ECE2H Physics for Electrical Engineers Winter 2022

1/20/2022
Homework #3

Due: Friday Jan 28 5:00 PM

Hand in on Canvas before the due time. Please scan and submit pdf file.

Problem #1 (40 points) Nearly Free Electron theory in 1D

The goal of this problem is to derive a form for the band energy near the Brillouin zone edge of a
1D crystal with lattice constant a.

Near the boundary of the first Brillouin zone (k=π/a) for the one-dimensional chain of identical
atoms of spacing a, the nearly-free electron theory predicts that the only important term in the
lattice potential is the lowest order Fourier component. In other words we can make a crude
approximation that the ionic lattice potential energy is given by cosinusoidal potential energy
V(x)= -V1cos(2πx/a). This expression has potential energy minima which corresponds to
positively charged ion cores located at positions x=…,-3a, -2a, -a, 0, a, 2a, 3a,…. Consider the
crystal length to be L, where L ≫ a.

Near this point in k-space (k ≈ π/a), the wavefunction is no longer exactly a travelling wave with
a single wavenumber. Rather, the wavefunction can be written by a superposition of two plane
waves as such:
 ( x)  e jkx   e j ( k 2 /a ) x .

(a) (10 points) Substitute this wavefunction and potential into the time-independent
Schrodinger Equation:
2
d 2 ( x )
  V ( x ) ( x )  E ( x ) .
2m dx 2
Multiply the resulting equation (a) by e-jkx and integrate over all x (from 0 to L) and (b) by
e-j(k-2π/a)x and integrate over all x (from 0 to L). By requiring the two equations to have a solution
for α and β, show that the energy E associated with the above wavefunction can be written:
  
2

2
   amV1  
2 2 2
k
E ( k )     k     k     .
2m ma  a   a   2 2  
 
(Hint: it is easiest to write these two equations as a 2×2 matrix equation and find the
determinant).
(b) (10 points) Using MATLAB or any other plotting program of your choice, plot these
energy bands between k=0 and k=2π/a. Use the parameters m=9.11×10-31 kg, a=0.3 nm.
Plot the bands both for V1=0 and V1=1 eV. In each case, give the value of the bandgap.

(c) (10 points) At a band edge, the effective mass of an electron is given by the expression:
2
m*  .
d 2 E dk 2
Find an expression for the effective mass m* at k=π/a using the expression above.

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 (d) (10 points) Find the exact wavefunctions ψ(x) at the band edge for both E+ and E- by
plugging in k=π/a into your previous equations and finding the values for α and β and
rewriting ψ(x) in terms of sin and cos. For the lower band edge state at E-, are the
electrons localized near the ions or in between the ions? For the higher band edge state at
E+, are the electrons localized near the ions or in between the ions?

Problem #2 (20 points) Consider a 1D crystal of total length L, made up of a single species
of atom with a lattice constant (spacing) of a. Explain why this crystal can only be a
semiconductor if each atom has an even number of valence electrons. While you may cite any
necessary equations, you must clearly give a descriptive explanation in text.

Problem #3 (40 points) Conductivity of metals using free electron gas model (aka Drude
model)

Estimate the mean free collision time t of several metals at 300K and 77K using the expression
for conductivity derived in class.

Using a periodic table to find the atomic mass, the mass density, the number of valence electrons
per atom (Zv), and the experimentally measured resistivity ρ, use our model derived in class for
conductivity σ to find the appropriate value for t . You should assume that the electron mass is
given by the bare electron mass m0=9.11×10-31 kg.

Be careful about your units – you may find it useful to convert everything to SI units.

Remember resistivity ρ = σ -1.

Mass density (g cm-3) Zv ρ (300 K) (μΩ cm) ρ (77 K) (μΩ cm)

Au 19.3 1 2.04 0.5
Al 2.7 3 2.45 0.3
Cu 8.96 1 1.56 0.2
Ag 10.5 1 1.51 0.3
Sn 7.3 4 10.6 2.1

Is t larger or smaller at lower temperatures? Speculate on the physical reason for this.

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