Tutorial: Optoelectronic

Behaviour
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Some Important Relations
• C = 1/√ε0μ0

• C = λν

• E = hν = hC/λ

• Planck’s constant (h) = 6.63 x 10-34 J.s = 4.14 x 10-15 eV.s

Interactions of Light with Solids
• Absorption, reflection and transmission
• a+r+t=1
• Transparent: Glasses
• Translucent: Depends on doping
• Opaque: Metals
Optical Properties of Metals
Optical Properties of Non - Metals

• Refraction
• Refractive Index: n = C/v
• V = 1/ √εμ
• n = C/v = (√εμ)/(√ε0μ0) = √εrμr
• If the material is slightly magnetic, μr ≈ 1,
n ≈ √εr
Refractive Indices of Common Materials
Reflection
• Scattering of light at interfaces between two media
• R = IR/I0
• R = [(n2 – n1) / (n2 + n1)]2
• Significance
Think about change in reflectivity due to change in dielectric constant due to
miniaturization
Absorption
Example 1

• Compute minimum and maximum energy values associated with

visible light. Comment whether Ge and Si will be opaque to visible
light.
Answer: Minimum energy = 1.8 eV
Maximum energy = 3.2 eV
Opaque
Recombination in Solids
Transmission

IT = I0 (1-R)2 e-βI
Colour
• Uniform absorption over for all visible wavelengths: colourless
• Selective absorption by electron excitation : in case of
semiconductors having Eg in between 1.8 to 2.4 eV
• Cu2+ : blue-green, Co2+ : blue – violet, Cr3+ : Green
• Glazes, decorative coatings
Try to correlate “change in bandgap due to nanostructuring” and “energy of incident photon”
References
Slide Reference
2-8, 11-15 Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering; William D. Callister Jr, John Wiley and Sons, 5 th Edition,
2001
9, 16-19 R.K. Goyal, Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites: Synthesis, Properties, Characterization Techniques and
Applications, CRC Press, 1st Edition, 2018
10 B.S. Murty, P. Shankar, B. Raj, B.B. Rath, J. Murday, Textbook of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Springer
University Press, 1st Edition, 2013