Scribd
Upload
17 views5 pages

Band Theory of Solids

Uploaded by

sanjit0907_982377739
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
17 views5 pages

Band Theory of Solids

Uploaded by

sanjit0907_982377739
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

PHY 1001: ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Band Theory of Solids


BAND THEORY OF SOLIDS
To understand the
formation of energy
bands in solids, let
us consider the case
of sodium as an
example. The elect-
ronic configuration
of a sodium atom is
1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s1.
When N number of
sodium atoms are
brought together to Fig. 1: Splitting of 1s and 2s levels of sodium atoms due to interaction between them.
form a solid, each
state will be split into 2N energy levels (for p-electrons 6N,
d-electrons 10N, and f-electrons 14N). The split levels are so
close that they effectively form a continuous band of energy
levels. Figure-1 shows the splitting of 1s and 2s levels of
sodium atom when: (a) two sodium atoms are brought
together, (b) five sodium atoms are brought together,
(c) a large number of sodium atoms are assembled to form a
solid. The close energy levels forming a band are seen clearly
in (c). Some bands may be wide enough in energy so that
there is an overlap between the adjacent bands. Some other
bands are narrow so that a gap may occur between the
allowed bands, and is known as forbidden energy gap. The
1s, 2s, and 2p bands of solid sodium are filled completely
with electrons. The 3s band (2N states) of solid sodium has
only N electrons and is partially full; The 3p band, which is Fig. 2: Energy bands of a sodium crystal
the higher region of the overlapping bands, is completely
empty as shown in Figure 2.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION IN METALS, INSULATORS AND SEMICONDUCTORS


Good electrical conductors contain high density of free charge carriers, and the density of free
charge carriers in insulators is nearly zero. In semiconductors free-charge-carrier densities are
intermediate between those of insulators and those of conductors.
Metals: Metal has a partially filled energy band (Figure 3a). At 0 K, Fermi level is the highest
electron-occupied energy level. If a potential difference is applied to the metal, electrons having
energies near the Fermi energy require only a small amount of additional energy from the applied
field to reach nearby empty energy states above the Fermi-level. Therefore, electrons in a metal
experiencing only a weak applied electric field are free to move because many empty levels are
available close to the occupied energy levels. The model of metals based on band theory
demonstrates that metals are excellent electrical conductors.

Department of Physics, MAHE Dubai 1


PHY 1001: ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Insulators: Consider the two outermost energy bands of a material in which the lower band is filled
with electrons and the higher band is empty at 0 K (Figure 3b). The lower, filled band is called the
valence band, and the upper, empty band is the conduction band. The energy separation between
the valence and conduction band, called energy gap Eg, is large for insulating materials. The Fermi
energy lies somewhere in the energy gap. Due to larger energy gap compare to thermal energy kT,
at room temperature, excitation of electrons from valence band to conduction band is hardly
possible. Since the free-electron density is nearly zero, these materials are bad conductors of
electricity.

Fig. 3 Band structure of (a) Metals (b) Insulators (c) Semiconductors

Semiconductors: Semiconductors have the same type of band structure as an insulator, but the
energy gap is much smaller, of the order of 1 eV. The band structure of a semiconductor is shown
in Figure 3c. Because the Fermi level is located near the middle of the gap for a semiconductor
and Eg is small, appreciable numbers of electrons are thermally excited from the valence band to
the conduction band. Because of the many empty levels above the thermally filled levels in the
conduction band, a small applied potential difference can easily raise the energy of the electrons in
the conduction band, resulting in a moderate conduction. At T = 0 K, all electrons in these materials
are in the valence band and no energy is available to excite them across the energy gap. Therefore,
semiconductors are poor conductors at very low temperatures. Because the thermal excitation of
electrons across the narrow gap is more probable at higher temperatures, the conductivity of
semiconductors increases rapidly with temperature, contrasting sharply with the conductivity of
metals, which decreases slowly with increasing temperature. Thus, the temperature coefficient of
resistivity of the semiconductors is negative.
Charge carriers in a semiconductor can be negative, positive, or both. When an electron moves
from the valence band into the conduction band, it leaves behind a vacant site, called a hole, in the
otherwise filled valence band. In an intrinsic semiconductor (pure semiconductor) there are
equal number of conduction electrons and holes. In the presence of an external electric field, the
holes move in the direction of field and the conduction electrons move opposite to the direction of
the field. Both these motions correspond to the current in the same direction (Figure 4).

Department of Physics, MAHE Dubai 2


PHY 1001: ENGINEERING PHYSICS

Fig. 4 Movement of electrons and holes in an intrinsic semiconductor


Doped Semiconductors: Doping is the process of adding impurities to a semiconductor. By
doping both the band structure of the semiconductor and its resistivity are modified. If a tetravalent
semiconductor (Si or Ge) is doped with a pentavalent impurity atom (donor atom), four of the
electrons form covalent bonds with atoms of the semiconductor and one is left over (Figure 5). At
zero K, this extra electron resides in the donor-levels, that lie in the energy gap, just below the
conduction band. Since the energy Ed between the donor levels and the bottom of the conduction
band is small, at room temperature, the extra electron is thermally excited to the conduction band.
This type of semiconductor is called n-type semiconductor because the majority of charge carriers
are electrons (negatively charged).

Fig. 5: n-type semiconductor – two dimensional representation and band structure

If a tetravalent semiconductor is doped with a trivalent impurity atom (acceptor atom), the three
electrons form covalent bonds with neighboring semiconductor atoms, leaving an electron
deficiency (a hole) at the site of fourth bond (Figure 6). At zero K, this hole resides in the
acceptor levels that lie in the energy gap just above the valence band. Since the energy Ea between
the acceptor levels and the top of the valence band is small, at room temperature, an electron from

Department of Physics, MAHE Dubai 3


PHY 1001: ENGINEERING PHYSICS

the valence band is thermally excited to the acceptor levels leaving behind a hole in the valence
band. This type of semiconductor is called p-type semiconductor because the majority of charge
carriers are holes (positively charged). The doped semiconductors are called extrinsic
semiconductors.

Fig. 6: p-type semiconductor – two dimensional representation and band structure

Department of Physics, MAHE Dubai 4


PHY 1001: ENGINEERING PHYSICS

QUESTIONS:
BAND THEORY OF SOLIDS
1 Explain the formation of energy bands in solids with necessary diagrams. [3]

2 Distinguish between conductors, insulators and semiconductors on the basis of band


theory. [5]

3 What is the difference between p-type and n-type semiconductors? Explain with band
diagram. [4]
OR
What is doping? How doping affects the conductivity of semiconductors? Explain.

4 Why the electrical resistivity of an intrinsic semiconductor decreases with increasing


temperature? Explain. [2]

PROBLEMS
1 Light from a hydrogen discharge tube is incident on a CdS crystal (Eg= 2.42 eV). Which
spectral line from the Balmer series are absorbed and which are transmitted?
Answer: All Balmer lines absorbed except the red line (656 nm) which is transmitted.

2 Most solar radiation has a wavelength of 1 μm or less. What energy gap should the
material in solar cell have in order to absorb this radiation? Is silicon (Eg=1.14 eV)
appropriate?
Answer: 1.24 eV or less; yes
3 The energy gap for silicon at 300 K is 1.14 eV. (a) Find the lowest-frequency photon
that can promote an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. (b) What is
the wavelength of this photon?

4 The longest wavelength of radiation absorbed by a certain semiconductor is 0.512 mm.


Calculate the energy gap for this semiconductor.

Department of Physics, MAHE Dubai 5

You might also like