BTech CSE(AIML) 2023 and 1st Semester

Semiconductor Physics (BSCM101)

Class
2023-24 ODD

Study Material
(Semiconductor Physics, BSCM101)
Module I part 1

Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Limitation of Classical Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.1 Blackbody Radiation and the Ultraviolet Catastrophe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2.2 Photoelectric effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3 Quantum vs. Classical Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4 Planck’s theory of blackbody radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.1 Deduction from Planck’s law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1.1 Wien’s Displacement law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1.2 Sefan-Boltzmann law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5 Photoelectric effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.1 Characteristics of photoemission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.2 Explanation of Photoelectric effect using Einstein’s postulate: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3 Numerical example: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1 Introduction

This section deals with a “qualitative” overview of quantum physics and how it compares to classical physics. We
shall learn about a few fundamental experiments that illustrate the limitation of classical mechanics and the need
for a more fundamental theory. Next, we shall compare the basic properties of Quantum and Classical mechanics
using non-technical terms (minimal usage of mathematical derivation) as far as possible.

2 Limitation of Classical Physics

2.1 Blackbody Radiation and the Ultraviolet Catastrophe

Fig. 1 shows the energy distribution of blackbody radiation as a function of wavelength. Classical physics tells
us that the amount of the radiation is inversely proportional to the wavelength, or, more precisely, the power
emitted per unit area per unit solid angle per unit wavelength is proportional to λ14 where λ is the wavelength.
This means that as the wavelength approaches zero, the amount of radiation becomes infinite! The black curve
in Fig. 1 illustrates the same. This result is known as the ultraviolet catastrophe since ultraviolet light has shorter
wavelengths than the visible range of em waves. Obviously, this does not match well with experimental data,
since when we measure the total radiation emitted from a black body, we certainly do not measure it to be
infinity! Hence Classical theory has a serious limitation in explaining the experimentally observed distribution of
electromagnetic radiation emitted by a blackbody. Therefore, we need a more fundamental concept, Quantum

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BTech CSE(AIML) 2023 and 1st Semester
Semiconductor Physics (BSCM101)
Class
2023-24 ODD

UV VISIBLE INFRARED
14
5000 K
Spectral radiance (kW · sr⁻¹ · m⁻² · nm⁻¹)

12
Classical theory (5000 K)
10

4000 K
4

2
3000 K

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Wavelength (μm)

Fig. 1: The electromagnetic spectrum of energy radiated by a black body. Source:Wikipedia

theory.
According to quantum theory, radiation can only be emitted in a discrete “packet” of energy called quanta. If
we assume this idea of emission of quanta of energy, we can theoretically calculate the distribution curve of
blackbody radiation that agrees well with the experimentally measured spectrum. The law describing the amount
of radiation at each wavelength is called Planck’s law of blackbody radiation, after the name of Max Planck who
proposed this theory.

2.2 Photoelectric effect

When light falls on a metal surface, the metal surface emits electrons if the frequency of the incident light is
greater than the minimum frequency, known as the threshold frequency of the metal. Such a phenomenon is
known as the photoelectric effect. Using classical physics and the assumption that light is a wave, one can make
the following predictions:

• Brighter light should have more energy, so it should cause the emitted electrons to have more kinetic energy
and thus move faster.

• Light with higher frequency should hit the material more often, so it should cause a higher rate of electron
emission, resulting in a larger electric current.

However, what happens is the exact opposite:

• The kinetic energy of the emitted electrons increases with frequency, not brightness.

• The electric current increases with brightness, not frequency.

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Since the classical theory appears inadequate in explaining this effect we need Quantum theory. Similar to
Plank’s theory of blackbody radiation, Einstein proposed that light consists of discrete quanta called photons.
Each photon has energy proportional to the frequency of the light. Brighter light of the same frequency has
more photons; however, each photon has the same amount of energy. This proposed model agrees well with the
experimentally observed phenomenon.

3 Quantum vs. Classical Mechanics

Quantum mechanics is, as far as we know, the exact and fundamental theory of reality. Quantum mechanics is
necessary to describe small objects, like, elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. All big objects are effectively
made of microscopic particles; therefore, in principle, quantum mechanics can describe humans, planets, galaxies,
and even the whole universe. This is where Classical mechanics comes into the picture; when many small quantum
systems make up one large system, classical mechanics generally offers an adequate description for all practical
purposes. This is similar to how relativity is always the correct way to describe physics, but at low velocities,
much smaller than the speed of light, Newtonian physics is a good enough approximation.

4 Planck’s theory of blackbody radiation

The failure of classical theory to explain the experimentally observed energy distribution of the radiation emitted
by a blackbody made the path for a new theory. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Max Planck proposed
a new concept to explain the blackboy radiation and absorption of radiation is not a continuous process but
occurs discretely as an integral multiple of a basic unit, called the quantum of energy. Each quantum of energy
carries a definite amount of energy E = hν, where h is a universal constant known as Planck’s constant
(h = 6, 626 × 10−34 Js). Planck estimated the value of h by fitting the theory to the experimentally measured
data (Fig. 1).
The derivation of the expression of energy density radiated by a blackbody using Planck’s postulate is beyond the
scope of this course and therefore we assume the following form of the energy density of a blackbody radiated
for wavelengths between λ and λ + dλ
8πhc dλ
uλ dλ = 5
(1)
λ exp(hc/λKB T ) − 1
8πh ν 3 dν
⇒ uν dν = (2)
c3 exp(hν/KB T ) − 1
where KB is Boltzmann constant (1.38 × 10−23 JK −1 ) and c is speed of light in vacuum.
Planck’s formula for the energy distribution of the blackbody radiation agrees well with the experimentally
measured data (Fig. 1) for any value of wavelength (λ). Previously, two other laws using Classical theory were
known that can partially reproduce the experimentally measured energy distribution of the blackbody radiation
(Fig. 1).

Wien’s law of blackbody radiation

Wilhelm Wien, from thermodynamical considerations and some arbitrary assumptions regarding the mechanism
of emission and absorption of radiation, proposed a functional form of uλ for a given temperature T,
 
a −b
uλ (T ) dλ = 5 exp dλ (3)
λ λT
where a and b are constants.

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Rayleigh-Jeans Law
The British physicist Lord Rayleigh and Sir James Jeans, based on classical theory arguments and empirical facts,
proposed that a functional form of the energy density of blackbody radiation as,

aT
uλ dλ = dλ (4)
λ4

where a is a constant and T is the temperature of the blackbody. This form agrees well with the experimentally
measured spectra of radiation of the blackbody only at long wavelengths. This empirical law, however, severely
fails at short wavelengths known as the ultraviolet catastrophe.

Below we will show that for short and long wavelength limits functional form of Planck’s law of blackbody
radiation reduces to Wien’s law (for λ → 0) and Rayleigh-Jean’s law (for λ → ∞), respectively.

hc
For very short wavelengths, i.e., λ → 0, we have, λKB T ≫ 1, and therefore
   
hc hc
exp − 1 ≈ exp
λKB T λKB T

if we consider 8πhc = a and hc/KB = b, for short wavelength limit Eq. 2 reduces to,
 
8πhc 1 8πhc hc a
lim uλ dλ = 5
  dλ = 5
exp − = 5 exp (−b/λT ) dλ (5)
λ→0 λ exp hc λ λKB T λ
λKB T

which is the same as Eq. 3. Therefore Plank’s law for blackbody radiation reduces to Wien’s law at short
wavelengths of the radiation.
2 3
Again for long wavelengths,i.e., λ → ∞, λKhcB T ≪ 1. we know, for x ≪ 1, ex = 1 + x + x2! + x3! + . . .
 
Hence neglecting higher order terms of λKhcB T , we can write

 
hc hc
exp ≈1+
λKB T λKB T

 
hc hc hc
exp −1=1+ −1=
λKB T λKB T λKB T

Thus we have,

8πhc dλ 8πhc dλ
lim uλ dλ = lim =
λ→∞ λ→∞ λ5 exp(hc/λKB T ) − 1 λ5 λKhc T
B
8πhc λKB T T
= dλ = 8πKB 4 dλ
λ5 hc λ
aT
= 4
λ

Which is the same as Rayleigh-Jeans law (Eq. 4).

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Class
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4.1 Deduction from Planck’s law

4.1.1 Wien’s Displacement law
When the temperature of a blackbody increases, the overall radiated energy increases and the peak of the radiation
curve moves to shorter wavelengths. According to the Wien’s displacement law, the product of the wavelength
at which the energy density of radiation of a blackbody becomes maximum and the corresponding temperature
of the blackbody is constant.
From Planck’s law (Eq. 2) one can easily find that uλ is maximum when the denominator is minimum, since the
numerator is a constant. The denominator can be written as,
   
5 hc
z = λ exp −1
λKB T
dz
Since dλ = 0 at λ = λm , we have,
      
dz hc hc hc
= 5λ4 exp − 1 + λ5 exp − 2 =0 for λ = λm
dλ λKB T λKB T λ KB T
 
3 hc
hc
4
⇒ e λm KB T
5λm − λm − 5λ4m = 0
KB T
 
hc
4 λm KB T hc
⇒ λm e 5− − 5λ4m = 0
λm KB T
 
4 x hc
⇒ λm (e (5 − x) − 5) = 0 x=
λm KB T
x
⇒ e (5 − x) − 5 = 0 as λm ̸= 0
⇒ ex (5 − x) = 5
⇒ 5 − x = 5e−x
⇒ 5(1 − e−x ) = x
x
⇒ 1 − e−x =
5
This is a transcendental equation that can not be solved analytically. Therefore we solve it graphically by plotting
y = 1 − exp(−x) and y = x/5 on the same graph paper. The point of intersection of two curves gives the
solution for x that is x = 4.96. We thus get
hc hc
λm T = = = 0.0029Km = constant
KB x 4.96KB
This is Wien’s displacment law.

4.1.2 Sefan-Boltzmann law

The Stefan-Boltzmann law states that the total energy radiated per unit surface area of a blackbody across all
wavelengths per unit time is proportional to the forth power of its absolute temperature. The corresponding
proportionality constant is known as Stefan constant, σ = 5.67 × 10−8 J/(s m2 K 4 ).
If Eλ is the intensity of the emitted radiation between wavelength λ and λ + dλ, the total energy across all
wavelengths emitted by the blackbody is given by
Z ∞
E= Eλ dλ
0

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. The energy density uλ is related to the intensity of the emitted radiation as

c
Eλ = uλ
4
.
∞
c ∞
Z Z
E= Eλ dλ = uλ dλ
0 4 0
Z ∞
c 1 dλ
= 8πhc
4 0
5
λ exp( λKhc T ) − 1
B

Let’s assume
hc
=x
λKB T
1 KB T
− 2 dλ = dx
λ hc

Therefore we can write,

∞
KB T 4 x3 dx
Z 
E = 2πhc2
0 hc ex − 1
4 T4 ∞
x3 dx
Z
2πKB
=
h3 c2 0 ex − 1
2πKB 4 T4 4
π
= 3 2
h c 15
2π 5 KB 4
= T 4 = σT 4
15c2 h3
where σ is Known as Stefan constant. Putting all the values of the constants we get,

2π 5 KB4
= 5.67 × 10−8 J/(sm2 K 4 )
15c h3
2

Thus Stefan-Boltzmann’s law can be derived from Planck’s law of blackbody radiation.

5 Photoelectric effect

The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon of the emission of electrons from the surface of a metal when a
beam of electromagnetic radiation of appropriate frequency is incident on it. Electrons thus emitted are known
as photoelectrons and the current produced by the emission of the photoelectrons is known as photocurrent.

5.1 Characteristics of photoemission

1. The number of photoelectrons emitted per second, that is, the photoelectric current is directly proportional
to the intensity of the incident radiation but it is independent of the frequency (or wavelength) of incident
light.

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2. The maximum speed of the emitted photoelectron is independent of the intensity of the incident light, but
depends on its frequency, increasing linearly with the increase of the frequency of the incident light.

3. For each material emitting photoelectrons, there is a minimum energy, φ0 , that must be supplied to the
material to have photoelectrons emitted from its surface. This minimum energy is called the work function
of the material. In other words, there is a minimum frequency ν0 of the incident light below which no
photoelectron would be ejected from the surface of the metal. This cut-off frequency is known as the
threshold frequency.

5.2 Explanation of Photoelectric effect using Einstein’s postulate:

In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed a new theory of electromagnetic radiation to explain the photoelectric effect.
According to this theory, photoelectric emission does not take place by continuous absorption of energy from
radiation. Light energy is built up of discrete units – the so-called quanta of energy of radiation. Each quantum
of radiant energy has energy hν, where h is Planck’s constant and ν is the frequency of light. Such a quantum
or packet of light energy is known as a photon.
When light of energy hν falls on the surface of a metal having work function φ0 , photoelectrons are ejected only
if hν > φ0 . The excess energy hν − φ0 is taken by the electrons as its kinetic energy. Thus the maximum kinetic
energy of the emitted photoelectrons is

1
mv 2 = hν − φ0 (6)
2 max

One can apply a negative potential to stop the ejected photoelectrons. The minimum negative potential
must be applied to stop the fastest moving photoelectron is known as stopping potential. If Vs be the potential
required to stop the fastest moving photoelectron having speed vmax then,

1 2
eVs = mvmax .
2

Therefore the Equ.6 can also be in an alternative form as follows,

hν − φ0 = eVs
hν = hν0 + eVs (7)

5.3 Numerical example:

In an experiment using a tungsten cathode that has a threshold wavelength 2300Å is irradiated by the ultraviolet
light of wavelength 1800Å. Calculate the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectrons and the work
function of tungsten.

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1
mv 2 = hν − hν0
2 max  
c c
=h −
λ λ0
 
1 1
= hc −
λ λ0
 
1 1
= 6.626 × 10−34 × 3 × 108 −
1800 × 10−10 2300 × 10−10
= 2.4 × 10−19 J
2.4 × 10−19
= eV = 1.5 eV
1.6 × 10−19

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