Phys 511- Physics at Nanoscale – Part I – Semester III

Tutorial Sheet 4: Optical properties of metals and semiconductors

19th November 2020

1. The reflectivity of a material depends on the refractive index. For perpendicular

incidence the reflectivity is given as R = (η-1)2/(η+1)2 where η = n – ik is complex.
(i) Derive the expression for R in terms of 1 and 2.
(ii) Show that for low frequencies R = 1- 4(o/o) (Hagen and Rubens relation)
where o is the dc conductivity.
(iii) Estimate the reflectivity of Silver at  ~ 1013 s-1 whose dc resistivity at room
temperature is 1.5 x 10-6 Ωcm.

2. A piece of glass of thickness d = 1 cm was used to measure the transmittance of light.

Transmittivity of 90% was measured at a wavelength of 590 nm. Is it possible to obtain
such high transmittance with a gold film? If so what will be the thickness of the gold
film?

3. The Hall coefficient for mercury (Hg) at room temperature is -7.6 x 10 -11 m3/C. At
what wavelength does this metal lose its high reflectivity?[

4. Silver contains 0.5 x 1023 free electrons per cubic cm. Estimate the damping frequency
νdamp and plasma frequency νplasma. The resistivity of silver is 1.5 x 10-6 Ω cm. Write a
program to plot 1 and 2 as a function of frequency for the case of free electrons with
damping. (Ref: Electronic Properties of materials, Rolf E Hummel, chapter 11)

5. A 3 nm radius quantum dot with an absorption cross section of 1.5 x 10 -14 cm2 at 350
nm is illuminated with a laser light. What should be the intensity of the laser source for
producing one electron-hole pair, given the excited state lifetime to be 20 x 10 -9 sec?

6. Cadmium Telluride nanowire (NW) of 10 nm diameter and 1m embedded in a matrix

of dielectric constant m = 2. 2 and refractive index nm = 1.5. Estimate the absorption
cross section NW () of the nanowire given the following optical parameters: s = 6.72 +
i2.31, ns = 2.63 and ks = 0.44 when exposed to a monochromatic light of 488 nm. Using
the same optical parameters of the semiconductor and the surrounding matrix, estimate
QD () of a quantum dot (QD) of diameter 10 nm.(Ref: Introductory Nanoscience,
Masaru Kuno, Chapter 5)

Be ready for the tutorial session on 24th November 2020.