Bands and Photons in III-V

Semiconductor Quantum Structures

Igor Vurgaftman
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SERIES ON SEMICONDUCTOR
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Series Editors
R. J. Nicholas University of Oxford
H. Kamimura University of Tokyo
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

SERIES ON SEMICONDUCTOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. M. Jaros: Physics and applications of semiconductor microstructures

2. V. N. Dobrovolsky and V. G. Litovchenko: Surface electronic transport phenom-
ena in semiconductors
3. M. J. Kelly: Low-dimensional semiconductors
4. P. K. Basu: Theory of optical processes in semiconductors
5. N. Balkan: Hot electrons in semiconductors
6. B. Gil: Group III nitride semiconductor compounds: physics and applications
7. M. Sugawara: Plasma etching
8. M. Balkanski, R. F. Wallis: Semiconductor physics and applications
9. B. Gil: Low-dimensional nitride semiconductors
10. L. Challis: Electron-phonon interactions in low-dimensional structures
11. V. Ustinov, A. Zhukov, A. Egorov, N. Maleev: Quantum dot lasers
12. H. Spieler: Semiconductor detector systems
13. S. Maekawa: Concepts in spin electronics
14. S. D. Ganichev, W. Prettl: Intense terahertz excitation of semiconductors
15. N. Miura: Physics of semiconductors in high magnetic fields
16. A.V. Kavokin, J. J. Baumberg, G. Malpuech, F. P. Laussy: Microcavities
17. S. Maekawa, S. O. Valenzuela, E. Saitoh, T. Kimura: Spin current
18. B. Gil: III-nitride semiconductors and their modern devices
19. A. Toropov, T. Shubina: Plasmonic Effects in Metal-Semiconductor
Nanostructures
20. B. K. Ridley: Hybrid Phonons in Nanostructures
21. A. V. Kavokin, J. J. Baumberg, G. Malpuech, F. P. Laussy: Microcavities, Second
edition
22. S. Maekawa, S. O. Valenzuela, E. Saitoh, T. Kimura: Spin current, Second
Edition
23. M. M. Glazov: Electron and nuclear spin dynamics in semiconductor
nanostructures
24. D. Meier, J. Seidel, M. Gregg, R. Ramesh: Domain walls: from fundamental
properties to nanotechnology concepts
25. I. Vurgaftman, M. Lumb, J. Meyer: Bands and photons in III-V semiconductor
quantum structures
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

Bands and Photons in III–V

Semiconductor Quantum Structures

Igor Vurgaftman, Matthew P. Lumb, and Jerry R. Meyer

1
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Vurgaftman, Lumb, and Meyer 2021
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
First Edition published in 2021
Impression: 1
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above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944521
ISBN 978–0–19–876727–5
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198767275.001.0001
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Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

ILLVMINAT·OMNEM·STRVCTVRAM·BANDVM
Inscription on a Roman vase
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

Preface

Why do we need yet another book on the physics of semiconductor quantum

structures and photonic devices? The writing process has taken enough time from
our regular lives (and the purchase may take enough from a potential reader’s
wallet) that we cannot brush this question aside lightly.
First, we feel that the existing treatments fall a little short of presenting the
theory of band structure and optical properties in a fully logical and self-contained
manner. As we try to show in this book, this theory is surprisingly accessible at a
rather deep level and does not demand much background from the reader, apart
from a basic grounding in quantum mechanics and electromagnetism. In some
cases, we find that other sources do not make it clear how minimal a model can be
and still remain adequate for a particular class of devices.
Second, we would like to expand and bring up to date some of the content
that can be found elsewhere. We include extended discussions of quantum and
interband cascade lasers, superlattice photodetectors, and novel photovoltaic
concepts as well as a much-needed update of the comprehensive set of band
parameters first reported in a 2001 review by two of the present authors (expanded
and corrected in 2003 and 2007 for the wurtzites).
Third, the book tries to shed a ray or two of light on many connections between
the physics of III–V semiconductors and newer materials such as graphene and
transition metal dichalcogenides. Today’s junior researchers may benefit from
following these links, sketched in outline, as the field inevitably pivots to the next
great thing.
How did we decide which topics should receive the most care? Everyone tries to
tell the story they know best, and we are no exception. The book relies on heavily
on our published work, and hence emphasizes mid-infrared devices. But this is
hardly a compilation, and much of the material appears in the form adopted here
for the first time. We also try to take advantage of the extended book format to
provide a more granular picture and frame it in a slightly different way that is
fully understandable to ourselves and, we hope, to any other sufficiently motivated
reader willing to go along for the ride. Sometimes that requires dropping rigor and
bridging the gaps with dimensional and plausibility arguments. At other times, we
use quantitative examples to make the magnitude of the effect clear.
Here is a brief overview of the actual content of the book. Part I lays the foun-
dation for Parts II, III, and IV in describing how the most important regions of the
band structure close to the energy gap can be modeled using approaches that range
from quite simple to rather involved. The band structure technique of choice is the
8-band k · p method and its various simplified forms, although we do not neglect
tight-binding approaches, including the effective bond-orbital method, and the
empirical pseudopotential method. Chapter 4 discusses the optical properties of
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

xii Preface

bulk III–V semiconductors, starting from the basic concepts and culminating in
quantitative analyses of the absorption, gain, and radiative emission in bulk III–V
materials. Part II presents a comprehensive tabulated update of the recommended
band parameters (here augmented to include dilute bismides, boron nitride, and
the optical constants) that were first published by two of us nearly twenty years
ago. These parameters are used in the models and simulation results presented in
Parts I, III, and IV, and may of course be used for general reference in the reader’s
own band structure and device modeling calculations. Part III guides the reader
into the quantum realm, and its implementation in semiconductor epitaxial layers
with atomic-scale thicknesses. It provides tools for computing the band structures
and optical properties of quantum wells and superlattices, as well as quantum
wires and dots with multidimensional confinement. Chapter 11 discusses the
optical properties of quantum heterostructures, focusing on absorption, gain, and
radiative emission processes that may result from both interband and intersubband
interactions. Finally, Part IV describes the physical principles behind photonic
devices based on layered III–V semiconductors and how they are designed using
the tools developed in Parts I and III. Lasers, photodetectors, solar cells, and
nonlinear devices will be discussed, with particular emphasis on mid-infrared
lasers and mid-wave and long-wave superlattice-based photodetectors. Since all of
these devices rely on non-equilibrium free carriers, the various radiative and non-
radiative recombination processes that can dominate under different conditions
will be described.
Everyone dislikes a long and rambling preface. If the reader indulges us for
another paragraph, we would like to reiterate the philosophy that has guided the
writing of this book. While it comes to you untested in a classroom, we do have
vivid memories as well as recent experiences of learning new concepts. Whenever
an echo of the familiar resounds in an exotic thicket, we feel a step closer to the
destination. For this reason, we avoid plucking a non-obvious mathematical result
from another reference and sending the reader scurrying off to check its validity
(and sometimes despairing of ever doing so!). Instead, we attempt to make every
calculation as self-contained as possible in a book of this size. When that stretches
the book’s scope too far, we outline why the given fact is plausible and how it
connects to the accumulated body of physical knowledge. Prizing intelligibility
over cleverness, we steer clear of the more obscure theoretical tools, particularly
where they are not strictly necessary to understand the material. We also try
to paint a continuous narrative rather than serve up a farrago of formulas and
calculations. Having given up on citing every relevant paper under the sun, we
limit our references to a short list of those articles and books that have been the
most useful to us. The exception is the band-parameter update in Part II, which is
more catholic and builds on our earlier reviews. Finally, we have aimed to keep the
language simple and direct, not peppered with acronyms. The readers can judge
for themselves the success (or lack thereof!) in achieving these goals from the text
that follows.
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

Acknowledgments

We are immensely grateful to the many people who have worked with us or advised
us on the topics covered here over the past several decades. These include, first
and foremost, the members of our research groups, as well as many world-class
scientists, some of whose insights found their way into the book. While we are
unable to list everyone who should share at least some credit, special thanks go
to Bill Bewley, Chadwick Canedy, Chul Soo Kim, Mijin Kim, Charles Merritt,
Stephanie Tomasulo, Jacob Khurgin, Edward Aifer, L. R. Ram-Mohan, Jasprit
Singh, and Maria Gonzalez. On a more artistic front, Chul Soo Kim designed
the cover image, and Yelena Vurgaftman helped to draw the schematics. It goes
without saying that the responsibility for any errors rests with us alone.
We are grateful to Sonke Adlung and Oxford University Press for their interest
in the initial idea (that did not flag as deadlines passed . . . and passed), and for
helping to make the publication process smoother than we could ever imagine.
Finally, a word of thanks to our families who have made this book and many other
things possible.
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

1
Basics of Crystal Structure
and Band Structure

III–V semiconductors form crystalline structures with three-dimensional periodic

arrangements of the atoms. In this chapter, we will explore the nature of the crystal
lattice starting from lower dimensions and progressing to real semiconductor
crystals. We also learn why we expect distinct energy bands to form in the solids
that crystallize in such lattices. The carrier statistics and occupation of the bands
will also be examined.

1.1 1D and 2D Crystals

In one dimension, movement is along a single line. Therefore, all periodic 1D
structures are alike and characterized uniquely by the lattice spacing a. We can also
place more than one atom around each periodic lattice point, a concept known as
adding a basis to the lattice. If the lattice is defined by points with coordinates na,
where n is an integer, one possible basis is to put two atoms at relative distances
±b from each lattice point, so that the atomic positions are na ± b, as shown in
Fig. 1.1. When b = a/2, the lattice with a two-atom basis degenerates into a single-
atom basis with half the spacing, unless of course the two atoms are different. This
is all we need to know about one-dimensional crystal structures.
Adding another dimension changes everything. We can construct the 2D lattice
by tiling the plane with a repeated unit cell and placing the atoms somewhere
within each cell. There are five distinct arrangements of the lattice points, and the
ones with the highest symmetry tile the plane with squares or equilateral triangles
(or, equivalently, regular hexagons).
Symmetry is pleasing to the eye, but which of the possibilities are the most
physically important? The real answer will have to wait, but we can start with a
guess that the energy is at a minimum when the atoms are packed into the smallest
possible volume. To estimate the packing density of each crystal structure, we
assume that all the atoms are circular.

Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures. Vurgaftman, Lumb, and Meyer,
Oxford University Press (2021). © Vurgaftman, Lumb, and Meyer.
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198767275.003.0001
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

4 Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures

b a

n–1 n n+1 n+2

Figure 1.1 One-dimensional crystal lattice with period a and a basis of two atoms positioned
at relative distances ±b from each lattice point.

For example, the circles in the square lattice illustrated in Fig. 1.2a just touch
when their diameters are equal to the lattice period a. Since only one circle fits
within each square tile, the fraction of the plane covered by circles is

area of circle πa2 /4 π

Fsquare = = = ≈ 0.785 (1.1)
area of square a2 4

Can we do better? Clearly, a rectangular lattice is a poor choice since the circles
would touch only along the shorter side. Then what about the triangular (or
hexagonal) lattice shown in Fig. 1.2b? Some of the circles are shared between
adjacent hexagonal tiles, so we count only the fraction of each circle that falls
within a given hexagon. In this case, one circle lies entirely within each hexagon,
and six more are shared equally between three cells. Counting the shared circles
as 1/3 each, we obtain a total of three circles contained within each unit cell. The
packing ratio is then

3 × (area of circle) 3πa2 /4 π

Fhex = = √ = √ ≈ 0.907 (1.2)
area of hexagon 3 3a /2 2 3
2

This is impressively high, but can we raise it even closer to 1? The answer is no.
In fact, we have run out of basic symmetries to consider. The plane cannot be
tiled by regular octagons, dodecagons, etc., because an integer number of internal
angles, (k − 2) π/k each, where k is the number of vertices, does not fit into a

(a) (b)

a
a a
a

Figure 1.2 (a) Square-lattice arrangement of circles, each with diameter a. (b) Hexagonal-lattice
arrangement of circles with diameter a.
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

1D and 2D Crystals 5

2π angle at each vertex when k > 6. In fact, the so-called Thue’s theorem states
that among all possible periodic and aperiodic arrangements, a hexagonal lattice
provides the highest planar filling fraction for circles of fixed radius.
We can add a basis to the 2D hexagonal lattice to represent two types of atoms
in a compound. The concept will also come in handy when the atoms themselves
are identical, but the outer-shell electronic configuration has fewer than six nearest
neighbors.
In general, we need two integers (m, n) to describe the position of each atom.
The Cartesian coordinates of the atom (x, y) are equal to (m, n) multiplied by the
two lattice vectors. For example, if we choose
√ 

1 3
a1 = a (1, 0) a2 = a , (1.3)
2 2

the six nearest neighbors in a hexagonal lattice are (m, n) = (±1, 0) , (0, ±1) , (1, −1)
and (−1, 1). To define the basis we superpose two such lattices, with the√second
displaced by (0, −b) relative to the first in Cartesian coordinates. If b = a/ 3, this
is the “honeycomb” crystal structure illustrated in Fig. 1.3, in which each atom
has three nearest neighbors that occupy sites on the other sublattice. The distance
√
to the six nearest neighbors on the same sublattice is larger by a factor of 3. In
Cartesian coordinates, the positions of the nearest neighbors with respect to an
atom at the origin are
a  √  a
δ 1,2 = √ ± 3, 1 δ 3 = √ (0, −1) (1.4)
2 3 3

The atoms in the two interpenetrating sublattices may or may not be identical.
III–V semiconductors do not produce any two-dimensional crystals, but group IV
elements potentially can. In particular, graphene is a 2D honeycomb crystal of
carbon atoms. We can also conceive of silicene, germanene, etc. The three nearest

Sublattice A

Sublattice B

a2

δ2 δ1
a1
δ3

Figure 1.3 Two interpenetrating hexagonal lattices that produce a honeycomb crystal structure.
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

6 Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures

Table 1.1 The 2D lattice structures discussed in the text.

Lattice Type First Lattice Vector Second Lattice Vector

Square a (1, 0) a (0, 1)

Rectangular a (1, 0) b (0, 1) , a = b
 √ 
Hexagonal (triangular) a (1, 0) a 12 , 23

Note: The honeycomb pattern is a hexagonal lattice with the two-atom basis described by
Eq. (1.4).

neighbors are accommodated by sp2 hybridization of the outer-shell electrons,

with the non-hybridized orbitals forming two out-of-plane π bonds. Graphene
becomes the three-dimensional graphite crystal when atomic planes configured in
the honeycomb lattice are stacked vertically and weakly bonded by van der Waals
forces. The important 2D lattice structures are summarized in Table 1.1, along
with the unit lattice vectors.

1.2 3D Crystal Structure

Taking our cue from 2D crystals, we next calculate how densely the atoms—
now represented by spheres—can be packed in three dimensions. The simplest
arrangement by far is the cubic lattice shown in Fig. 1.4a, in which the atoms
occupy the vertices of a cube with side a. Any given vertex has six nearest
neighbors, separated from the origin by a. For example, the atom at (0, 0, 0) has
nearest neighbors at (±1, 0, 0), (0, ±1, 0), and (0, 0, ±1). The number of nearest
neighbors in a lattice is referred to as the coordination number. A single sphere with
diameter a fits into the cube with a packing fraction

volume of sphere 4π(a/2)3 /3 π

Fcube = = = ≈ 0.524 (1.5)
volume of cube a3 6

Surely we can  do better!  What if we place a single atom at the center of the cube
[(x, y, z) = a 12 , 12 , 12 ] and position the others at the vertices as shown in Fig. 1.4b?
This arrangement is known as body-centered cubic (bcc). If the sphere at√the center
just touches the corner spheres, the diagonal of the cube (with length 3a) spans
two sphere diameters. There are eight spheres in the corners, each shared between
eight adjacent cells. Counting the sphere √ at the center, this means that each cubic
cell encloses two spheres of diameter 3a/2. The packing fraction is then
√ 3
√
2 × (volume of sphere) 2 × 4π 3a/4 /3 3π
Fbcc = = 3
= ≈ 0.680 (1.6)
volume of cube a 8
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

3D Crystal Structure 7

(a) (b) (c)

a/2(–1,1,1) a/2(0,1,1)
a(0,0,1)
O a/2(1,0,1)
a/2(1,–1,1)
O
a(0,1,0) O
a(1,0,0)
a/2(1,1,0)
a/2(1,1,–1)

x y

2d = √2a
2d = √3a

d=a

Figure 1.4 (a) Cubic lattice, the simplest 3D arrangement, has atoms positioned at the vertices
of a cube with side length a. (b) Body-centered cubic lattice, which places a single atom in the
center of the cube and others at each vertex. Also shown is the most convenient set of lattice
vectors, which are drawn from a corner atom to the center atom in the next cell. (c) Face-centered
cubic lattice, which positions additional atoms at the center of each face of the cube. Also shown is
a convenient set of lattice vectors that connects a corner atom to the atoms on three adjacent faces.
The schematic below each lattice diagram illustrates the space filling by spheres centered at the
√ sphere of diameter d = a fits into the cube, in the bcc
lattice sites. In the cubic lattice a single
lattice two spheres of diameter
√ d = 3a/2 fit into a body diagonal, and in the fcc lattice two
spheres of diameter d = 2a/2 fit into a face diagonal.

Naïve though our packing argument may be, the bcc lattice does occur in nature
as the crystal structure of a few elementary solids.
We can define the bcc lattice vectors in a number of ways. The most convenient
choice is to draw the vectors from a corner atom in one cell symmetrically to the
center atoms in the neighboring cells:
a a a
a1 = (−1, 1, 1) a2 = (1, −1, 1) a3 = (1, 1, −1) (1.7)
2 2 2

The atom at the√ cube center is closer to those at the vertices of the same cube
(a distance of 3a/2) than it is to atoms at the centers of the neighboring cubes
(a distance of a). Therefore, the coordination number for the bcc lattice is eight.
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

8 Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures

If denser packing goes together with the higher coordination number, can we
find a lattice with a coordination number greater than eight? Try adding more
atoms to the cube in the most symmetrical way possible! We can do this by putting
the extra atoms at the centers of the six faces rather than at the center of the cube.
This face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice, illustrated in Fig. 1.4c, looks the same from
any given point in any direction. It has a higher coordination number than the
bcc lattice, because the nearest neighbors of the atom at (0, 0, 0) are at the centers
of the 12 adjacent faces a (±1, ±1, 0), a (0, ±1, ±1), and a (±1, 0, ±1) located on
the three intersecting planes. We choose the following symmetric lattice vectors to
describe the fcc lattice:
a a a
a1 = (0, 1, 1) a2 = (1, 0, 1) a3 = (1, 1, 0) (1.8)
2 2 2

Does the higher coordination number for the fcc lattice give a higher packing
fraction? In the fcc lattice, the atoms at the centers of the six faces are half inside
the cube pictured in Fig. 1.4c, while those at the eight vertices are only 1/8 within
that cube. This adds up to four spherical volumes√inside the cube. Since we can
fit two diameters into a face diagonal with length 2a, the packing fraction is
√ 3
4 ×(volume of sphere) 4 × 4π 2a/4 /3 π
Ffcc = = 3
= √ ≈ 0.740 (1.9)
volume of cube a 3 2

The fraction is indeed higher, but only by < 10 percent compared to Eq. (1.6),
even though the coordination number is up by 50 percent. This should alert us that
we are approaching an upper limit. It also makes intuitive sense that extra open
space is unavoidable when atoms are packed in 3D rather than 2D. Are there any
other lattice configurations we have missed? For example, could we have a cubic
lattice with additional atoms at the centers of the edges rather than on the faces?
No, this “edge-centered lattice” is not in fact a valid lattice, because with gaping
holes at the cube centers and six faces it does not look the same from all directions.
Of course, if these gaps are filled with atoms, we recover a simple cubic lattice with
half the period. We conclude that the potential for improvement within the cubic
geometry is at an ebb.
In Section 1.1, a hexagonal geometry gave the tightest fit in 2D. Might we use a
similar type of packing in 3D? We can simply borrow the first two lattice vectors
from the 2D form in Eq. (1.3) and choose the third to point along the z axis with
some length c. Now, what value of c (in units of a) yields the densest packing
arrangement? We start with all the atoms in successive hexagonal planes lying
exactly on top of one another, as illustrated in Fig. 1.5a. Here c is simply equal to
a. As in the analogous 2D case, there are three atoms per unit cell since exactly
half of each layer fits inside. The lattice vectors are
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

3D Crystal Structure 9

 √ 
1 3
a1 = a (1, 0, 0) a2 = a , ,0 a3 = c (0, 0, 1) (1.10)
2 2

The lattice vectors in Eq. (1.10) apply to any hexagonal geometry with c = a
as well as c = a.
√The cell volume is the area of the hexagon times c (= a), or 3a (a1 × a2 ) =
3 3a3 /2. The packing fraction is then

3 × (volume of sphere) 3 × 4π(a/2)3 /3 π

Fhxs = = √ = √ ≈ 0.605 (1.11)
volume of cell 3 3a /2
3 3 3

This is no better than the fcc lattice, but what if we slide the upper layer so that it
fits into the interstitials between the atoms of the first layer, as shown in Fig. 1.5b?
The third layer is aligned with the first, the fourth with the second etc., as if we were
stacking cannonballs (or oranges). The unit cell, which consists of both the first
and second layers, now has three extra atoms, for a total of six. The cell volume is
again the product of the hexagon’s area and c, which we would like to calculate in
terms of a.
The distance between the first and second layers is simply c/2 in this geometry.
The distance between a given atom and the nearest atoms in the next layer is a,
so that the two spheres of diameter a are just touching. This is the hypotenuse
of the right triangle shown in Fig. 1.5c. The leg in the plane is equal to the
distance between one vertex and the center of an equilateral triangle formed by
the neighboring  vertices,  i.e.,√half the side length divided by the cosine of the
◦
half-angle, a/ 2 cos 30 = a/ 3. Applying the Pythagorean theorem to the right
triangle in Fig. 1.5c, we obtain

2
c=2 a (1.12)
3

and the packing fraction becomes

4π ( a )
3
6 × (volume of sphere) 6 × 32
Fhcp = = √
volume of cell 3 3a2 c
2
6 × 4π(a/2)3 /3 π
= √ = √ ≈ 0.740 (1.13)
3 2a 3 3 2

The packing fraction of 74.0 percent for this aptly named hexagonal close-
packed (hcp) lattice is the same as for the fcc lattice! We have indeed reached a
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

10 Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures

(a)

a
a

(b)
Sublattice A

Sublattice B

(c)

a c = 2√(2/3) a

√(2/3) a

a/√3 60°
a
a

Figure 1.5 (a) Projection and plan view of a 3D hexagonal lattice in which each hexagonal
layer lies exactly on top of the one below it (c = a); (b) 3D projection and plan view of the
hexagonal close-packed (hcp) lattice, in which the atoms of sublattice B fit interstitially between
the atoms of sublattice A; (c) out-of-plane lattice constant c for the hcp lattice, as found by
applying the Pythagorean theorem to the right triangle composed of the vertex in the first layer, a
vertex in the second layer, and the center of the equilateral triangle just below the second-layer
vertex.

fundamental limit, and in fact, there is a surprisingly close connection between

the fcc and hcp lattices. When viewed along the [111] direction, the fcc lattice
looks very much like the hcp lattice except the third layer is placed in different
interstitials of the second layer rather than over the first layer. In the nineteenth
century, Gauss gave a simple argument that demonstrated the packing fraction in
Eqs. (1.9) and (1.13) is an upper bound when identical spheres are arranged in
any kind of lattice. Curiously, the proof that this holds true for irregular as well as
 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

3D Crystal Structure 11

regular packing arrangements had to await the end of the twentieth century and
could not have been completed without reams of painstaking, computer-assisted
analysis. This is the famous Kepler conjecture from an influential list of unsolved
mathematical problems published by David Hilbert in 1900.
Do actual crystals found in nature take advantage of these mathematical
relations? Indeed, many elemental materials, e.g., the noble metals gold, silver, and
copper, crystallize in the fcc lattice. Hexagonal lattices with c close to the value in
Eq. (1.12) are also quite popular in the natural world (found, e.g., in beryllium,
magnesium, and zinc). Even the bcc lattice is not far behind, claiming the alkali
metals and some transition metals such as iron and tungsten.
The packing fraction can take us only so far. The lattice structure of group IV,
III–V, and II–VI semiconductors is primarily due to the electron configuration
in the outer shell. In the simplest case, the outer shells in group IV materials
such as C, Si, Ge, and α-Sn (the low-temperature form) have two s and two p
electrons. A strong covalent bond forms with other atoms in the lattice only when
these electrons are shared with up to four other group IV atoms. The favored
coordination number of four is even lower than in the simple cubic lattice.
Is there a close-packed lattice structure with a coordination number of four?
Perhaps we can find one with a basis. We superpose two spatially displaced copies
of one of the lattices we already know. With two interpenetrating fcc lattices, what
displacement vector leads to a coordination number of four? If we shift the second
lattice by a/2 along all axes, we form the rock-salt structure found, e.g., in table salt
(NaCl). But Fig. 1.6a illustrates that each atom in the lattice still has six nearest
neighbors.
The desired configuration has four atoms equidistant from each other, i.e.,
forming the vertices of a regular tetrahedron (a triangular pyramid). Can we
embed this tetrahedron into the cube that underlies the fcc lattice? This is a well-
known geometrical problem in which the vertices of the tetrahedron correspond
to the a/4 (1, 1, 1), a/4 (1, −1, −1), a/4 (−1, −1, 1), and a/4 (−1, 1, −1) vertices of
the origin-centered cube of side length a/2, as shown in Fig. 1.6c. The atoms at the
vertices are connected by vectors√±a/2 (1, 1, 0), ±a/2 (1, 0, 1), and ±a/2 (0, 1, 1),
and the distance between them is 2a. In fact, these vectors are the same as those
linking the nearest neighbors in the fcc lattice of Eq. (1.8). All of the atoms at
the
√ vertices of the regular tetrahedron are separated from the origin by a distance
3a/4. If the first lattice includes an atom at the origin, and the second lattice
is displaced by a distance a/4 (1, 1, 1) from the first so that it includes atoms at
a/4 (1, 1, 1), a/4 (1, −1, −1), a/4 (−1, −1, 1), and a/4 (−1, 1, −1), we have a crystal
structure with four nearest neighbors that can accommodate the sp3 covalent
bonding found in most bulk semiconductors. This is shown in Fig. 1.6b.
When the atoms of the two interpenetrating sublattices are the same, we have
the diamond crystal structure, which is found in nature in the diamond form of
crystalline C, Si, Ge, and α-Sn. When the atoms in the two sublattices are different,
as in III–V semiconductors or some group IV materials such as SiC, the covalent
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 31/10/2020, SPi

12 Bands and Photons in III–V Semiconductor Quantum Structures

a/4(–1,–1,1)
(a) (b) a/4(1,1,1)

O
a/4(1,–1,–1) a/4(–1,1,–1)
z
z
y
x
x
y

(c) z
a/2(–1,–1,1)

√2a a/2(1,1,1)

√2a
y
a/2(1,1,–1)
x √2a a/2(–1,1,–1)

Figure 1.6 (a) Rock-salt crystal structure, which superposes two fcc lattices with the second
displaced by a/2 along all axes. (b) Diamond crystal lattice formed by two interpenetrating fcc
lattices. When different atoms occupy the two sublattices, the structure is called zinc-blende.
(c) A regular tetrahedron embedded into a cube to illustrate how a cubic lattice can accommodate
the valence of III–V semiconductors.

bond is partially ionic because some electrons are closer to one ion than the other.
The crystal structure is then called zinc-blende.
We can also imagine two interpenetrating hexagonal sublattices. Even the hcp
lattice itself can be thought of as having a basis that consists of the first and
second atomic layers, but we will take it to be a single unit. If two such lattices
are superposed, the resulting wurtzite crystal is the default for wide-gap III-N
semiconductors and many II–VI semiconductors, with the relation between c and
a in Eq. (1.12) approximately satisfied. Table 1.2 summarizes the most important
types of 3D lattice and crystal structures, along with the unit lattice and basis
vectors.
In the diamond and zinc-blende crystals, the second-nearest neighbors are
always the same as the atom at the origin and identical to the first-nearest neighbors
in the fcc lattice. We will see later that the most important features of the III–V
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Essentials of
woodworking
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Title: Essentials of woodworking

A textbook for schools

Author: Ira Samuel Griffith

Illustrator: Edwin Victor Lawrence

Release date: October 12, 2023 [eBook #71855]

Language: English

Original publication: Peoria: The Manual Arts Press, 1908

Credits: Aaron Adrignola, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file
was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSENTIALS

OF WOODWORKING ***
Please see the Transcriber’s Notes
at the end of this text.
This book on woodworking contains
notes and working drawings for the
content in Correlated courses in
woodwork and mechanical drawing
by the same author, available at
Project Gutenberg.
FOREST INTERIOR. SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA.
 ESSENTIALS OF
WOODWORKING
A TEXTBOOK FOR
SCHOOLS

BY

Ira Samuel Griffith, A.

B.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

E d w i n V i c to r L aw r e n c e
The Manual Arts
Press

Peoria, Illinois

Copyright
Ira Samuel Griffith
1908
 PREFACE.
An experience, somewhat extended, in teaching academic
branches of learning as well as woodworking, has convinced the
author that the most effective teaching of woodworking can be
accomplished only when its content is made a subject of as diligent
study as is that of the other and older branches. Such a study
necessitates the possession, by the student, of a text-book.
The selection of a suitable text is made difficult because of the fact
that tool processes are usually treated in connection either with
models or exercises. It is hardly to be expected that any one set of
models or of exercises, tho they may be of very great value, will fill
the needs of varying local school conditions. The production of a
text-book which shall deal with tool processes in a general way
without reference to any particular set of models or exercises is the
author’s aim. It is believed that such a text will prove suitable
wherever the essentials of woodworking shall be taught, whether in
grammar, high school or college, and whatever the system of
instruction.
A few words as to the manner of using the text seem advisable. It
is not expected that the book will be studied chapter by chapter,
consecutively, as are the elementary texts in mathematics or
science. Rather, it is to be studied topically. To illustrate: A class is to
make a model, project, exercise, or whatever we may choose to call
it, which will require a knowledge of certain tools and the manner of
using them. At a period previous to their intended use the numbers
of the sections of the text relating to these tools and their uses, or
the page numbers, should be given the student. Previous to the
period in which these tools are to be used he should be required to
study the sections so marked. The recitation upon the assigned text
should take place at the beginning of the period following that of the
assignment, and may be conducted in a manner quite similar to that
of academic branches.
 This should prepare the way and make intelligible the
“demonstration” which may be given in connection with the recitation
or at its close.
If as thoro a knowledge of the matter studied is insisted upon in
the recitation as is insisted upon in the academic classroom, there
need be but little excuse for ignorance on the part of the pupil when
he begins his work or at any subsequent time.
Acknowledgement is due the Department of Forestry, Washington,
D. C., for the use of material contained in the chapter on Woods and
for the prints from which many of the half-tones relating to forestry,
were produced.
 INTRODUCTION.
Care of Tools and Bench.
It is important that a beginner should become impressed with the
importance of keeping his tools in the best condition. Good results
can be obtained only when tools are kept sharp and clean, and used
only for the purposes for which they are made. Tools properly
sharpened and properly used permit one to work easily as well as
accurately. When it becomes necessary for the worker to use undue
strength because of the dullness of his tools, “troubles” begin to
accumulate and the “pleasure of doing” is soon changed to despair.
Orderliness and carefulness, with knowledge and patience are
sure to bring good results; just as a lack of them will bring failure.
The bench top must not be marked with pencil or scratched
unnecessarily. Chisel boards are to protect the top from any
accidental cuts and should always be used for that purpose. Bench
tops that are scraped and shellaced or oiled every other year ought
to remain in as good condition as when new except for the few
accidental marks too deep to remove, which the thoughtless boy
may have inflicted.
Good workers take pride in keeping their benches in good order.
Tools that are not in immediate use should be placed in their racks
that they may not be injured or cause injury to the worker. At the
close of the period the bright parts of tools that have come in contact
with perspiring hands should be wiped off with oily waste kept for
that purpose. All tools should then be put away in their proper places
and the top of the bench brushed clean.
The beginner should also understand that, important as are the
results he may be able to produce in wood, more serious results are
being produced in himself in the habits he is forming. Carefulness,
neatness, accuracy, ability to economize in time and material, ability
to “think” and “to do” because of the thinking, honesty, orderliness—
these are some of the more important results that are oftentimes
overlooked.
 CONTENTS.

Introduction.

Care of tools and bench 3

PART I.

Tools and Elementary Processes.

Chapter I.—Laying-out Tools; Their Uses 9

1. The rule; 2. The try-square; 3. The framing
square; 4. The bevel; 5. The marking gage; 6.
The pencil gage; 7. Splitting gage; 8. The
mortise gage; 9. The Dividers; 10. Pencil and
knife.
Chapter II.—Saws 20
11. Saws; 12. The crosscut saw; 13. The rip-
saw; 14. The back-saw; 15. The turning saw;
16. The compass saw; 17. Saw filing.
Chapter III.—Planes 28
18. Planes; 19. Setting the blade; 20.
Adjustment of the iron; 21. The jack-plane;
22. The smooth-plane; 23. The jointer; 24.
The block-plane; 25. The wooden plane; 26.
Planing first surface true; 27. Face side, face
 edge; 28. Planing first edge square with face
side; 29. Finishing the second edge; 30.
Finishing the second side; 31. Planing the
first end square; 32. Finishing the second
end; 33. End planing with the shooting board;
34. Rules for planing to dimensions; 35.
Planing a chamfer.
Chapter IV.—Boring Tools 46
36. Brace or bitstock; 37. Center bit; 38. The
auger bit; 39. The drill bit; The gimlet bit; 40.
Countersink bit; 41. The screwdriver bit; 42.
The brad-awl; 43. Positions while boring; 44.
Thru boring; 45. Boring to depth.
Chapter V.—Chisels and Chiseling 53
46. Chisels; 47. Horizontal paring across the
grain; 48. Vertical paring; 49. Oblique and
curved line paring; 50. Paring chamfers; 51.
The firmer gouge; 52. Grinding beveled edge
tools; 53. Whetting beveled edge tools; 54.
Oilstones; 55. Sharpening the chisel; 56.
Sharpening plane-irons; 57. To tell whether a
tool is sharp or not.
Chapter VI.—Form Work; Modeling 65
58. Making a cylinder; 59. The spokeshave;
60. Making curved edges; 61. Modeling.
Chapter VII.—1. Laying Out Duplicate Parts;
2. Scraping and Sandpapering; 3.
Fastening Parts 70
62. Laying out duplicate parts; 63. Scraping;
64. Sandpapering; 65. Hammers; 66. Nails;
67. Nailing; 68. Nailset; 69. Withdrawing
 nails; 70. The screwdriver; 71. Screws; 72.
Fastening with screws; 73. Glue; 74. Clamps;
75. Gluing.

PART II.

Simple Joinery.

Chapter VIII.—Type Forms 84

76. Joinery; 77. General directions for joinery;
78. Dado; 79. Directions for dado; 80. Cross-
lap joint; 81. Directions for cross-lap joint, first
method; 82. Directions for cross-lap joint,
second method; 83. Glue joint; 84. Directions
for glue joint; 85. Doweling; 86. Directions for
doweling; 87. Keyed tenon-and-mortise; 88.
Directions for key; 89. Directions for tenon;
90. Directions for mortise; 91. Directions for
mortise in the tenon; 92. Blind mortise-and-
tenon; 93. Directions for tenon; 94. Directions
for laying out mortise; 95. Directions for
cutting mortise, first method; 96. Directions
for cutting mortise, second method; 97. Miter
joint; 98. Directions for miter joint; 99.
Dovetail joint; 100. Directions for dovetail
joint.
Chapter IX.—Elementary Cabinet Work 105
101. Combination plane; 102. Drawer
construction; 103. Directions for rabbeted
corner; 104. Directions for dovetail corner;
105. Directions for drawer; 106. Paneling;
107. Cutting grooves; 108. Haunched
mortise-and-tenon; 109. Rabbeting; 110.
 Fitting a door; 111. Hinging a door; 112.
Locks.

PART III.

Wood and Wood Finishing.

Chapter X.—Wood 116

113. Structure; 114. Growth; 115. Respiration
and transpiration; 116. Moisture; 117.
Shrinkage; 118. Weight; 119. Other
properties; 120. Grain.
Chapter XI.—Lumbering and Milling 126
121. Lumbering; 122. Milling; 123. Quarter
sawing; 124. Waste; 125. Lumber
transportation; 126. Seasoning; 127. Lumber
terms and measurements.
Chapter XII.—Common Woods 138
128. Classification. Coniferous woods; 129.
Cedar; 130. Cypress; 131. Pine; 132. Spruce.
Broad-leaved woods; 133. Ash; 134.
Basswood; 135. Birch; 136. Butternut; 137.
Cherry; 138. Chestnut; 139. Elm; 140. Gum;
141. Hickory; 142. Maple; 143. Oak; 144.
Sycamore; 145. Tulip wood; 146. Walnut.
Chapter XIII.—Wood Finishing 150
147. Wood finishes; 148. Brushes; 149.
General directions for using brush; 150.
Fillers; 151. Filling with paste filler; 152.
Stains; 153. Waxing; 154. Varnishes; 155.
Shellac; 156. Shellac finishes; 157. Oil or
 copal varnishes; 158. Flowing copal varnish;
159. Typical finishes for coarse-grained
woods; 160. Patching; 161. Painting.
Appendix I.—Additional Joints 164

Appendix II.—Wood Finishing Recipes 171

1. Wax; 2. Water stains; 3. Oil stains; 4. Spirit
stains.
Appendix III.—Working Drawings 173
1. Instruments; 2. Conventions; 3. Projection
and relation of views; 4. Letters and figures;
5. Constructions; 6. Order of procedure.
 PART I.
TOOLS AND ELEMENTARY
PROCESSES.

CHAPTER I.
Laying-Out Tools—Their Uses.

1. The Rule.—The foot rule is used as a unit of measurement in

woodwork. The rule ordinarily used is called a two-
foot rule because of its length. Such rules are hinged so as to fold
once or twice and are usually made of boxwood or maple. The
divisions along the outer edges, the edges opposite the center hinge,
are inches, halves, fourths, eighths, and on one side sixteenths also.
Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.
 The rule should not be laid flat on the surface to be measured but
should be stood on edge so that the knife point can be made to
touch the divisions on the rule and the wood at the same time. Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

Whenever there are several measurements to be made along a

straight line, the rule should not be raised until all are made, for with
each placing of the rule errors are likely to occur.