DOS in 2D for linear energy dispersion

Given that graphene has linear energy dispersion near the Fermi level and
the dispersion is given by E = h̄vF |⃗k|, we would like to determine the density
of states. The total number of states is
Z k(E)
A
N = total number of states = dk
(2π)d 0

Let we have L × L graphene sheet. The dimensionality d = 2. Then we have

4(L/2π)2 density of states in the reciprocal space (4 comes from 2 spin states
and 2 valleys in graphene). Therefore the total number of states is
k(E)
L2
Z
N =4 dkx dky .
(2π)2 0

In polar coordinates it is
k(E) k(E)
L2 2L2
Z Z
N =4 2πkdk = kdk
(2π)2 0 π 0

The density of states per unit energy and unit area is

2πkdk 2|E|dE
D(E)dE = 4 = .
(2π)2 πh̄2 vF2

Hence
2|E|
D(E) =
πh̄2 vF2

1
Semiconductors in Magnetic fields
The application of magnetic fields is one of the most powerful methods for investigating the
properties of charge carriers. It was first shown by Landau in 1930 that the energy levels of a
population of free electrons will become quantised into a set of magnetic sub-bands (landau
levels). These levels are separated by the cyclotron frequency, with energies given by

where wc =eB/m* is the cyclotron frequency and k|| is the component of the wavevector parallel
to the magnetic field.

Towards the bottom of each Landau level, the density of states develops a series of singularities
known as Van Hove singularities. This divergence is often expressed in a parabolic
approximation

The two expression above are depicted in the figure below.

Figure 1: (left) The Landau dispersion as a function of wavevector along the magnetic field
direction. (right) The density of states as a function of energy.
If the energy separation between two of the levels (hwc) is equal to a well defined energy, such
as the optic phonon energy, resonant absorption and emission of phonons will take place. This
is known as the magnetophonon effect and lead to the spectrum shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: A sketch of a photoluminescent spectrum illustrating the magnetophonon effect. The

distance between subsequent peaks is given by the energy spacing of the landau levels.

At low temperatures, in degenerate materials, conduction takes place within a small region
around the Fermi energy. As the magnetic field is varied, the singularities at the bottom of each
Landau level cross the Fermi level in succession, and thus give rise to a series of structures in
the resistivity which are periodic in 1/B.

The first experimental demonstration of this effect was the observation by Shubnikov and de
Haas of small oscillations in the magnetoresistance of bismuth. These become known
subsequently as Shubnikov de Haas oscillations and are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Experimentally observed SdH oscillations. Taken from J. P. Freire et al, Braz. J. Phys.
34 (2004)

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