Dr.

MANJUNATHA S O
ASST. PROF., DEPT. OF PHYSICS

Reference Books
1. Engineering Physics - Gaur and Gupta
2. A Text book of Engineering Physics -
M.N. Avadhanulu and P.G. Kshirsagar
3. Solid State Physics - S O Pillai, 8th Ed -
New Age International Publishers-
2018.

SYLLABUS
MODULE – 3.1 ELECTRICAL PROPERTIE OF MATERIALS [4 HOURS]

Review of classical free electron theory, limitations of classical free electron theory. Postulates of
quantum free electron theory, Fermi energy, Fermi velocity, Fermi temperature. Fermi factor and its
dependence on energy and temperature. Electrical conductivity (qualitative expression using effective
mass and Fermi velocity). Merits of quantum free electron theory. Problems.

Practical Topics: 1. Fermi energy of copper

Self-study: Classical free electron theory
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Classical free electron theory (CFET)

The first theory was developed by Drude and Lorentz in 1900. According to this theory, metal contains
free electrons which are responsible for the electrical conductivity and electrons obey the laws of
classical mechanics.

Assumptions/Postulates of the CFET

1. A metal is imagined as the structure of three dimensional

arrays of atoms consisting of valence electrons.
2. Collection of valence electrons from all the atoms is free to
move about the whole volume of the metals like the molecules
of a perfect gas in a container.
3. The free electrons are treated as equivalent to gas molecules
and they are assumed to obey the laws of kinetic theory of
gases.
4. In metals, the positive ion cores are at fixed positions and the
free electrons move in random directions and collide with
either positive ions or other free electrons. All such collisions
are considered elastic i.e., there is no loss of energy.
5. In the absence of the electric field, the energy associated with
each electron at a temperature T is given by

where vth is the thermal velocity, kb is a Boltzmann constant

(1.38 x 10-23 J/K).
6. The electric field produced due to the ionic cores is considered
to be uniform throughout the body of the metal and it is
neglected.
7. Force of repulsion between the electrons and force of attraction
between electrons and lattice ions is neglected.
8. When an electric field is applied to the metal, the free electrons
are accelerated in the direction opposite to the direction of
applied electric field.

Note:
As we know that, the atomic packing fraction (APF), [APF is a measure of total volume of an unit cell
occupied by the atoms] for
Unit cell APF% Free Space%
Simple cubic 52% 48%
Body Centered Cubic 68% 32%
Face Centered Cubic 74% 26%
Since, metals have large percentage of free space in them, it is reasonable to imagine that the valence
electrons form an electron gas which is free to move about the whole volume of the metals like the
molecules of a perfect gas in a container.

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Drift Velocity :

Constant velocity acquired by the electrons under steady state in the

presence of applied electric field is called Drift velocity.

Lorentz force experienced by the electrons in the presence of electric field is

Opposing force experienced by them due to the collision with the ionic cores is

When a system is in steady state,

Mean free path :

The average distance travelled by the conduction electrons between two successive collisions with
lattice ions.

Mean collision time :

The average time that elapses between two consecutive collisions of an electron with the lattice points
is called mean collision time.

where, is the mean free path and is the thermal velocity in the absence of electric field & drift
velocity in the presence of electric field.

Mean relaxation time :

From the instant of sudden disappearance of an electric field across a metal, the average velocity of the
conduction electrons decays exponentially to zero, and the time required in this process for the average
velocity to reduce to (1/e) times its value is known as Relaxation time.

Or

The time required for the drift velocity to decay to (1/e) times its original value.

where is the initial velocity of an electron in the absence of electric field and is the relaxation
time.

if then or

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Microscopic form of Ohm’s law

We know that,

V - Voltage (V)
I - Current (A)
R - Resistance (
( )
- Resistivity (
L - Length of the conductor (m)
A - Area of the conductor (m2)
J - Current density (A/ m2)
- Conductivity ( )-1
E - Electric field (V/m)

Expression for Electrical Conductivity in Metals

 Consider a conductor of uniform area of cross section A, length L,

carrying a current I when an electric field E is applied.
 Let n be the free electron density (i.e, number of free electrons per

unit volume in a conductor)

 Total Number of electrons (N) in the metallic conductor is

 If e is the charge of the electron, then Net charge (Q) flowing in the conductor

 Current (I) flowing through the conductor is given by

()

----- (1)

 wkt, ⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗ (microscopic form of ohm’s law)

----- (2)

Substituting equation (1) in (2)

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

( )

where, is conductivity, n is electron density, e is charge of electron, is mean collision time, and m is
mass of electron

“Electrical conductivity of metals is directly proportional to electron density”

Electron mobility
It is defined as the drift velocity acquired by an electron per unit of electric field strength.

“Electrical conductivity of metals is directly proportional to mobility of electron”

Expression for in terms of temperature

we know that,

according to CFET, Kinetic energy of the electrons is given by

but,

therefore,

√ √

√ √

therefore,

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

√
“Electrical conductivity of metals is inversely proportional to square root of the temperature”

Successes of the CFET

CFET successfully explains

i. Ohm’s law
ii. bulk electrical and thermal conductivity of metals.
iii. Wiedemann-Franz Law.
iv. Optical properties of metals

Failures of CFET

CFET fails to account for the experimental results obtained for the properties such as

i. Specific heat at constant volume

ii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on temperature
iii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on electron concentration
i. Specific heat constant volume
 Total specific heat for a material is the sum of contributions from electrons and thermal
vibrations i.e.,

 According to CFET,

 But, according to experiment,

 Experimental value is very much less than the theoretical value.
 Also according to CFET, the specific heat is independent of Temperature but experimentally it
depends on temperature

“Hence the classical free electron theory fails to explain the specific heat of metals”

ii. Dependence of electrical conductivity ( on temperature (T)

 Theoretically - according to the assumptions of classical theory that the kinetic energy is given
by: , where vth is the thermal velocity.

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

 Experimentally

“Hence the classical free electron theory fails to explain the dependence of on ”

iii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on electron concentration

 Theoretically –

According to the above relation, the electrical conductivity of divalent metals like zinc and cadmium
must be higher compared to that of monovalent metals like copper and silver.
 Experimentally –
But, according to experimental results, the monovalent copper and silver metals have high
conductivity compared to that of divalent Cadmium and Zinc, as given in the below table.
“Hence the classical free electron theory fails to explain the dependence of on ”

Valence state Metal Electron density (n) Electrical conductivity (σ)

Copper 8.45×1028/m3 5.88x107/Ωm
Monovalent 6.3x107/Ωm
Silver 5.85×1028/m3
Cadmium 9.28×1028/m3 0.15x107/Ωm
Divalent 1.09×107/Ωm
Zinc 13.1×1028/m3

Quantum free electron theory (QFET)

Quantum free electron theory was proposed by Arnold Sommerfeld in 1928. It overcomes many of the
drawbacks of classical theory. Sommerfeld explained them by choosing Fermi Dirac statistics instead
of Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics. He developed this theory by applying the principles of quantum
mechanics.
Assumptions/Postulates of the QFET
1. Electrons are tiny, indistinguishable particles called fermions having half integral spin.
2. The velocity and energy distribution of the free electrons are governed by the Fermi-Dirac
distribution function.
3. The allowed energy levels of electrons are quantized.
4. The distribution of electrons in the various allowed energy levels obey Pauli’s exclusion
principle.
5. The electric field produced due to the ionic cores is considered to be uniform throughout the body
of the metal and it is neglected.

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

6. Force of repulsion between the electrons and force of attraction between electrons and lattice ions
is neglected.
Density of states, g(E)

It gives the distribution of all the possible quantum states per unit volume per unit energy that the
electrons in the metal can take.

Integration of this function between any two energy values gives the
total number of quantum states per unit volume that exist between those
energy values

√
∫ ∫

Fermi energy and Fermi energy level

 In a metal having N atoms, there are N allowed energy

levels in each band. In the energy band the energy levels are
separated by energy differences.
 According to Pauli’s exclusion principle, each energy level
can accommodate a maximum of two electrons, one with
spin up and the other with spin down.
 The filling up of energy levels occurs from the lowest level. The next pair of electrons occupies the
next energy level and so on till all the electrons in the metal are accommodated.
 The energy of the highest occupied level at absolute zero temperature (0K) is called the Fermi
energy. And the energy level is called Fermi level denoted by
 At 0K and absence of external electric field, all the levels above the Fermi level are empty, those
lying below Fermi level are completely filled.

Fermi velocity

The velocity of the electrons which are present at the Fermi level is called Fermi velocity.

( )
where, is Fermi velocity, is Fermi energy, and is mass of the electron.

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Fermi temperature

The temperature at which average kinetic energy of an electron in a solid is equal to the thermal
energy at 0 K.

The thermal energy of an electron is kT.

where, is Fermi temperature, is Fermi energy, and is Boltzmann constant.

Fermi function,

It gives the probability of occupation of a given energy state by

electrons for a material in thermal equilibrium.

The Fermi function, at any given temperature, T is given by,

Effect of temperature and energy on Fermi function

Case 1: for

“Hence all the energy levels below Fermi level are completely filled at 0 K”

Case 2: for

“Hence all the energy levels above Fermi level are completely empty at 0 K”

Case 3: for

“Hence, as the temperature increases, the electrons close to the Fermi level shifts to higher energy
levels which were empty at 0 K”

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Variation of at different temperatures (T0 < T1 < T2 < T3)

Electron density of states,

• The number of electrons with energy range E & (E+dE) in unit volume is

• is given by the product of the number of energy levels in the same range and the Fermi
factor.

• The plot of versus represents the actual distribution of electrons among the available
states for the material at different temperatures.

Electron density, n

The number of electrons per unit volume of the material ‘n’ can be evaluated by integrating the above
expression from to , where is the maximum energy possessed by the electrons.

Expression for electron density, n and Fermi energy, EF at 0 K

we know that,

we know that,

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

therefore,

√
∫

( )( ) ( )( )

where, ( )( )

Quantum expression for electrical conductivity

where, is effective mass of electron, is mean free path, and is Fermi velocity
Successes of QFET

i. Specific heat at constant volume

ii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on temperature
iii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on electron concentration
i. Specific heat constant volume
According to QFET, the expression for specific heat is given by

( )

Taking for metals, therefore we get

This value is in excellent agreement with the experimental value.

“Hence, the QFET successfully explain the specific heat property of metals”

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

ii. Dependence of electrical conductivity ( on temperature (T)

According to the QFET,

“Hence the QFET successfully explain the dependence of on ”

iii. Dependence of electrical conductivity on electron concentration

According to QFET,

( )

From the above equation, it is clear that, depends both on the and .

Therefore, though the value of for divalent metals is higher than monovalent metals, the will be

material specific value which affects the overall conductivity of the given metal.

“Hence the QFET successfully explain the dependence of on ”

Problems:

Formula

( )( )

where, ( )( )

( )

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

P1. Calcualte the Fermi energy of sodium Fermi level at 200 K and 400 K in a
assuming that the metal has one free material.
electron per atom. Given the density of Soln:
sodium = 970 kg/m3 and atomic weight of
sodium = 22.99. i. At 200K,
Soln: ii. At 400K,
P5. Calculate the probability of an electron
( )( )
occupying an energy level 0.02 eV above
and below the Fermi level at 200 K.
Soln:
i.
At 200K,
ii.
P2. Determine the drift velocity of electrons in
At 200K,
a copper conductor with cross sectional
P6. Find the temperature at which there is 1%
area of carrying a current of 4 A.
probability that a state with an energy 0.5
The atomic weight of Cu is 63.6 and
eV above Fermi energy is occupied.
density is 8.9 g/cm3.
Soln:
Soln:
and

P3. Determine the relaxation time in a current

carrying metallic wire. The metal has
conduction electrons/m3 and its
resistivity is . P7. Consider the Fermi energy of copper at 8

Soln: eV. Calculate the Fermi velocity of free

electrons in copper.
Soln:

( )
P4. Calcualte the probability of an electron
occupying a energy level 0.02 eV above the

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE
 Module 3.1- Electrical Property of Solids

Question Bank:

Marks
Question
(Approximate)

Mention any four assumptions of classical free electron theory. 4

Discuss the failures of classical free electron theory. 6

Explain in detail, any three merits of quantum free electron theory. 6

Define Fermi function. Explain the variation of Fermi function with energy and
8
temperature.

Mention the postulates of quantum free electron theory and explain any two of its
8
merits.

Derive the expression for Fermi energy at T=0K. 5

Find the temperature at which there is 1% probability that a state with energy
4
0.5 eV above Fermi energy will be occupied.

Calculate the electrical conductivity for a metal with relaxation time 10-14 s at
4
300 K.

Calculate the Fermi energy in eV, Fermi velocity and Fermi temperature for
sodium, given the density is 971 kg/m3, atomic weight is 23 and it has one 4
conduction electron per atom.

Calculate the probability of an electron occupying an energy level 0.02 eV above

4
and below the Fermi level at 200K

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DEPT. OF PHYSICS, BMSCE