Solid State

Physics-I
Dr. Md. Khorshed Alam

Chapter 1 Lecture-1

Matter
 Gases
• Gases have atoms or molecules that do not
bond to one another in a range of pressure,
temperature and volume.
• These molecules haven’t any particular order
and move freely within a container.

3
Crystal Structure

Liquids and Liquid Crystals

❖ Similar to gases, liquids haven’t any atomic/molecular order
and they assume the shape of the containers.
❖ Applying low levels of thermal energy can easily break the
existing weak bonds.

Liquid crystals have mobile

molecules, but a type of long
range order can exist; the
molecules have a permanent
dipole. Applying an electric field
rotates the dipole and
establishes order within the
collection of molecules. Crystal Structure
 Crytals
❖Solids consist of atoms or molecules executing
thermal motion about an equilibrium position fixed at
a point in space.
❖Solids can take the form of crystalline, polycrstalline,
or amorphous materials.
❖Solids (at a given temperature, pressure, and volume)
have stronger bonds between molecules and atoms
than liquids.
❖Solids require more energy compared to
Liquids/Gases to break the bonds.

What is Solid state physics?

❖The branch of physics that deals with the physical
properties of solid materials, especially the
electromagnetic, thermodynamic, and structural
properties of crystalline solids.

❖Solid state physics, also known as condensed matter

physics, is the study of the behaviour of atoms when
they are placed in close proximity to one another.

❖In fact, condensed matter physics is a much better

name, since many of the concepts relevant to solids
are also applied to liquids, for example.
 Aim of Solid State
Physics
• Solid state physics (SSP) explains the properties of
solid materials as found on earth.

• The properties are expected to follow from

Schrödinger’s eqn. for a collection of atomic nuclei
and electrons interacting with electrostatic forces.

• The fundamental laws governing the behaviour

of solids are known and well tested.

Importance of Solid State Physics

❖ Solid State Physics deals with the microcsopic properties of large collections
of many particles. By contrast, Particle Physics focuses on the properties
of individual particles. Particle physicists tend to break composite objects up into
their constituent building blocks, while Solid State physicists are interested in what
fundamentally new properties emerge when these building blocks are grouped
together in various ways. Of course, there are several Technological & Basic
Physics motivations to study Solid State Physics.

❖ Technological Motivations to Study Solid State Physics

An obvious, very important motivation for the study of Solid State Physics is
the fact that the microscopic properties it deals with are responsible for the
majority of modern technology. These properties determine the
mechanical strength of materials, how they interact with light, how they
conduct electricity, etc. So, Solid State Physics is an important subject
for technology, because it gives guidance on how to design the circuits
needed for modern electronic devices.
Importance of Solid State Physics
This field, after all, gave us both the transistor & the semiconductor
chip! For these reasons, Solid State Physics has been traditionally
linked to materials science, chemistry & engineering. Recently, it has
also developed overlaps with biology, biochemistry, biotechnology &
medicine. So, many current research questions in Solid State
Physics are at the frontiers of applied science & next-generation
technologies.

Why we study solid state

Physics?
• Understanding the electrical properties of solids is right at the
heart of modern society and technology.
• The entire computer and electronics industry relies on tuning of
a special class of material, the semiconductor, which lies right
at the metal-insulator boundary. Solid state physics provide a
background to understand what goes on in semiconductors.

• New technology for the future will inevitably involve developing

and understanding new classes of materials. By the end of this
course we will see why this is a non-trivial task.

• So, SSP is the applied physics associated with technology

rather than interesting fundamentals
 Electrical resistivity of three
states of solid matter
• After all, they each contain a system of atoms and especially
electrons of similar density. And the plot thickens: graphite is
a metal, diamond is an insulator and buckminster-fullerene is
a superconductor.
They are all just carbon!

• Among our aims - understand why one is a metal and

one an insulator, and then the physical origin of the
marked features.
• Also think about thermal properties etc. etc.
Structure of Fullerene
 Solid State
Physics-I
Dr. Md. Khorshed Alam

Chapter 1 Lecture-2
Classification of Solids

Single Crystals
Polycrystalline Solids

Amorphous Solids
 Difference between Crystalline and
Amorphous Solids
Crystalline solids:
In crystalline solids the particles are arranged in a 3 dimensional order. The
particles have equal intermolecular forces. They have sharp melting point and
are anisotropic. They are called as true solids. Example: Benzoic acid,
Diamond
Application of diamond:
It is widely used in making beautiful jewellery

Amorphous solids:
Amorphous means shapeless. This word is derived from Greek. It has irregular
arrangement of solid particles. The intermolecular forces are not equal. Also,
the distance between particles varies. They have undefined geometric shape.
They are also called supercooled liquids.They are isotropic. Example:
Naphthalene, glass
Application of glass:
It is widely used in construction of building
It is also used for packaging cosmetics like cosmetics box and packing of food like food
jar

Difference between Crystalline and

Amorphous Solids
Difference between Crystalline and Amorphous

CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS AMORPHOUS SOLIDS

1. Atoms are arranged in regular 3 dimension They do not have regular arrangement

2. Sharp melting point No particular melting point

3. Anisotropic Isotropic

4. True solid Pseudo solid

5. Symmetrical Unsymmetrical

6. More rigid Less rigid

7. Long range order Short range order

8. Example: Potassium nitrate, copper Example: Cellophane, polyvinyl chloride

 Ideal Crystal
❖An ideal crystal is a periodic array of structural
units, such as atoms or molecules.

❖It can be constructed by the infinite repetition of

these identical structural units in space.

❖Structure can be described in terms of a lattice, with

a group of atoms attached to each lattice point. The
group of atoms is the basis.

Basic of Crystal Structure

 Basis
• A group of one or more atoms located in a particular
way with respect to each other and associated with
each point is known as the basis.

Basis
Lattice - infinite, perfectly periodic array of
points in a space

Not a lattice:
 Not a lattice:

Not a lattice some kind of STRUCTURE because not

just points
Another type of lattice - with a different symmetry

rectangular

Another type of lattice - with a different symmetry

square
 Solid State
Physics-I
Dr. Md. Khorshed Alam

Chapter 1 Lecture-3

Unit Cell

Primitive cell:
A primitive cell is a
unit cell that contains
exactly one lattice point.
It is the smallest
possible cell.
A three dimensional Bravais lattice consists of all points with
position vectors R that can be written as a linear combination of
primitive vectors. The expansion coefficients must be integers
 Miller indices
Miller indices, group of three numbers that
indicates the orientation of a plane or set of
parallel planes of atoms in a crystal. The
reciprocals of these intercepts are computed, and
fractions are cleared to give the three Miller
indices (hkl).
 Solid State
Physics-I
Dr. Md. Khorshed Alam

Chapter 1 Lecture-4

Reciprocal lattice
Real space lattice
Reciprocal lattice
Real space lattice - basis vectors
a

Reciprocal lattice
Real space lattice - choose set of planes

(100)
planes

n100
Reciprocal lattice
Real space lattice - interplanar spacing d

(100)
planes
d100
1/d100
n100

Reciprocal lattice
Real space lattice ––> the (100) reciprocal lattice pt

(100)
planes d100

n100

(100)
Reciprocal lattice
The (010) recip lattice pt

n010
(010)
planes
d010
(010)
(100)

Reciprocal lattice
The (020) reciprocal lattice point

n020
(020)
planes

(010) (020) d020

(100)
Reciprocal lattice
More reciprocal lattice points

(010) (020)

(100)

Reciprocal lattice
The (110) reciprocal lattice point

(110)
planes n110
d110

(010) (020)

(100) (110)
Reciprocal lattice
Still more reciprocal lattice points

(010) (020)

(100)
the reciprocal lattice
(230)

Reciprocal lattice
Reciprocal lattice notation
 Reciprocal lattice
Reciprocal lattice for hexagonal real space lattice

Reciprocal lattice
Reciprocal lattice for hexagonal real space lattice
 Reciprocal lattice
Reciprocal lattice for hexagonal real space lattice

Reciprocal lattice
Reciprocal lattice for hexagonal real space lattice
 Reciprocal lattice

D. The Reciprocal Lattice

Crystal planes (hkl) in the real-space or direct lattice are characterized by the normal
vector and the interplanar
n̂hkl spacing : d hkl

y
n̂hkl

x
d hkl

Long practice has shown CM physicists the usefulness of defining a different

lattice in reciprocal space whose points lie at positions given by the vectors

 2nˆhkl
Ghkl 
d hkl

This vector is parallel to the [hkl] direction but has magnitude 2/dhkl,
which is a reciprocal distance.
 
The Reciprocal Lattice, cont’ d. Ghkl

The reciprocal lattice is composed of all points lying at

positions from the origin, so that there is one point in the
reciprocal lattice for each set of planes (hkl) in the real-space
lattice.

Applications
1. The reciprocal lattice simplifies the interpretation of x-ray diffraction
from crystals
2. The reciprocal lattice facilitates the calculation of wave propagation
in crystals (lattice vibrations, electron waves, etc.)

The Reciprocal Lattice: An Analogy

In the analysis of electrical signals that are periodic in time, we use
Fourier analysis to express such a signal in the frequency domain:

f (t ) =  C e −it If f(t) has period T, then the coefficient C is nonzero

only for frequencies given by

2n
= n = integer
T
Waves of lattice vibrations or electron waves moving through a crystal

with a periodicity specified by base vectors a b c can likewise be
decomposed into a sum of plane waves:
 Here, the coefficient Ck is nonzero only

 (r , t ) = 

Ck e i ( k r −t )
when the vector k is a reciprocal lattice
k translation vector:
     A, B, and C are the base vectors of the
k = Ghkl = hA + kB + lC
reciprocal lattice (some books use a*, b*, c*)
 Definition of Reciprocal Lattice Base Vectors

These reciprocal lattice base vectors are defined:

     
 2 b  c  2 c  a  2 a  b
B    C   
A   
(
a  b c ) (
a  b c ) (
a  b c )
Which have the simple dot products with the direct-space lattice vectors:
     
A  a = B  b = C  c = 2
           
Ab = Ac = 0 = B c = B  a = C  a = C b
 
Ghkl  a = 2h
T = 2n  
So compare, for example:
Ghkl  b = 2k
 
frequency  time Ghkl  c = 2l
Reciprocal lattice direct lattice
 Solid State
Physics-I
Dr. Md. Khorshed Alam

Chapter 1 Lecture-5

Why do we care about crystal structures,

directions, planes
Physical properties of materials depend on the geometry of
crystals
ISSUES TO ADDRESS...
• How do atoms assemble into solid structures?
(for now, focus on metals)

• How does the density of a material depend on

its structure?

• When do material properties vary with the

sample (i.e., part) orientation
1
 Energy and Packing
• Non dense, random packing
Energy

typical neighbor
bond length

typical neighbor r
bond energy

• Dense, ordered packing Energy

typical neighbor
bond length

typical neighbor r
bond energy

Dense, ordered packed structures tend to have

lower energies.
MATERIALS AND PACKING
Crystalline materials...
• atoms pack in periodic, 3D arrays
• typical of: -metals
-many ceramics
-some polymers
crystalline SiO2
Adapted from Fig. 3.18(a),
LONG RANGE ORDER Callister 6e.

Noncrystalline materials...
• atoms have no periodic packing
• occurs for: -complex structures
-rapid cooling

"Amorphous" = Noncrystalline noncrystalline SiO2

SHORT RANGE ORDER

 Unit Cell Concept
• The unit cell is the smallest structural unit or
building block that uniquely can describe the crystal
structure. Repetition of the unit cell generates the
entire crystal. By simple translation, it defines a
lattice .

Lattice Parameter : Repeat

a distance in the unit cell, one
for in each dimension
b

Crystal Systems
• Units cells and lattices in 3-D:
– When translated in each lattice parameter
direction, MUST fill 3-D space such that no
gaps, empty spaces left.

b
c Lattice Parameter :
Repeat distance in the
a
unit cell, one for in each
dimension
 METALLIC CRYSTALS
• Tend to be densely packed.
• Have several reasons for dense packing

Typically, only one element is present, so all atomic

radii are the same.
-Metallic bonding is not directional.
-Nearest neighbor distances tend to be small in
order to lower bond energy.
.
• have the simplest crystal structures.
We will
. look at three such structures.

Remember metallic bond => non-directional, does not restrict number of

nearest-neighbors ( covalent ; 8-N’ rule), allows for dense atomic
packing 4
SIMPLE CUBIC STRUCTURE (SC)
• Rare due to poor packing (only Po has this structure)
• Close-packed directions are cube edges.

Closed packed direction is where • Coordination # = 6

the atoms touch each other (# nearest neighbors)
 ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR

• APF for a simple cubic structure = 0.52

BODY CENTERED CUBIC STRUCTURE (BCC)

• Close packed directions are cube diagonals.

--Note: All atoms are identical; the center atom is shaded
differently only for ease of viewing.

ex: Cr, W, Fe (), Tantalum, Molybdenum

• Coordination # = 8

2 atoms/unit cell: 1 center + 8 corners x 1/8

 ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR: BCC
• APF for a body-centered cubic structure = 0.68

3a

a
R
a 2a

8
FACE CENTERED CUBIC STRUCTURE (FCC)

• Close packed directions are face diagonals.

--Note: All atoms are identical; the face-centered atoms are shaded
differently only for ease of viewing.
ex: Al, Cu, Au, Pb, Ni, Pt, Ag
• Coordination # = 12

Adapted from Fig. 3.1, Callister 7e.

4 atoms/unit cell: 6 face x 1/2 + 8 corners x 1/8

 ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR: FCC
• APF for a body-centered cubic structure = 0.74

Unit cell contains:

6 x 1/2 + 8 x 1/8
= 4 atoms/unit cell
a

Brillouin zone
A Brillouin zone is a particular choice of the unit cell of the reciprocal lattice. It
is defined as the Wigner-Seitz cell (also called Dirichlet or Voronoi domain of
influence) of the reciprocal lattice. Alternatively, it is defined as the set of
points closer to the origin than to any other reciprocal lattice point
The Brillouin zone is a very important concept in solid state
physics; it plays a major role in the theoretical understanding of
the elementary ideas of electronic energy bands. The
first Brillouin zone is defined as the Wigner–Seitz primitive cell of
the reciprocal lattice.
 The Difference Between Wigner-Seitz Cells and Brillouin Zones:

As mentioned before, these are both subregions of some larger space in a regularly
repeating lattice, but in different spaces. Wigner-Seitz cells exist in real space; Brillouin
zones exist in reciprocal space. One kind of cell is no more “real” than the other.
However, humans think and exist in real space, so we naturally have some bias towards
the real space description when thinking about new systems.