Course teached as: B031980 - ELEMENTI DI FISICA DELLA MATERIA Second Cycle Degree in PHYSICAL AND ASTROPHYSICAL SCIENCES Curriculum ASTROFISICA
Teaching Language
Italian
Course Content
Free-electron models of metals: Drude model, Fermi gas, Sommerfeld model. Electrons in periodic potentials: Bloch's theorem, energy bands, effective mass, electrons and holes. Homogeneous semiconductors. Fundamental concepts of semiconductors: growth and doping techniques.
Charge transport and recombination processes. The pn junction and related devices.
Nanostructures and a few examples of nanostructure-based devices.
N.W. Ashcroft and N.D. Mermin. Solid State Physics.
B.Sapoval, C.Hermann:Physics of Semiconductors (Springer-Verlag 1995)
M.Grundmann:The Physics of Semiconductors (Springer 2006)
P.Harrison: Quantum wells, Wires and Dots (Wiley 2005
Learning Objectives
Basics of solid state and nanostructure physics. Principle of operation of relevant semiconductor devices
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of Quantum Mechanics and Physics of Matter Fundamentals
Teaching Methods
Class lectures; 6 CFU, 48 h.
Further information
Office hours: by appointment from Monday to Friday
Website: Moodle Platform http://e-l.unifi.it/
Type of Assessment
Oral exam, in front of a blackboard; the exam will last about 45 minutes The student will be asked to discuss 2-3 specific topics, in order to test his/her knowledge of the main blocks of the program devoted to basic concepts of solid state physics, nanostructures and semoconductor devices.The student will be required to prove her/his knowledge of the different physical phenomena treated in the course, and should also be able to describe and reproduce proofs and calculations; she/he should also be able to estimate the order of magnitude of the different relevant physical quantities
The final marks will result according to the proven mastery of the discussed subjects and the ability of elaborating the acquired knowledge
Course program
Drude model of metals and transport properties; Fermi gas at finite T, Sommerfeld expansion, electrical and thermal conductivity. Reminder of crystallography: direct and reciprocal lattices. Electrons in perodic potentials: Bloch theorem and band theory: weak potential, tight-binding; repeated, reduced and extended zone schemes; Fermi surface. semicalssical dynamics of Bloch electrons: Bloch oscillations, electrons and holes, conductors, insulators and semiconductors. Homogeneous semicondictors: direct and indirect energy gaps; number of carriers at thermal equilibrium, law of mass action, chemical potential, doped semiconductors, donor and acceptor energy levels.,
Semiconductor growth and doping techniques. Carrier injection and recombination: minority carrier lifetime. Inhomogeneous semiconductors: diffusion current and Fick's laws. General expression of the current in a semiconductor.
Lateral injection. The pn junction in equilibrium and out of equilibrium. The Shockley's law. Main devices based on pn junction:photodiodes, Leds, lasers, solar cells. The metal-semiconductor junction: Schottky diode and ohmic contact. The MOS junction: the CCD.