PH 8252 - PHYSICS FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE

UNIT I – ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

1. Define mobility of electrons.

Mobility µ of the electron is defined as drift veleocity (Vd) per unit electric fieldE.
µ= Unit: mV-1s-1

2. Define mean free path of electrons.

The average distance travelled by the electrons between two successive collisions is
called mean free path.
It is also be defined as the product of drift velocity and collision time.
λ= Vd τc

3. Define drift velocity.

The drift velocity is defined as the average velocity acquired by the free electron in a
particular direction, due to the applied electric field.
The motion of electron causes current floe in a conductor called drift current (or)
conduction current.
Vd= (or) Vd=

4. State Wiedemann – Franz law.

The ratio between the thermal conductivity and the electrical conductivity of a metal is
directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the metal.
This ratio is constant for all metals at a given temperature.
=LT
Whrere L is known as Lorentz number, L =2.44x10-8 WΩK-2.

5. What are the merits of classical free electron theory?

It verifies Ohms law
It explains the electrical and thermal conductivities of metals.
It is used to derive Wiedemann – Franz law
The optical properties of metal can be explained by this theory

6. What are the main drawbacks of classical free electron theory?

Electrical conductivities of semiconductors and insulators cannot be explained
Dual nature is not explained.
This theory cannot explain Compton effect and photoelectric effect.
 The theoretical and experimental values of specific heat are not matched

7. Define Fermi energy level and Fermi energy with its importance
Fermi level: It is the state at which the probability of electron occupation is ½ at any
temperature above 0K.
It is the highest energy level of the filled energy state at 0K.
Fermi energy: It is the energy of the state at which the probability of electron occupation
is ½ at any temperature above 0K
It is also the maximum energy of filled state at 0K

8. What are the importance of Fermi energy?

It acts as a reference level which separates the vacant and filled states
It gives the information about filled electron states and the empty states
At 0K, below Fermi energy level, electrons are filled and above Fermi energy level, it
will be empty
When temperature is increased, few electrons gain thermal energy and it goes to higher
energy levels

9. Write Fermi-Dirac distribution function

The distribution of electrons among the energy levels as a function of temperature is
known as Fermi-Dirac distribution function. It is given by,
F(E)=
Where
EF = Fermi energy
KB = Boltzmann constant
T = The temperature in K
E = unknown energy state
EF = Probability of presence of electron

10. Define density of energy state.

Density of states Z(E)dE is defined as the number of available states present in a metal
per unit volume in an energy interval and E+dE.
Uses: It is used to calculate the number of charge carries per unit volume of the solid

11. Define zero probability, unit probability and fractional probability?

Zero probability: It is the state which remains always empty and the electrons cannot be
filled in it, F(E)=0, (or) It represents the probability of absence of electrons in particular
state.
Unit probability: It is the state which is always filled with the electron, i.e., F(E)=1 (or) It
represents the probability of presence of electron in particular state.
 Fractional probability: It is the state which may be filled (or) partially filled by electrons
(or) It is the state which is filled by the electrons for some time and then will become
empty, i.e., F(E) will be a fraction like0.5, etc.,

12. What are the drawbacks of Quantum free electron theory or Sommerfeld theory.
Using this theory we cannot explain electrical conductivity observed in monovalent,
divalent and trivalent atoms
We cannot explain –ve sign of Hall coefficient
This theory is incapable of explaining why some crystals have metallic properties while
others are semiconductors and insulators
According to this theory only few electrons are present in the Fermi level and they are
responsible for conduction which is not correct

13. Define thermal conductivity of materials.

Thermal conductivity of a material is defined as the amount of heat flowing per unit time
through the material having unit area of cross section per unit temperature gradient.
K=
Where
K = Thermal conductivity of the material
Q = Heat flux
= Temperature gradient

14. Discuss the variation of resistivity of a conductor with respect to temperature.

The resistivity of a conductor remains almost constant at lower temperatures
The resistivity is proportional to T5 for low temperature
The resistivity is directly proportional to T at higher temperature

15. Write microscopic form of Ohm’s law and state whether it is true for all temperature.
Microscopically we can write V=IR as J= E
Since the resistivity varies with respect to the temperature the microscopic form of
Ohm’s law is not true for all the temperature

16. Define Tight binding approximation?

There is another approach to modeling which starts from a diametrically opposite
position. In this approach, we do not have a solid to begin with. Instead the atoms are
independent to begin with and are brought together to build the solid. All of the electrons
are bound to their respective individuals atoms to begin with. In this case the atoms are
free to begin with while the electrons are tightly bound to begin with. In view of the
focus on the electronic properties of the materials, this approach is referred to as the
 “Tight binding approximation” – highlighting the status of the electrons at the start of the
model.

17. What are the factors that affect the electrical resistivity of materials?
Temperature
Impurities
Imperfections
Magnetic Field
Pressure and Strain

UNIT – II - SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS

1. State the properties of a semiconductor.

The resistivity lies between 10-4 to 0.5 ohm meter.
At 0K they behave as a insulators
The conductivity of a semiconductor increases both due to the temperature and impurities
They have –ve temperature coefficient of resistance

2. What are elemental and compound semiconductors?

Elemental Semiconductors: Semiconductors which are composed of single species of
atoms are called elemental semiconductors. These are found in group IV of the periodic
table. Ex:Si and Ge
Compound Semiconductors: Semiconductors which are composed of two or more
difference species of atoms are called compound semiconductors. These can be formed
by combining different group elements from periodic table. Ex: GaAs, GaP, GaAsP,
InAs
III-V Compounds: Compound semiconductors formed by elements from third and fifth
group are called III-V compounds
II-VI Compounds: Compound semiconductors formed by elements from second and
sixth groups are called II-VI compounds.

3. Give the expression for Fermi energy of an intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductor at 0K.
Fermi energy level is the energy level which distinguishes the filled and empty states (or)
it is the maximum energy level upto which the electrons are filled at 0K.
The Fermi energy of an intrinsic semiconductor is EF=(Ec+EV)/2 i.e., the Fermi energy
level exactly lies between the lowest energy level of conduction band and highest energy
level of valence band.
The Fermi energy of n-type semiconductor is EF=(Ec+Ed)/2 i.e., the Fermi energy level
exactly lies between the minimum energy level of conduction band and donor energy
level.
 The Fermi energy of p-type semiconductor is EF=(Ev+Ea)/2 i.e., the Fermi energy level
exactly lies between the minimum energy level of valence band and acceptor energy level.

4. What are the applications of Hall effect?

It is used to determine whether the material is p-type or n-type semiconductor.
It is used to find the carrier concentrations.
It is used to find the mobility of charge carriers.
It is used to determine the sign of the current carrying charges.
It is used to find the power flow in an electromagnetic wave.

5. Explain the phenomenon of negative temperature coefficient of resistance for

semiconducting materials.
For semiconductors, the resistivity is inversely proportional to the temperature (ρ α ) i.e.,
it has negative temperature coefficient of resistance.
When the temperature of the semiconductor is increased, large number of charge carriers
are produced due to the breaking of covalent bonds. These charge carriers moves freely.
Hence the conductivity increases and therefore the resistivity decreases.

6. Why do we prefer silicon for transistors and GaAs for laser diodes?
Silicon is an indirect band gap semiconductor for which the life time of the charge
carriers is more and the current amplification is also very high. Hence it is preferable for
use it in transistors.
GaAs is a direct band gap semiconductor, in which electrons and holes recombine
directly to produce photons and hence used in laser diodes.

7. State the law of mass action in semiconductors.

For any given semiconductor the product of electron (ne) and hole (nh) concentration
remains constant at a given temperature and is equal to the square of the intrinsic carrier
concentration(ni)
ne nh = constant
ne nh = ni2

8. Discuss the variation of Fermi level with temperature for ‘p’ and ‘n’ type
semiconductors.
p-type: when the temperature is increased for a p-type semiconductor, some of the
electrons in the valence band go to acceptor energy level and hence the Fermi level is
shifted in upward direction.
n-type semiconductor: when the temperature is increased for a p-type semiconductor,
some electrons are shifted from donor energy level to the conduction band and hence the
Fermi energy level is shifted downward direction.

9. What is meant by ‘operating temperature’ of a semiconductor? Give example.

 Operating temperature of a semiconductor is the maximum temperature upto which the
semiconductor behaves as extrinsic semiconductor. Above the temperature the extrinsic
semiconductor becomes an intrinsic semiconductor.
Example: silicon transistors can be operated only upto 2000C due to the effect of doping,
after which the current amplification will be very less due to intrinsic behavior.

10. With increase of temperature, the conductivity of a semiconductor increases while that of
a metal decreases. Why?
In a metal, it has positive temperature coefficient of resistance, i.e., when the temperature
is increased, the thermal energy opposes the motion of the electron and hence the
electrical conductivity decreases.
In case of semiconductor, it has negative temperature coefficient of resistance, i.e., when
the temperature is increased large number of charge carriers are produced due to the
breaking of covalent bond. This gives rise to the electrical conductivity.

11. Define carrier transport, carrier drift and carrier diffusion.

Carrier transport: As applies an electric field to a semiconductor, the electrostatic force
causes the carriers to first accelerate and then reach a cons tant average velocity, v, due to
collisions with impurities and lattice vibrations. The ratio of the velocity to the applied
field is called the mobility.
Carrier drift: Any motion of free carriers in a semiconductor leads to a current. This
motion can be caused by an electric field due to an externally applied voltage, since the
carriers are charged particles. This transport mechanism is carrier drift.
Carrier diffusion: In semiconductors, the ‘flow of carriers’ from one region to higher
concentration to lower concentration results in a ‘diffusion current’ or carrier diffusion.

12. Define Ohmic contact.

An ohmic contact is a non-rectifying electrical junction: a junction between two
conductors that has a linear current-voltage (I-V) curve as with Ohm’s law. Low
resistance ohmic contacts are used to allow charge to easily in both directions between
the two conductors, without blocking due to rectification or excess power dissipation due
to voltage thresholds.

13. Write notes on tunnel diode.

It is a p-n junction semiconductor diode in which the concentration of impurity atoms is
very large in p and n regions (= 1024/m3 ). Since the depletion region is very narrow,
electrons are capable of tunneling through from one side of the junction to the other at
relatively low forward bias voltage. This phenomenon is called tunneling. This type of
diode is called Tunnel Diode.

14. Schottky diodes – Explain.

When a semiconductor is brought into contact with a metal, there is formed in the
semiconductor a barrier layer from which charge carriers are severely depleted. The
barrier layer is also called a depletion layer of ex-haustion layer. Schottky diode is based
on this effect. For a construction of Schottky diode, a metal like gold silver or platinum
is used on one side of the junction and doped silicon (N-type) is used on the other side .
 when Schottky diode is unbiased, the free electrons on N-side are in smaller orbit than the
free electrons on the metal side.

15. Define MOS capacitor.

The MOS capacitor consists of a Metal-Oxide- Semiconductor structure as illustrated by
semiconductor substrate with a thin oxide layer and a top metal contact, referred to as the
gate. A second metal layer forms on Ohmic contact to the back of the semiconductor and
is called the bulk contact. The structure has a p-type substrate. We will refer to this as an
n-type MOS or nMOS capacitor since the inversion layer contains electrons.

16. Write notes on power transistor.

Power transistors are transistors that are used in high-power amplifiers and power
supplies. Power transistors are suited for applications where a lot of power is being used-
current and voltage. The collector of the transistor is connected to a metal base that acts
as a heat sink to dissipate excess power. Typical power ratings from about 1 to 100 A.
power transistors are in the form of npn, pnp and Darlington (npn or pnp) forms.

UNIT – III – MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

1. On the basis of spin, how the materials are classified as para, ferro, antiferro and
ferrimagnetic.
(i) Paramagnetic materials have few unpaired electron spins of equal magnitudes.
(ii) Ferromagnetic materials have many unpaired electron spins with equal
magnitudes.
(iii) Antiferromagnetic materials have equal magnitude of spins but in antiparallel
manner.
(iv) Ferromagnetic materials have spins in antiparallel manner but with unequal
magnitude.
(v)
2. Give Curie-Weiss law and its importance.
Curie-Weiss law is given by, χm=
Where , C- Curie constant,
T- Absolute temperature,
Ѳ- Curie temperature

Importamce: It determines the susceptibility of the magnetic materials in terms of

temperature. If the temperature is less than Curie temperature, a paramagnetic material
becomes diamagnetic and if the temperature is greater than Curie temperature, a
ferromagnetic material becomes paramagnetic material.

3. What is Curie temperature?

 Curie temperature is the critical temperature below which a material can behaves as
ferromagnetic material and above which it can behaves as a paramagnetic material.

4. Define Hysteresis or hysteresis loop.

When a ferromagnetic material is made to undergo a cycle of magnetization, the intensity
of magnetization(I) and the magnetic flux density(B) lags behind the applied magnetic
field(H) and this process is known as hysteresis.
The closed curve obtained during the cycle of magnetization of a material is known as
hysteresis loop.

5. Define Bohr magneton.

The orbital magnetic moment and the spin magnetic moment of an electron in an atom
can be expressed in terms of atomic unit of magnetic moment called Bohr magneton.
1 Bohr magneton = = = 9.27x10-24Am2

6. Explain the importance of the magnetic materials.

Soft magnetic materials are used for high density data storage.
In hard magnetic materials, strong field is required for magnetization, they remain their
magnetization even on removal of the field.
In some materials, the electrical resistance varies on magnetization. This effect is called
magneto resistance effect. These effects are utilized in the manufacturing of magnetic
recording heads for write and read the data for storage and retrival.

7. What are different sources of permanent magnetic moment?

The orbital magnetic moment of the electrons
The spin magnetic moment of the electrons and
The spin magnetic moment of the nucleus.

8. What is meant by dielectric loss and loss tangent? Why it occurs?

When a dielectric material is subjected to an electric field, the electrical energy is
absorbed by the dielectric and certain amount is dissipated in the form of heat energy.
This loss in energy in the form of heat is called dielectric loss.

9. What are dielectric materials? Give its properties.

Dielectrics are nonmetallic materials which have permanent dipoles (or) has an ability to
produce enormous induced dipoles in the presence of an external electric field.

10. Distinguish Lorentz force and Coulomb force in dielectric.

 Lorentz force: It is the repulsive force between the nucleus and the electron cloud of a
dielectric material when it is kept in an external electric field.
Coulomb force: It is the attractive force between the nucleus and the electron cloud,
which try to maintain the equilibrium position of the dielectric material kept in an
external electric field.

11. What is the effect of temperature on polarization?

The electronic and ionic polarizations are independent of temperature.
The orientational polarization decreases with the increase in temperature.
The space-charge polarization increases with the increase in temperature.

12. What is the effect of frequency of an a.c field on polarization?

In general, the polarization decreases with the increase in frequency. At optical
frequencies, electronic polarization is present and at IR frequencies the ionic polarization
occurs. The orientational and space-charge polarization will be absent at optical
frequencies and will occur only at radio and audio frequencies respectively.

13. What are the way in which dielectric breakdown can be minimized.
It should posses high dielectric strength and low dielectric loss
It should have less density and thermal expansion.
It should have high resistivity and sufficient mechanical strength.
It should be pure.
It should not posses any defects.

14. Give any four applications of dielectrics in transformer.

Synthetic oils are used as coolant in high voltage transformers.
Mineral oils are used as transformer oils.
Petroleum oils are used in transformers and circuit breakers.
Vegetable oils are used in high voltage transformers

15. List out of frequency dependance of polarization

At optical frequencies ( 10-15 Hz) electronic polarization alone is present.
At 1013Hz range ionic polarization occurs in addition to electronic polarization
At 106 to 1010 Hz range contribution due to orientational polarization gets added with the
above two
At 102 Hz range space-charge polarization also contribution in addition to all the above

16. What is ferroelectric Curie temperature?

The temperature at which ferroelectric material converted into paraelectric material is
called ferro electric Curie temperature.
 17. Mention any two active and passive dielectrics with their applications (or) Compare
active and passive dielectrics?
Active dielectrics: when dielectric is subjected to external electric field, if the dielectric
actively accept the electricity, then they are termed as active dielectrics. Thus active
dielectric are the dielectrics which can easily adopt itself to store the electrical energy in
it.
Example: Piezo-electrics, Ferro-electrics, etc.,
Passive dielectrics: These dielectrics also called insulating materials. As the name itself
suggest that it will act as an insulator, conduction will not take place through this
dielectrics. Thus passive dielectrics which restricts the flow of electrical energy in it.
Example: All insulating materials such as glass, mica, etc.,

UNIT – IV – OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

1. What is opto electronic device?

Opto electronic devices are the materials which is having varieties of applications when it
is interacted with light photons. This leads to various recent applications in the
engineering and medical field.

2. What are the major classifications of optical materials?

Materials that are capable of transmitting light with relatively little absorption and
reflection are called transparent materials i.e. we can see through them.
Translucent materials are these through which light is transmitted diffusely i.e. objects
are not clearly distinguishable when viewed through.
Those materials that are impervious to the transmission of visible light are termed as
opaque materials. These materials absorb all the energy from the light photons.

3. Define the term generation of charge carrier.

The process by which free electrons and holes are generated in pair is called generation
of carriers.
When electrons in a valence band get enough energy from external thermal or light
energy, then they will absorb this energy and jumps into a conduction band. The electron
which is jumped into a conduction band is called free electron and the place from where
electron left is called hole. Likewise, two type of charge carriers (free electrons and
holes) gets generated.

4. How can you define the recombination of charge carrier?

 The process by which free electrons and the holes get eliminated is called recombination
of carriers. When free electron in the conduction band falls into a hole in the valence
band, then the free electron and hole gets eliminated.

5. How do you calculate the total intensity of light when interacted in conductors?
At any instance of light interaction with a material, the total intensity of the incident light
striking a surface is equal to sum of the absorbed, reflected and transmitted intensities.

i.e., Io = IA . IR . IT

6. Define the term Luminescence. How it is classified based on time of emission?

It is the process where a material absorbs energy and then immediately emits visible or
near visible radiation. It consists of electron excitation and then dropping down to lower
energy states. If the emission of Radiation occurs within 10-8 sec. after excitation, the
luminescence is called fluorescence and if it takes longer than 10-8 sec. it is known as
phosphorescence.

7. What are the various properties of non metals (insulators and semiconductors) when its
interacted with light?
Refraction
Reflection
Absorption
Rayleigh Scattering
Compton scattering
Photoelectric effect

8. What is photo conductivity?

Bombardment of semiconductors by photons, with energy equal to greater than the band
gap, may result in creation of electron-hole pairs that can be used to generate current.
This process is called photo-conductivity.

9. What is photodiode? Give its properties.

A photodiode is a reverse biased diode which absorbs light and converts it into charge
carriers or electric current.
Every photodiode should have low dark current, wide wavelength response and high
quantum efficiency. It should have low rise time and fast response.

10. Why do we prefer laser diode over LEDs for communication application?
Longer life time
Higher modulation rates
Very narrow spectral width of the sources.
High optical power output
Efficient waveguide structure

11. Define dark current noise.

 It is due to the flow of current through the bias circuit eventhough there is no incident
light.

12. What is solar cell? Write down its applications.

A solar cell is basically a P-N junction diode which converts solar energy (light energy)
into electrical energy. In principle, a solar cell is nothing but a light emitting diode (LED)
operating in reverse.
Solar cells are used to extensively in satellites and space vehicles to supply power to
electronic and other equipments or to charge storage batteries.
Solar cells are used to power calculation and watches
Solar cells are used to provide commercial electricity.

13. Define Excitons?

Excitons is a bound electron-hole pair. An electron in the vicinity of hole need not
annihilate itself by recombination. It can occupy any one of the energy levels available to
it and bind itself with the hold and behave like a neutral hydrogen atom. Similar to the
hydrogen atom has different energy levels, the exciton also has different energy levels.
The energy of formation of an excitation is less than the band gap and so its energy levels
lie in the band gap

14. What are the various quantum structures?

If one dimension is reduced to the nano range while the other dimensions remain larger,
them we obtain a structure known as quantum well
If two dimensions are so reduced and one remains large, the resulting structure is referred
to as a quantum wire.
The extreme case of this process of size reduction in which all three dimensions reach the
low nanometer range is called a quantum dot.

15. Write notes on quantum dot laser?

Quantum dot lasers offer the potential to yield better properties as compared to quantum
lasers. These emit light at wavelength that are determined by the energy of dots. The
research in nano-crystal quantum dots has door for developing novel optical and opto-
electronic devices, such as tunable lasers, optical amplifiers and light emitting diodes
from assemblies of these invisibly small particles. Quantum dot lasers work like any
other semiconductor lasers such as those found in home audio compact disk players.

UNIT – V – NANO DEVICES

1. Define nanoelectronics.
With decreasing feature size the physical description changes from classical physics to
quantum physics. Nanoelectronics refer to the use of nanotechnology in electronic
components. Nanoelectronics is the emerging field of building electronic devices that
use quantum effects and hardness of small-scale quantum properties of nature.

2. How the Fermi energy varies with size?

 The spacing between the discrete level is roughly the Fermi energy divided by the
number of electrons in the nanoparticles.

3. What is quantum confinement?

Quantum confinement is change of electronic and optical properties when the material
sampled is of sufficiently small size typically 10 nanometers or less.

4. What are the various Quantum structures based on quantum confinement?

1D confinement: Quantum Wells
2D confinement: Quantum wire
3D confinement: Quantum Dot

5. Define Bloch Oscillation.

Zener-Bloch oscillations occur when electrons in a crystalline potential are driven by an
external DC electric field. Rather surprisingly, quantum theory predicts that a DC field
produces oscillatory electron motions, which result in an alternating current. This is
usually interpreted in terms of Bragg waves scattering off the potential, causing the
electrons to oscillate rather than translate through the lattice.

6. What is Zener Tunneling?

In strong DC fields, Bloch oscillations are damped because of particle tunneling into
higher-order lattice bands (Zener tunneling)

7. Define quantum interference.

Quantum interference and photon entanglement can thus occur as light undergoes Bloch
oscillations. The simplest case is the quantum interference for pairs of correlatd photons
undergoing Bloch-Zener oscillations in binary arrays.

8. What are the various factors that we need to concentrate on study of microscopic
structure.
Energy level statistics of chaotic and non chaotic structures.
The rate of loss of electron phase coherence
The transition from integrable to chaotic systems, hence the transition from Poisson to
GOE statistics (Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble)
The transition from GOE to GUE (Gaussian Unitary Ensemble) statistics by the
application of magnetic field.

9. What are the applications of SET?

Charge sensor: The single-electron transistors (SET) are efficient charge sensors for
reading out spin
Detection of Infrared Radiation: The SET can also be used to detect infrared signals at
room temperature
Ultrasensitive Microwave Detector: SET can work an Ultrasensitive Microwave
Detector
It is used in Temperature Standards.
10. Write down the advantages and disadvantages of SET.
 Low energy consumption
High sensitivity
Compact size
High operating speed
Simplified circuit
Feature of reproducibility
Simple principle of operation
Straight forward co-integration with traditional CMOS circuits.

11. What are the properties of CNT’s>

CNTs are metallic or semiconducting depending on the diameter and chirality
The energy gap of semiconducting chiral carbon tube is inversely proportional to the
diameter of the tube
They withstand extreme temperature
Youngs modulus is about 1.8 Tera Pascal

12. What is meant by carbon nano tubes?

Carbon nano tubes are molecular-scale tubes of graphite carbon with outstanding
properties. They are among the stiffest and strongest fibres with remarkable electronic
properties and applications.

13. List out the various forms of CNT’s.

Arm chair structure
Zig-zag structure and
Chiral structure

14. What are the applications of CNTs?

They are used in battery electrodes, fuel cells, etc.,
They are used in flat panel displays
They are used as switching devices
They are used as chemical sensors

15. Listout four recent applications of nano-materials.

Nano MEMS are used in memories and IC’s
Nano robots are used to remove the damaged cells
Photonic crystals are used in computers
Bio-sensitive nano particles are used in DNA chips

16. What are single walled CNT and multi-walled CNT?

According to number of layers, CNTs are classified as single-walled and multi-walled.
In multi-walled nano tubes, more than one CNT are coaxially arranged

17. Give the effect of CNT on human health?

CNT may lead cancer. Once CNTs are inside the cell, they accumulate in the cytoplasm
and cause cell death.