Conductors and Resistors

The Free Electron Theory

Quantum Free Electron Theory Assumptions
1. Electrons travel under constant potential and confine to the boundaries
of metal
2. All the attractive and repulsive forces are neglected
3. The energies of the free electrons are neglected
4. Electrons follow Pauli’s exclusion principle
5. Electrons follow Fermi-Dirac statistics
Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function

 F-D function gives probability of electron occupying a

particular energy level


F(E)=
 Quanta can be defined as the minimum quantity of energy that can either be gained or lost
by an electron
 an atom needs to gain or lose energy to reach the next level or fall to the level.
 Absorption of heat or light helps the electrons gain energy to go to the next energy level or
fall to lower energy levels
The Resistivity Range
 The probability of finding an electron at any point along the length is proportional to the square of the
amplitude of the wave at that point
 the free electron with λ=2L, the probability of finding it at the midpoint of the length is a maximum

It is not an acceptable result, as the probability of finding the free electron must be the
same anywhere within the solid

To overcome this difficulty, the waves are considered to be travelling waves with a
constant velocity, so that the time averaged probability of finding an electron is constant
throughout the solid
The Fermi–Dirac distribution of free electrons at different temperatures
 Conduction by Free Electrons

 The equal and opposite velocity distribution in a neutral solid can be biased by
an externally applied electric field to yield a net velocity in one direction. With
this biasing, the solid conducts electricity
 The negatively charged electrons are accelerated towards the positive end of
the field
 The velocity of the fastest electron moving in the direction of the positive end
has a larger magnitude than that of the fastest electron moving towards the
negative end of the field.
 Such redistribution is possible, only when empty electron states are available
immediately above the Fermi level.
 This availability is a basic characteristic of conductors, as opposed to
semiconductors and insulators
The force experienced by an electron of charge e in
an applied field of gradient ε is

εe=ma

m = mass of the electron and

a = acceleration due to the applied field
 The electrons that are accelerated towards the positive end of the field do not continue to
increase their velocity indefinitely.
 They collide with obstacles on their way
 Depending on the time interval between two successive collisions, the electrons acquire an
average increment of velocity called drift velocity
Drift velocity (vd )

Current Density (Je)

Conductivity
 The mean free path l of an electron is the mean distance it travels between successive collisions
 For an ideal crystal with no impurities and imperfections, the mean free path at 0 K is infinite
 There are no collisions and the electrical conductivity is ideally infinite

 At temperatures above 0 K, the atoms vibrate randomly about their mean positions
 These vibrations can be considered as elastic waves in the crystal and are called
phonons
 At low temperatures, the mean free path and the collision time are proportional to
the cube of the
reciprocal of temperature in kelvin
 At higher temperatures, the vibrational frequency tends to become constant. Here,
the mean free path and the collision time are proportional to the reciprocal of
temperature
The electrical resistivity of pure copper and Cu–Ni alloys as a function of temperature
Super conductivity
Phonons are particle repsenation of vibration in crystal
It is called as vibration of atomic lattice
Lattice vibrations
Cooper pair
The electrical resistivity of pure silver, and tin, as a function of
temperature near 0 K
 The first application that was conceived of the superconducting effect was to produce a large permanent
magnetic field by inducing a perpetual current in a superconductor
 At temperatures below Tc, as the magnetic field strength reaches a critical value Hc, the superconductivity
disappears

The critical magnetic field Hc as a function of temperature for the superconducting-to-normal transition. HC = 0 at TC
 Meissner effect
 In the superconducting state, the flux lines of a magnetic field are ejected out of the superconductor
The magnetization M versus the critical magnetic field HC for
(a) Type I and (b) Type II superconductors
Applications
 Superconductors can be used to perform logic and storage functions in computers

 Superconducting materials are used for producing very strong magnetic fields of about 50 Tesla (MHD,

Magnetohydrodynamic power generators) At high magnetic field strengths, a conventional copper

solenoid consumes about 3 MW, whereas a superconducting magnet consumes about 10 kW

 Magnetic levitation effect is used in transportation

 MRI scan
 Tl(Bi)-Ba(Sr)-Ca-Cu-O are now known with a reproducible Tc of about 125 K

The crystal structure of yttrium–barium–copper oxide

 Dielectric Materials

A dielectric material is a type of insulator that becomes polarised

when it comes in contact with an electric field

•Dielectric Gas – Dry Air

•Solid Dielectrics – Mica, Ceramic, Plastic and Glass
•Dielectric Liquid – Distilled Water
 The conduction band, valence band and the forbidden energy gap
 The electrons in the same orbit exhibit different energy levels. The grouping of these different
energy levels is known as the energy band
Valence Band
 The electrons in the outermost shell are known as valence electrons
 Valence electrons contain a series of energy levels and form an energy band known as the valence band
 The valence band has the highest occupied energy

Conduction Band
 The valence electrons are not tightly held to the nucleus due to which a few of these valence electrons
leave the outermost orbit even at room temperature and become free electrons.
 The free electrons conduct current in conductors and are therefore known as conduction electrons.
 The conduction band is one that contains conduction electrons and has the lowest occupied energy levels

Forbidden Energy Gap

 The gap between the valence band and the conduction band is referred to as the forbidden gap.
 As the name suggests, the forbidden gap doesn’t have any energy and no electrons stay in this band.
 If the forbidden energy gap is greater, then the valence band electrons are tightly bound or firmly attached to the nucleus.
 We require some amount of external energy that is equal to the forbidden energy gap
The electrons are tightly bound to the atomic cores and are only slightly displaced from
their equilibrium configuration
by applied electric fields of moderate strength. This is even more true of the ions and
these small displacements are adequately described by a linear response theory

Diploe moment p is proportional to the strength of the electric field

p=ε0αE
E= electric field
P= electric diploe moment (induced)
α = polarizability of the atom or molecule
 Polar molecules are- HCl, H2O, N2O, NH3, H2S, C2H5OH, SO2

 Non-polar molecules are CO2, CCl4, oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2),
methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6)
 The alignment of the molecules with the
applied field increases if:
•The electric intensity of the field is increased.
•Temperature is decreased.
Non-polar molecules

 The induced electric dipole moment is proportional to the applied electric field
but is almost independent of temperature.
 Further, the induced dipole is parallel to the electric field right at the time of its
creation
 The alignment of the dipole moments of the permanent or induced dipoles with the
direction of the applied electric field is called polarization
Frequency dependence of polarization processes and peak power losses
corresponding to each process
Electric Breakdown

In a dielectric, the charge displacement increases with increasing field strength.

Beyond a critical value of the field strength, there is an electric breakdown due to the
physical deterioration of the material
 Intrinsic breakdown

 The intrinsic breakdown of a dielectric material is due to the excitation of electrons into the conduction band
across the energy gap under conditions of excessive voltage.
 The excited electrons moving under a high accelerating force can excite more electrons in turn, resulting in an
avalanche of conducting electrons and consequent physical breakdown
 Impurities in the dielectric can create additional energy levels that lie in the energy gap
and can help in the excitation of electrons into the conduction band.
 An increase in temperature aids the thermal excitation of electrons and can bring about the intrinsic breakdown
Thermal breakdown

 It is due to the attainment of an excessive temperature in the dielectric.

 If the heat dissipated is less than the heat generated, there is a progressive increase in
the temperature of the dielectric, which may melt eventually

Defect breakdown
 This is due to cracks and pores at the surface.
 To decrease the possibility of surface shorting,
insulators are designed with lengthened surface paths.
 Moisture from the atmosphere can collect on the surface
discontinuities and result in breakdown.
 Glazing is done on ceramic insulators to make the
surface nonabsorbent.
 Gases can collect at pores and cracks and the breakdown
can occur due to a gas discharge
Ferroelectric Materials
Materials of very large dielectric constants are called ferroelectrics. As in the ferromagnetic phenomenon,
the electric dipoles in a ferroelectric solid are all aligned in the same direction, even in the absence of an
electric field

Barium titanate ( BaTiO3)

 The dashed circle in the middle of the front view shows the shifting of the titanium ion,
on cooling through the Curie temperature
 The shift of the oxygen anions is also shown
  Barium ions are at the body corners
 Oxygen anions are at the face centres and the titanium ion is in the octahedral void at the
body centre

 Above 120°C, the centres of the negative and the positive charges coincide and there is no spontaneous dipole
moment
 If the crystal is cooled to below the (ferroelectric) Curie temperature of 120°C, the titanium ion shifts to one side
of the body centre
 There is also a displacement of the neighbouring oxygen anions. The crystal transforms from a cubic to a
tetragonal structure on cooling through 120°C. The c/a ratio of the etragonal cell is 4.03 Å/3.98 Å = 1.012.
 The centres of the positive and the negative charges do not coincide any longer and local dipoles are created
throughout the crystal
 The dipoles of neighbouring unit cells are all aligned resulting in a large polarization in the solid
piezoelectric property
 Ferroelectric crystals always exhibit the piezoelectric property
 It is the mechanical response of a crystal to an electric field or the electrical response to
a mechanical stress
 With no external field, the centres of the positive and the negative charges are separated by a
distance d
 If a compressive stress is applied to the crystal, d decreases and a potential difference V
develops between the two ends of the crystal
 An external voltage is applied to a ferroelectric crystal, the separation distance d increases (or
decreases), thereby elastically straining the crystal

Applications of Barium Titanate

 Microphones, phonograph pickups, strain gauges and sonar devices.
 The high dielectric constant of ferroelectric crystals is also useful for storing energy
in
small-sized capacitors in electrical circuits