers (a ten-
billionth of a meter, in the short scale). Atoms are small enough that attempting to predict
their behavior using classical physics – as if they were billiard balls, for example – gives
noticeably incorrect predictions due to quantum effects. Through the development of
physics, atomic models have incorporated quantum principles to better explain and
predict this behavior. Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons
bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and typically a similar
number of neutrons. Protons and neutrons are called nucleons. More than 99.94% of an
atom's mass is in the nucleus. The protons have a positive electric charge, the electrons
have a negative electric charge, and the neutrons have no electric charge. If the number of
protons and electrons are equal, that atom is electrically neutral. If an atom has more or
fewer electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative or positive charge,
respectively, and it is called an ion.
 Nucleus- is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: Atomic
nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom. Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a
eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA.
 Electrons- is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: Atomic
nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom. Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a
eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA.
 Protons- is a subatomic particle, symbol p,or p+, with a positive electric charge of +1e
elementary charge and a mass slightly less than that of a neutron. Protons and neutrons,
each with masses of approximately one atomic mass unit, are collectively referred to as
"nucleons".
 Neutron- The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol n,or n0,with no net electric
charge and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute
the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons behave similarly within the nucleus, and
each has a mass of approximately one atomic mass unit, they are both referred to as
nucleons. Their properties and interactions are described by nuclear physics
 Electotastic field- is a electric field produced by static electric charges. The charges
are static in the sense of charge amount (it is constant in time) and their positions in space
(charges are not moving relatively to each other). In the area of solid-state electronics,
dealing with electrostatics is inevitable.