Spring 2007

PHYS 5830: Condensed Matter Physics

Course Code 2536
Instructor: Dr. Tom N. Oder

Physics 5830: Condensed Matter Physics

Course Code 2536

Dr. Tom N. Oder

WBSH 1016, E-mail: tnoder@ysu.edu,
Phone (330) 941-7111
Website: http://www.ysu.edu/physics/tnoder
Class Website:

www.ysu.edu/physics/tnoder/S07-PHYS2536/index.html

Office Hours: M, W, F 2:00 pm 3:00 pm.

Research: (Wide Band Gap) Semiconductors.

Required Texts:
1. R.F. Pierret: Advanced Semiconductor
Fundamentals, (Second Edition) - Modular
Series on Solid-State Devices, Volume VI,
Addison-Wesley, 1988. By.
2. R. C. Jeager: Introduction to
Microelectronics Fabrication (2nd
Edition) - Modular Series on Solid-State Devices,
Volume V, Addison-Wesley.
3. Supplemental reference materials will
come from archival journal papers
selected by the instructor.

Course Structure: Lecture sessions and

hands-on laboratory activities.

Course Objectives:
1.
To develop a background
knowledge of semiconductor theory
sufficient to understand modern
semiconductor devices.
2.
To provide students with
practical experience in cutting-edge
technology related to electronic device
fabrication including lithography,

 Adhere to given instructions for safe

handling of processing tools and chemicals.
Safe handling to avoid equipment damage or
bodily harm.
Carelessness will lead to removal from class.
Repair/replacement of a damaged equipment
carelessly handled.

Grading Policy:
Homework/Quizzes 20%.
Midterm Exam (1) 20%.
Week right after Spring break
Laboratory Project 20%.
Final exam 40%.

Homework problems will be

assigned throughout the
semester to reinforce the class
material.

Final Grade:
90% - 100% = A
80% - 89% = B
70% - 79% = C
60% - 69% = D
0% - 59%

=F

Cell Phones: Cell phones must be turned

off during class and exam sessions.

Major Areas to be covered

1. Semiconductor Physics
2. Device Physics
3. Processing and Characterization
1 + 2: Mondays, Wednesdays
3: Fridays

Relevant References:
http://ece-www.colorado.edu/~bart/book/book/contents.htm

Semiconductor Physics

Crystals: Structure and Growth.

Energy Bands
Carriers in Semiconductors
Phonon Spectra and Optical Properties
of Semiconductors
Basic Equations for Semiconductor
Device Operation

1. Crystal Structure of Solids

What is Crystal to the man on the street?

Significance of Semiconductors
Computers, palm pilots, laptops, Silicon (Si) MOSFETs,
ICs, CMOS, anything intelligent
Cell phones, pagers Si ICs, GaAs FETs, BJTs
CD players AlGaAs and InGaP laser diodes, Si
photodiodes
TV remotes, mobile terminals Light emitting diodes
Satellite dishes InGaAs MMICs
Fiber networks InGaAsP laser diodes, pin
photodiodes
Traffic signals, car GaN LEDs (green, blue)

Fundamental Properties of Matter

Matter: - Has mass, occupies space
Mass measure of inertia - from Newtons first
law of motion. It is one of the fundamental physical
properties.
States of Matter
1. Solids Definite volume, definite shape.
2. Liquids Definite volume, no fixed shape. Flows.
3. Gases No definite volume, no definite shape.
Takes the volume and shape of its container.

Plasma:
Regarded as fourth state of matter. No
definite volume, no definite shape. Composed
of electrically charged particles.
Fully ionized gas at low density with equal
amount of positive and negative charges net
electrically neutral.
Affected by electric and magnetic fields.
Plasma is the main state of matter in
planetary objects such as stars.

Condensate:
Regarded as fifth state of matter obtained
when atoms/molecules are at very low
temperature and their motion is halted.
They lose their individual identity and
become a different entity.
Bose-Einstein condensates Formed by
bosons.
Fermionic condensates By fermions.

Spin
Fermions Half
integral

Occupancy
Examples
Only one per electrons,
state
protons,
neutrons,
quarks,
neutrinos

Bosons

Many
allowed

Integral
spin

photons, 4He
atoms, gluons

Element one type of atoms

Compound Two or more different atoms
chemically joined. Constituent atoms (fixed ratios)
can be separated only by chemical means.
Mixture - Two or more different atoms combined.
Constituent atoms (variable ratios) can be
separated by physical means.
Solid-State Physics branch of physics dealing
with solids.
Now replaced by a more general terminology Condensed Matter Physics. To include fluids which
in many cases share same concepts and analytical
techniques.

STRUCTURE OF SOLIDS
Can be classified under several criteria
based on atomic arrangements, electrical
properties, thermal properties, chemical
bonds etc.
Using electrical criterion: Conductors,
Insulators, Semiconductors
Using atomic arrangements: Amorphous,
Polycrystalline, Crystalline.

Under what categories could this class be

grouped?

Amorphous Solids
No regular long range order of arrangement in the
atoms.
Eg. Polymers, cotton candy, common window glass,
ceramic.
Can be prepared by rapidly cooling molten material.
Rapid minimizes time for atoms to pack into a
more thermodynamically favorable crystalline state.
Two sub-states of amorphous solids: Rubbery and
Glassy states. Glass transition temperature Tg =
temperature above which the solid transforms from
glassy to rubbery state, becoming more viscous.

Amorphous Solids

Continuous random network structure of atoms

in an amorphous solid

Polycrystalline Solids
Atomic order present in sections (grains)
of the solid.
Different order of arrangement from
grain to grain. Grain sizes = hundreds of
m.
An aggregate of a large number of small
crystals or grains in which the structure is
regular, but the crystals or grains are
arranged in a random fashion.

Polycrystalline Solids

Crystalline Solids
Atoms arranged in a 3-D long range order.
Single crystals emphasizes one type of
crystal order that exists as opposed to
polycrystals.

Single- Vs Poly- Crystal

Properties of single crystalline
materials vary with direction, ie
anisotropic.
Properties of polycrystalline materials
may or may not vary with direction.
If the polycrystal grains are randomly
oriented, properties will not vary with
direction ie isotropic.
If the polycrystal grains are textured,
properties will vary with direction ie

Single- Vs Poly- Crystal

E (diagonal) = 273 GPa

E (edge) = 125 GPa

Single- Vs Poly- Crystal

200 m

-Properties may/may not

vary with direction.
-If grains are randomly
oriented: isotropic.
(Epoly iron = 210 GPa)

-If grains are textured,

anisotropic.

Solid state devices employ semiconductor

materials in all of the above forms.
Examples:
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) used to make thin film
transistors (TFTs) used as switching elements in
LCDs.
Ploycrystalline Si Gate materials in
MOSFETS.
Active regions of most solid state devices are
made of crystalline semiconductors.

Hard Sphere Model of Crystals

Assumesatomsarehardsphereswith
welldefineddiametersthattouch.
Atomsarearrangedonperiodicarray
orlattice
Repetitivepatternunitcelldefinedby
latticeparameterscomprisinglengthsof
the3sides(a,b,c)andanglesbetweenthe
sides(,,).

LatticeParameters
c

Atoms in a Crystal

The Unit Cell Concept

The simplest repeating unit in a crystal is called a
unit cell.
Opposite faces of a unit cell are parallel.
The edge of the unit cell connects equivalent
points.
Not unique. There can be several unit cells of a
crystal.
The smallest possible unit cell is called primitive
unit cell of a particular crystal structure.
A primitive unit cell whose symmetry matches
the lattice symmetry is called Wigner-Seitz cell.

 Each unit cell is defined in terms of lattice

points.
Lattice point not necessarily at an atomic site.
For each crystal structure, a conventional unit
cell, is chosen to make the lattice as symmetric as
possible. However, the conventional unit cell is not
always the primitive unit cell.

A crystal's structure and symmetry play a role

in determining many of its properties, such as
cleavage (tendency to split along certain planes
with smooth surfaces), electronic band structure
and optical properties.

Unit cell

Unit cell: Simplest portion of the structure which is

repeated and shows its full symmetry.
Basis vectors a and b defines relationship between a
unit cell and (Bravais) lattice points of a crystal.
Equivalent points of the lattice is defined by translation
vector.
r = ha + kb where h and k are integers. This constructs
the entire lattice.

By repeated duplication, a unit cell should

reproduce the whole crystal.
A Bravias lattice (unit cells) - a set of points
constructed by translating a single point in
discrete steps by a set of basis vectors.
In 3-D, there are 14 unique Bravais lattices.
All crystalline materials fit in one of these
arrangements.
In 3-D, the translation vector is
r = ha + kb + lc

Crystal System
The crystal system: Set of rotation and
reflection symmetries which leave a lattice
point fixed.
There are seven unique crystal systems: the
cubic (isometric), hexagonal, tetragonal,
rhombohedral (trigonal), orthorhombic,
monoclinic and triclinic.

Bravais Lattice and Crystal System

Crystal structure: contains atoms at every lattice
point.
The symmetry of the crystal can be more
complicated than the symmetry of the lattice.
Bravais lattice points do not necessarily
correspond to real atomic sites in a crystal. A
Bravais lattice point may be used to represent a
group of many atoms of a real crystal. This means
more ways of arranging atoms in a crystal lattice.

1. Cubic (Isometric) System

3 Bravais lattices

Symmetry elements: Four 3-fold rotation axes along

cube diagonals
c
a=b=c

b
a
= = = 90o

By convention, the edge of a unit cell always

connects equivalent points. Each of the eight
corners of the unit cell therefore must contain an
identical particle.

(1-a): Simple Cubic Structure (SC)

Rare due to poor packing (only Po has this structure)
Close-packed directions are cube edges.
Coordination # = 6
(# nearest neighbors)

1atom/unitcell

Coordination Number = Number of

nearest neighbors

One atom per unit cell

1/8 x 8 = 1

Atomic Packing Factor

Volume of atoms in unit cell*
APF =
Volume of unit cell
*assume hard spheres
APF for a simple cubic structure = 0.52
atoms
unit cell
R=0.5a APF =

Adapted from Fig. 3.19,

Callister 6e.

volume
atom
4
(0.5a)3
1
3
a3

volume
unit cell

(1-b): Face Centered Cubic Structure (FCC)

Exhibited by Al, Cu, Au, Ag, Ni, Pt
Close packed directions are face diagonals.
Coordination number = 12
4 atoms/unit cell
All atoms are identical

Adapted from Fig. 3.1(a),

Callister 6e.

6 x (1/2 face) + 8 x 1/8 (corner) = 4 atoms/unit cell

FCC
Coordination number = 12
3 mutually perpendicular planes.
4 nearest neighbors on each of the three planes.

How is a and R related for an FCC?

[a= unit cell dimension, R = atomic radius

All atoms are identical

(1-c): Body Centered Cubic Structure (BCC)

Exhibited by Cr, Fe,Mo,Ta,W

Close packed directions are cube diagonal
Coordination number = 8
All atoms are identical

2atoms/unitcell

How is a and R related for an BCC?

[a= unit cell dimension, R = atomic radius

All atoms are identical

2atoms/unitcell

Which one has most packing ?

Which one has most packing ?

For that reason, FCC is also referred to

as cubic closed packed (CCP)

2. Hexagonal System

Only one Bravais lattice

Symmetry element: One 6-fold rotation axis

a=bc
= 120o
= = 90o

Hexagonal Closed Packed Structure (HCP)

Exhibited by .
ABAB... Stacking Sequence
Coordination # = 12
APF = 0.74

2D
Projection

Top layer
Middle layer
Bottom layer

3D Projection
A sites
B sites
A sites
Adapted from Fig. 3.3,
Callister 6e.

3. Tetragonal System

Two Bravais lattices

Symmetry element: One 4-fold rotation axis

a=bc
= = = 90o

4. Trigonal (Rhombohedral) System

One Bravais lattice

Symmetry element: One 3-fold rotation axis

a=bc
= 120o
= = 90o

5. Orthorhombic System
Four Bravais lattices

Symmetry element: Three mutually perpendicular 2fold rotation axes

abc
= = = 90o

6. Monoclinic System
Two Bravais lattices

Symmetry element: One 2-fold rotation axis

abc
= = 90o, 90o

7. Triclinic System

One Bravais lattice

Symmetry element: None

abc
90o

The crystal system: Set of

symmetries which leave a lattice point
fixed. There are seven unique crystal
systems.
Some symmetries are identified by
special name such as zincblende,
wurtzite, zinc sulfide etc.

Layer Stacking Sequence

A sites

HCP

B sites
A sites

FCC

= ABAB

= ABCABC..

FCC: Coordination number

FCC
Coordination number = 12
3 mutually perpendicular planes.
4 nearest neighbors on each of the three planes.

Diamond Lattice Structure

Exhibited by Carbon (C), Silicon (Si) and
Germanium (Ge).
Consists of two interpenetrating FCC lattices,
displaced along the body diagonal of the cubic
cell by 1/4 the length of the diagonal.
Also regarded as an FCC lattice with two
atoms per lattice site: one centered on the
lattice site, and the other at a distance of a/4
along all axes, ie an FCC lattice with the twopoint basis.

Diamond Lattice Structure

a = lattice constant

Diamond Lattice Structure

Two merged FCC cells offset by a/4 in x, y and z.

Basic FCC Cell

Merged FCC Cells

Omit atoms

Bonding of Atoms

8 atoms at each corner, 6 atoms on each

face, 4 atoms entirely inside the cell

Zinc Blende
Similar to the diamond cubic structure
except that the two atoms at each lattice
site are different.
Exhibited by many semiconductors
including ZnS, GaAs, ZnTe and CdTe.
GaN and SiC can also crystallize in this
structure.

Zinc Blende

EachZnbondedto4Sulfur
tetrahedral
EquivalentifZnandSare
reversed
Bondingoftenhighlycovalent

Zinc sulfide crystallizes in two different forms:

Wurtzite and Zinc Blende.

GaAs

Red = Ga-atoms, Blue = As-atoms

Equal numbers of Ga and As ions distributed on
a diamond lattice.
Each atom has 4 of the opposite kind as nearest
neighbors.

Wurtzite (Hexagonal) Structure

This is the hexagonal analog of the zinc-blende
lattice.
Can be considered as two interpenetrating
closepackedlatticeswith half of the tetrahedral
sites occupied by another kind of atoms.
Fourequidistantnearestneighbors,similartoa
zincblendestructure.
Certain compound semiconductors (ZnS, CdS,
SiC) can crystallize in both zincblende (cubic)
andwurtzite(hexagonal)structure.

WURTZITE
A sites
B sites
A sites

Wurtzite Gallium Nitride (GaN)

Miller Index

Step 1 : Identify the intercepts on the x- , y- and z- axes.

Step 2 : Specify the intercepts in fractional co-ordinates
Step 3 : Take the reciprocals of the fractional intercepts
(i) in some instances the Miller indices are best multiplied or divided
through by a common number in order to simplify them by, for
example, removing a common factor. This operation of
multiplication simply generates a parallel plane which is at a
different distance from the origin of the particular unit cell being
considered.
e.g. (200) is transformed to (100) by dividing through by 2 .
(ii) if any of the intercepts are at negative values on the axes then the
negative sign will carry through into the Miller indices; in such cases
the negative sign is actually denoted by overstriking the relevant
number.
00 1
e.g. (00 -1) is instead denoted by

Miller Index For Cubic Structures

Miller index is used to describe directions and
planes in a crystal.
Directions - written as [u v w] where u, v, w.
Integers u, v, w represent coordinates of the
vector in real space.
A family of directions which are equivalent due
to symmetry operations is written as <u v w>
Planes: Written as (h k l).
Integers h, k, and l represent the intercept of the
plane with x-, y-, and z- axes, respectively.
Equivalent planes represented by {h k l}.

Miller Indices: Directions

z

y
x
[1] Draw a vector and take components
[2] Reduce to simplest integers
[3] Enclose the number in square brackets

x
0
0

y
2a
1
[0 1 1]

z
2a
1

Negative Directions

y
x
[1] Draw a vector and take components
[2] Reduce to simplest integers
[3] Enclose the number in square brackets

x
0
0

y
-a
-1

0 1 2

z
2a
2

Miller Indices: Equivalent Directions

Equivalent directions due to crystal symmetry:
z

1:
2:
3:

[100]
[010]
[001]

y
x

2
1

Notation <100> used to denote all directions equivalent to [100]

Directions

Directions
_
[101]

_
[121]

The intercepts of a crystal plane with the axis defined by a set of

unit vectors are at 2a, -3b and 4c. Find the corresponding Miller
indices of this and all other crystal planes parallel to this plane.
The Miller indices are obtained in the following three steps:
1. Identify the intersections with the axis, namely 2, -3 and 4.
2. Calculate the inverse of each of those intercepts, resulting in
1/2, -1/3 and 1/4.
3. Find the smallest integers proportional to the inverse of the
intercepts. Multiplying each fraction with the product of
each of the intercepts (24 = 2 x 3 x 4) does result in integers,
but not always the smallest integers.
4. These are obtained in this case by multiplying each fraction
by 12.
5. Resulting Miller indices is 6 4 3
6. Negative index indicated by a bar on top.

Miller Indices of Planes

z
z=

y
x=a
y=

x
x
[1] Determine intercept of plane with each axis a

[2] Invert the intercept values

1/a

1/

[3] Convert to the smallest integers

[4] Enclose the number in round brackets

(1 0 0)

1/

Miller Indices of Planes

y
x
x
[1] Determine intercept of plane with each axis 2a
[2] Invert the intercept values

1/2a

[3] Convert to the smallest integers

[4] Enclose the number in round brackets

2a
1/2a

2a
1/2a

(1 1 1)

Planes with Negative Indices

y
x
x
[1] Determine intercept of plane with each axis a
[2] Invert the intercept values

1/a

[3] Convert to the smallest integers

[4] Enclose the number in round brackets

-a
-1/a

a
1/a

-1

-1

1 1 1

Equivalent Planes
(100)
plane

(001) plane
(010)
plane

y
x
Planes (100), (010), (001), (100), (010), (001)
are equivalent planes. Denoted by {1 0 0}.
Atomic density and arrangement as well as
electrical, optical, physical properties are also
equivalent.

(011)

The (110) surface

Assignment
Intercepts : a , a ,
Fractional intercepts : 1 , 1 ,
Miller Indices : (110)

The (100), (110) and (111) surfaces considered above are

the so-called low index surfaces of a cubic crystal system
(the "low" refers to the Miller indices being small numbers 0 or 1 in this case).

Crystallographic Planes
MillerIndices(hkl)
reciprocals

Crystallographic Planes
_
(111)

in the cubic system the (hkl) plane and the vector

[hkl], defined in the normal fashion with respect
to the origin, are normal to one another but this
characteristic is unique to the cubic crystal
system and does not apply to crystal systems of
lower symmetry

Family
of
Planes
Allplanesthatareidenticalareincludedin1family
denotedby{hkl}
Example{111}

(111)and(111)haveequivalent
atoms

The (111) surface

Assignment
Intercepts : a , a , a
Fractional intercepts : 1 , 1 , 1
Miller Indices : (111)
The (210) surface
Assignment
Intercepts : a , a ,
Fractional intercepts : , 1 ,
Miller Indices : (210)

Symmetry-equivalent surfaces
the three highlighted surfaces
are related by the symmetry
elements of the cubic crystal they are entirely equivalent.
In fact there are a total of 6 faces related by the
symmetry elements and equivalent to the (100) surface any surface belonging to this set of symmetry related
surfaces may be denoted by the more general notation
{100} where the Miller indices of one of the surfaces is
instead enclosed in curly-brackets.

in the hcp crystal system there are four principal

axes; this leads to four Miller Indices e.g. you may
see articles referring to an hcp (0001) surface. It is
worth noting, however, that the intercepts on the
first three axes are necessarily related and not
completely independent; consequently the values
of the first three Miller indices are also linked by a
simple mathematical relationship

In case of a cubic structure, the Miller index of a plane, in

parentheses such as (100), are also the coordinates of the direction
of a plane normal. It stands for a vector perpendicular to the family
of planes, with a length of d-1, where d is the inter-plane spacing.
Due to the symmetries of cubic crystals, it is possible to change
the place and sign of the integers and have equivalent directions
and planes:
Coordinates in angle brackets or chevrons such as <100>
denote a family of directions which are equivalent due to
symmetry operations. If it refers to a cubic system, this
example could mean [100], [010], [001] or the negative of any
of those directions.
Coordinates in curly brackets or braces such as {100} denote
a family of plane normals which are equivalent due to
symmetry operations, much the way angle brackets denote a
family of directions.

QUESTIONS

1.

With hexagonal and rhombohedral crystal systems, it is possible

to use the Bravais-Miller index which has 4 numbers (h k i l)
i = -h-k
where h, k and l are identical to the Miller index.
The (100) plane has a 3-fold symmetry, it remains unchanged by a
rotation of 1/3 (2/3 rad, 30). The [100], [010] and the
directions are similar. If S is the intercept of the plane with the
axis, then
i = 1/S
i is redundant and not necessary.

in the hcp crystal system there are four principal axes; this leads to
four Miller Indices e.g. you may see articles referring to an hcp
(0001) surface. It is worth noting, however, that the intercepts on
the first three axes are necessarily related and not completely
independent; consequently the values of the first three Miller
indices are also linked by a simple mathematical relationship.

In the cubic crystal system, a plane and the direction normal to

it have the same indices.
[101] direction is normal to the plane (101)

Distance (d) separating adjacent planes (hkl) d

of a cubic crystal of lattice constant (a) is:

Angle () between
directions [h1 k1 l1]
and [h2 k2 l2] of a
cubic crystal is:

cos( )

h2 k 2 l 2

h1h2 k1k 2 l1l2

2

(h1 k1 l1 )(h2 k 2 l2 )

Miller-Bravais Indices

For hcp crystal structure

Planes (h k i l), directions [h k i l]
Sum of the first three indices h + k + i = 0

To determine the Miller-Bravais indices of

the crystallographic direction indicated on
the a1-a2-a3 plane of an h.c.p. unit cell (ie.
c = 0), the vector must be projected onto
each of the three axes to find the
corresponding component, such that:

CRYSTAL GROWTH

Seed
Ingot
Buole

Miller Indices Silicon Wafers

(100)
plane
(surface)

Flat
edg
e

[011]
direction

Flats are cut out of wafers to indicate crystal orientation of

wafer surface
Essential to know surface orientation of Si wafer if you
want to fabricate circuits on it

ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR:

BCC
APF for a body-centered
cubic structure = 0.68
Close-packed direction - diagonal
a=
R

Adapted from
Fig. 3.2,
Callister 6e.

4R
3

atoms
volume
4
( 3a/4)3
2
unit cell
atom
3
APF =
volume
a3
unit cell

Calculate the maximum fraction of the volume in a simple cubic

crystal occupied by the atoms. Assume that the atoms are closely
packed and that they can be treated as hard spheres. This fraction
is also called the packing density.
The atoms in a simple cubic crystal are located at the corners of the
units cell, a cube with side a. Adjacent atoms touch each other so
that the radius of each atom equals a/2. There are eight atoms
occupying the corners of the cube, but only one eighth of each is
within the unit cell so that the number of atoms equals one per unit
cell. The packing density is then obtained from:
or about half the volume of the unit cell is occupied by the atoms.
The packing density of four cubic crystals is listed in the table
below.

ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR:

FCCcubic structure = 0.74
APF for a face-centered
Close-packed directions (diagonal):
length = 4R

a=2R2

Unit cell contains

4 atoms/unit cell
Adapted from
Fig. 3.1(a),
Callister 6e.

atoms
4
unit cell
APF =

4 3
R
3
16R 2
3

volume
atom
volume
unit cell