Unit 3.

Wave Mechanics
Contents

Matter waves

De Broglie wavelength

properties of wavefunction

Physical significance

Schrodinger time dependent and time-independent wave

equation

Particle in a 1-D box

 Matter waves
The properties of light can be divided into two distinct groups w.r.t properties
Reflection
These properties arising out of propagation of light can be
Refraction
explained only by assigning wave nature to light
interference
Diffraction
polarization

Emission
Absorption These properties arise due to interaction of light
Black body radiation with matter and can be explained only by
Photoelectric effect assigning particle like properties to light
Compton effect
Pair production

Conclusion: In order to explain all the properties of light both wave and particle
properties should be assigned to it. Hence light is said to possess dual nature of wave
and particles simultaneously. The wave and particle properties can be connected with
help of the relation
E = hν =mC2
Momentum of the particle P =mC = hν/C →λ = h/p as C =νλ
 Matter waves-deBroglie wavelength
Louis deBroglie argued that since symmetry is always conserved in nature, just as light exhibits
dual nature of waves and particles, the materials particles like electrons should also possess wave
nature and should exhibit wave properties.

According to de Broglie’s hypothesis, a moving particle is associated with a wave which is

known as deBroglie’s wave or matter wave. The wavelength of the matter wave is given by
λ = h/mv = h/p
Where m is the mass of the particle, v is its velocity, p its momentum

From Plancks theory of radiation,

E = hν = hc/λ
Where c is the velocity of light and λ the wavelength
According to Einstein mass-energy relation
E = mC2 = hc/λ
Hence λ = h/mc, where mc represents the momentum of the photon
In case of a material particle like electron of mass m and moving with a velocity v, momentum
becomes mv,
λ = h/mv = h/p
 Matter waves - Properties
 Lighter is the particle, greater is the wavelength associated with it
 Smaller is the velocity of the particle, greater is the wavelength
associated with it
 When v =o, then λ =infinity which means the wave becomes
indeterminate and if v = infinite, then λ = 0. This shows the matter waves
are generated by the motion of particles
 The velocity of matter waves depends on the velocity of material particle.
It is not a constant while the velocity of electromagnetic wave is constant
 The velocity of matter waves is greater than the velocity of light.
E =hυ and E = mc2
hυ =mc2
υ = mc2 /h
The wavevelocity is given by ω = υ x λ = mc2 /h x h/mv = c2/v
As particle v cannot exceed C, hence ω is greater than velocity of light C.
 The wave and particle aspects of moving bodies can never appear
together in the same experiment.
 The wave nature of matter introduces an uncertainty in the location of
the position of the particle because a wave cannot be located exactly at a
point.
 de BroglieWavelength in terms of Kinetic energy

If E is the kinetic energy of the particle then,

K.E. = E = 1/2mv2 = p2/2m
Hence
p  2mE
  h / 2mE

de BroglieWavelength in terms of potential

In the case of an electron of mass m and charge e, which is accelerated by a potential

V volts from rest to a velocity v, then
1
𝑚𝑣 2 = 𝑒𝑉
2
𝑣 = 2𝑒𝑉/𝑚
ℎ 2𝑒𝑉
λ= = ℎ/𝑚
𝑚𝑣 𝑚
= ℎ/ 2𝑒𝑉𝑚
= 6.6 x 10-34 / (2xVx1.6x10-19x9.1x10-31)1/2
= 12.26 𝑉 Å
 Wave function – Properties and Physical significance

‘ψ’ is the wave function and it measures the variation of the matter waves. Thus
it connects the particles and its associated wave statistically.
‘ψ’ must be finite, continuous, and single valued every where.
‘ψ’ must be a well-behaved function. That is not only ψ, but also its first and
second 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 should exist and must be single-valued , finite and continous.
The wave function ‘ψ’ is a complex function, it does not have a direct physical
meaning, but when we multiply this with its complex conjugateψ* , the product ψ*
ψor | ψ|2 has the physical meaning.
The wave function Ψ( r, t ) describes the position of a particle with respect to
time.
The probability of finding a particle in a particular volume is

i.e., ‘ψ’ must be normalizable.
   d  1
*

-

where dτ  dx dy dz
 Schrodinger’s wave equation

 According to classical mechanics, a particle is completely determined by

its initial position and momentum simultaneously.

 From Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the initial position and momentum of

a particle like electron can not be measured with desired accuracy.

 According to de-broglie theory of matter waves a material particle can be

associated with a wave called matter wave.

 By considering the above mentioned theories, Schrodinger proposed the

mathematical reformations called wave mechanics which interpret the dual
nature of matter.
 Schrodinger gave two wave equations to describe matter waves. One is the
Time-dependent and the other is the Time-independent wave equation
 Schrodinger Time Dependent wave equation
Let us consider the motion of a particle in one dimension.

Let (x, t) is the wave function associated with the particle .

The displacement of a particle executing Simple Harmonic motion is

given by
Y = A sin (kx – ωt)

By taking analogy between the particle and wave function 

we can write  = A e i(kx – ωt ) ----------- (1)

A is amplitude
K is propagation vector and K=2/
w is angular frequency and ω=2

 Is the frequency and  is the wave length of the matter waves

From Planck's law we have
E =h

= (h ) 2  / 2

= (2 ) h/ 2 

E = ωh/ 2 

ω = E / ђ ---------- (2)

Where ω = 2  & ђ = h/ 2 

From de Broglie’s theory we have

P=h/
= (h/ ) 2  / 2 
= (h/ 2  ) x (2  / ) = ђ K

Hence K = p/ ђ ------------------ (3)

Substituting equations 2 and 3 in equation 1

= A e i[(p/ ђ)x – (E/ ђ) t]

Differentiating w.r.t. ‘x’ we get

𝝏/ 𝝏𝒙 = A e i[(p/ ђ)x – (E/ ђ) t] (i/ ђ) P

=(i/ ђ) P

P= (𝝏/ 𝝏𝒙) ђ / i

= (- i2) (𝝏/ 𝝏𝒙) ђ / i where (- i2 = 1)

P = ( - i ђ𝝏 / 𝝏𝒙)-------- (4)

This equation represents momentum operator

Differentiating  w.r.t. ‘t’ we get

𝝏/ 𝝏𝒕 = A e i[(p / ђ)x – (E/ ђ) t] (-i/ ђ) E

= -(i/ ђ) E

E = - (𝝏/ 𝝏𝒕) ђ / i

= ( i2) (𝝏/ 𝝏𝒕) ђ / i

E= ( iђ𝝏 / 𝝏𝒕)-------- (5)

The equation 5 represents energy operator

The partial derivatives with respect to x and t are connected by means of the
relation between energy and momentum.

From the law of conservation of energy we have

𝑷𝟐
+ 𝑽 = 𝑬
𝟐𝒎

V is the potential energy, P2 /2m is the kinetic energy and E is the total
energy
By associating wave function  to the above expression

𝑷𝟐
( + 𝑽)= E
𝟐𝒎

( − i ђ 𝝏 / 𝝏𝒙) ( − i ђ 𝝏 / 𝝏𝒙)
 + V  = ( i ђ𝝏 / 𝝏𝒕)
𝟐𝒎

(- ђ2/ 2m) 𝝏𝟐/ 𝝏𝒙2 + V  = ( iђ𝝏 / 𝝏𝒕)----------- (6)

This is Schrodinger Time Dependent Wave equation

This can be also written as H =E
Where H = ((- ђ2/ 2m) 𝝏𝟐/𝝏𝒙 + V) is called Hamiltonian operator
 Schrodinger Time independent wave equation

According to de-Broglie’s hypothesis, the particle in motion is always

associated with a wave. To describe the motion of a particle in terms of its
associated wave, Schrödinger derived a wave equation, which is termed as
Schrödinger’s wave equation.

Consider a particle of mass ‘m’ ,moving with velocity ‘v’ is associated

with group of waves, let ‘ψ’ be the wave function of the particle.
A one dimensional wave equation for the steady wave associated with a
particle is

 = A e i(kx – ωt ) ----------- (1)

A is amplitude
K is propagation vector and K=2/
ω is angular frequency and ω=2

 Is the frequency and  is the wave length of the matter waves

Differentiating equation partially w.r.t ‘x’ we get

ψ
 Aike i(kx – ωt )  ikψ
x
 2ψ
  Ak 2 i(kx – ωt )
e  k 2
ψ
x 2

ψ 2

 2  k 2 ψ  0 - - - - - -(2)
x

 2 ψ 4π 2 2π
 2 ψ  0 ( k  )
x 2
λ λ

h
According to de - Broglie's λ
mv
   4 m v
2 2 2 2

    0 - - - - - (3)
x h 2 2

The total energy E of the particle is the sum of its kinetic energy
and potential energy(V)
1
i.e., E  mv  V 2

2
 m v  2m( E  V )      (4)
2 2

Substituti ng the equation (4) into equation (3), we get

 ψ 8π m
2 2

  (E  V)ψ  0 - - - - - (5)
x 2
h 2

Now, extending above equation for a three dimensional wave

 2 ψ  2 ψ  2 ψ 8π 2 m
 2  2  2  2 (E  V)ψ  0 - - - - - (6)
x y z h
 (or)
2
8π m
 ψ  2
(E  V)ψ  0
2
h

(or)
2m h
 ψ 
2
(E  V)ψ  0 (  )
 2
2π
  2
 2 2

Where   2
  is Laplacian Operator
x y z 2 2 2

This is the Schrödinger Time Independent wave equation

 Application of Schrodinger wave equation - Particle in a
one-dimensional potential box

Consider an electron of mass ‘m’ in an infinitely deep one-

dimensional potential box with a width of ‘ L’ units in which
potential is constant and zero as shown.

The potential V (x) may be

defined as follows

V(x) = 0 for 0 < x <L

=∞ otherwise
The motion of the electron in one dimensional box can be
described by the Schrödinger's equation

d 2 2m
2
 2 [ E  V ]  0
dx 
Inside the box the potential V =0
d 2 2m
2
 2 [ E ]  0
dx 
d 2 2m
2
 k   0  where, , k  2 E
2 2

dx 

The solution to above equation can be written as

 ( x)  A sin kx  B cos kx    (1)

Where A,B and K are unknown constants
To calculate the constants A & B, it is necessary to apply
boundary conditions

 When X = 0 then Ψ = 0 i.e. |Ψ|2 = 0 ……. (a)

 X = L then Ψ = 0 i.e. |Ψ|2 = 0 …… (b)

 Applying boundary condition ( a ) to equation ( 1 )

 A Sin K(0) + B Cos K(0) = 0  B=0

 Substitute B value in equation (1)

 ( x)  A sin( Kx )
Applying second boundary condition for equation (1)

0  A sin kL  (0) cos kL

A sin kL  0
sin kL  0
kL  n
n
k
L
Substitute B & K value in equation (1)

(nx)
 ( x)  A sin
L

To calculate unknown constant A, consider normalization

condition
Normalization condition

  ( x) dx  1
2

nx
L

 ]dx  1
2 2
A sin [
o
L
2nx
L
1
 [1  cos[ ]dx  1
2
A
o
2 L
A2 L 2nx L
[x  sin ]0  1
2 2n L
A2
L 1
2
A  2/ L
 The normalized wave function is
n
 n  2 / L sin x
L
2 2
2 mE k 
k2  2  E 
 2m
 n   h 
2 2

   
 L   2 
E
2m
n h
where,.k  & 
L 2
n2h2
E
8mL2
The wave functions Ψn and the corresponding energies En which
are called Eigen functions and Eigen values, of the quantum
particle.
ψ E
 Unit-3
3.2 Electromagnetic Theory

Introduction
• Electricity and magnetism are studied separately and they were thought of different
phenomena until 19th century.
• The attempt of unification of electricity and magnetism made by J C Maxwell in the
mid of 19th century that reformed as electromagnetic (EM) theory.
• Maxwell formalized the relationship between electric and magnetic fields in a set of
FOUR elegant equations with sophisticated mathematics.
• Maxwell’s new theory provides a new description of light, as electromagnetic (EM)
waves.
• Maxwell's equations predict the existence of electromagnetic waves that travel at a
speed of 3 × 108 𝑚⁄𝑆 . This is the speed at which light is measured to move, and one
of the most important bases of our belief that light is an electromagnetic wave.

Mathematical prerequisite
❖ Vector calculus (Grad, Divergence & Curl)
• Grad (𝛁𝑭) is a collection of all its partial derivates into a vector and it is a vector
field
• Divergence (𝛁. 𝑭) is the net out flow at a point in the given region of space/field
and it is a scalar
• Curl (𝛁 × 𝑭) is the net rotation (swirl) at a point in the given region of space/field
and it is a vector
❖ The two mathematical integral theorems
• The surface integral of a vector field over a closed surface is equal to the volume
integral of its divergence. (Gauss’s Divergence theorem: Surface to Volume)
∯ 𝑭. 𝒅𝑺 = ∰(𝛁. 𝑭). 𝒅𝑽
• The line integral of a vector field around a closed plane curve is equal to the surface
integral of its curl. (Stoke’s Curl theorem: Line to Surface)
∮ 𝑭. 𝒅𝒍 = ∯(𝛁 × 𝑭). 𝒅𝑺
❖ Vector identities
• 𝛁. (𝛁 × 𝑭) = 𝟎 (divergence of a curl is ZERO)
• 𝛁 × (𝛁 × 𝑭) = 𝛁(𝛁. 𝐅) − 𝛁 𝟐 𝑭
• 𝛁. (𝑨 × 𝑩) = 𝑩. (𝛁 × 𝑨) − 𝑨. (𝛁 × 𝑩)
Basic laws of Electromagnetism
• Gauss’s law (Electrostatics): It states that the surface integral of the electrostatic
1
field E over a closed surface is equal to the charge enclosed by that surface times 𝜀
0

𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅
∯ 𝑬. 𝒅𝑺 =
𝜺𝟎
• Gauss’s law (Magnetism): It states that no magnetic monopoles exist and that the
total flux through a closed surface must be zero.
Unlike the electrostatic field, magnetic fields have no sources or sinks, and the magnetic lines
of force are closed curves. Consequently, the surface integral of the magnetic field over a
closed surface is zero.

∯ 𝑩. 𝒅𝑺 = 𝟎

• Faraday’s law (Electromagnetic Induction): Change in magnetic flux produce

induced current (emf) in a closed conducting coil.
𝝏∅𝑩
∮ 𝑬. 𝒅𝒍 = −
𝝏𝒕
• Ampere’s law: The magnetic field in around any closed loop path is permeability
times electric current enclosed in the loop.

∮ 𝑩. 𝒅𝒍 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑰

NOTE: Maxwell modified the Ampere’s law with an extra term in equation since there is
inconsistency and it’s called modified Ampere’s-Maxwell’s equation (extra term is
displacement current) ∮ 𝑩. 𝒅𝒍 = 𝝁𝟎 (𝑰 + 𝑰𝑫 ) where I is conduction current

Basic relations
𝑫 = 𝜺𝟎 𝑬 (Electric displacement vector or Electric flux)
𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑯 (Magnetic flux)
𝜀0 and 𝜇0 (without medium) are permittivity & permeability of free space (vacuum)
respectively

𝑫 = 𝜺𝑬 & 𝑩 = 𝝁𝑯 (with medium)

𝑰
𝑱 = 𝑨 (Current density) & 𝑱 = 𝝈𝑬
Maxwell’s equations and their proofs (Integral to Differential
form)

❖ First equation: Gauss’s law (electrostatics) is the first Maxwell’s equation that dictates
how electric field behave around electric charges
𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅
From Gauss’s law ∯ 𝑬. 𝒅𝑺 = 𝜺𝟎

𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 = ∰ 𝝆 𝒅𝑽 where 𝝆 charge density enclosed in volume

𝟏
∴ ∯ 𝑬. 𝒅𝑺 = ∰ 𝝆. 𝒅𝑽
𝜺𝟎
Using Gauss’s divergence theorem ∯ 𝑭. 𝒅𝑺 = ∰(𝛁. 𝑭). 𝒅𝑽

∯ 𝑬. 𝒅𝑺 = ∰(𝛁. 𝑬). 𝒅𝑽

𝟏
∰(𝛁. 𝑬). 𝒅𝑽 = ∰ 𝝆 . 𝒅𝑽
𝜺𝟎
𝝆
Therefore, 𝛁. 𝑬 = ---------------------------- (1)
𝜺𝟎

❖ Second equation: Gauss’s law (Magnetism) is the second Maxwell’s equation states
that net flux of the magnetic field through a closed surface is zero because monopoles
of a magnet do not exist.
From Gauss’s law in magnetism ∯ 𝑩. 𝒅𝑺 = 𝟎
On applying Gauss’s divergence theorem ∯ 𝑩. 𝒅𝑺 = ∰(𝛁. 𝑩). 𝒅𝑽
Therefore, 𝛁. 𝑩 = 𝟎 ----------------------------- (2)
❖ Third equation: from Faraday’s EMI, the change in magnetic flux in a closed loop
results an induced emf
𝜕∅𝐵
i.e. 𝑒𝑚𝑓 = − (- indicates induced emf opposes time-varying magnetic flux)
𝜕𝑡
𝐵
we know that magnetic flux ∅𝐵 = 𝐴 = ∯ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑆
𝜕
therefore, 𝑒𝑚𝑓 = − 𝜕𝑡 ∯ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑆
𝑑𝑉
emf is nothing but voltage 𝐸 = → 𝑒𝑚𝑓 ≈ 𝑑𝑉 = 𝐸. 𝑑𝑙 ↔ 𝑒𝑚𝑓 = ∮ 𝐸. 𝑑𝑙
𝑑𝑙
on equating magnetic flux and voltage
𝜕
∮ 𝐸. 𝑑𝑙 = −
∯ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑆
𝜕𝑡
Using Stoke’s curl theorem ∮ 𝑭. 𝒅𝒍 = ∯(𝛁 × 𝑭). 𝒅𝑺
∮ 𝑬. 𝒅𝒍 = ∯(𝛁 × 𝑬). 𝒅𝑺
𝜕
On comparing the above two equations ∯(𝛁 × 𝑬). 𝒅𝑺 = − 𝜕𝑡 ∯ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑆
 𝝏𝑩
∴ 𝛁 × 𝑬 = − 𝝏𝒕 (time-varying field) ------------------------ (3)

❖ Fourth equation: It is based on Ampere’s circuital law.

we know that ∮ 𝑩. 𝒅𝒍 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑰
𝑰
𝑰 = ∯ 𝑱. 𝒅𝑺 (𝑱 = 𝑨)

Using Stoke’s curl theorem ∮ 𝑭. 𝒅𝒍 = ∯(𝛁 × 𝑭). 𝒅𝑺

∯(𝛁 × 𝑩). 𝒅𝑺 = 𝝁𝟎 ∯ 𝑱. 𝒅𝑺

On comparing above equations 𝛁 × 𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑱

✓ Third Maxwell’s equation says that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field.
✓ But there is no clue in fourth Maxwell’s equation whether a changing electric field
produces a magnetic field?
✓ To overcome this deficiency, Maxwell’s argued that if a changing magnetic flux can
produce an electric field then by symmetry there must exist a relation in which a
changing electric field must produce a changing magnetic flux
✓ Hence, he added an extra term called electric displacement current JD to overcome the
inconsistency of the equation
The added extra term of displacement current (𝑱𝑫 ) to the Ampere’s equation is known
as modified Maxwell-Amperes’ law
𝛁 × 𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 (𝑱 + 𝑱𝑫 ) -------------------------------------(4)
Explanation:
consider Ampere’s law 𝛁 × 𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑱
The above equation can also be written as 𝛁 × 𝑯 = 𝑱 (𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑯)
The divergence of above equation ∇. (𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝛁. 𝑱
From vector identities the divergence of a curl is ZERO.
Therefore, from the above equation 𝛁. 𝑱 = 𝟎 (inconsistency)
𝝏𝝆
According to current continuity equation 𝛁. 𝑱 = − 𝝏𝒕

Maxwell modified the Ampere’s equation in the following way;

Consider Ampere’s law add an extra term say a constant G on RHS and then take
divergence
(𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝑱 + 𝑮 -------------------------(*)
∇. (𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝛁. 𝑱 + 𝛁. 𝑮
According to vector identity LHS of the above equation is ZERO
 𝝏𝝆
Therefore, 𝛁. 𝑱 + 𝛁. 𝑮 = 𝟎 → 𝛁. 𝑮 = −𝛁. 𝑱 = (from equation of continuity)
𝝏𝒕

𝝏𝝆
𝛁. 𝑮 =
𝝏𝒕
From Maxwell’s first equation (Gauss’s law)
𝝆
𝛁. 𝑬 = 𝜺 → 𝝆 = 𝛁. 𝜺𝟎 𝑬 = 𝛁. 𝑫 (since 𝑫 = 𝜺𝟎 𝑬)
𝟎

Plugin the above condition in 𝛁. 𝑮

𝝏 𝝏𝑬
Therefore, 𝛁. 𝑮 = 𝝏𝒕 (𝛁. 𝜺𝟎 𝑬) = 𝛁. 𝜺𝟎 𝝏𝒕

𝝏𝑬
𝑮 = 𝜺𝟎
𝝏𝒕
Plugin the above condition in eq. (*)
𝝏𝑬
(𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝑱 + 𝜺𝟎
𝝏𝒕

or
𝝏𝑬
(𝛁 × 𝑩) = 𝝁𝟎 (𝑱 + 𝜺𝟎 )
𝝏𝒕
Or
𝝏𝑫 𝝏𝑫 𝝏𝑬
(𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝑱 + where or 𝜺𝟎 𝝏𝒕 displacement current
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕

The above equation is Maxwell-Ampere modified equation

Maxwell’s equations formalism

Integral form Differential form Differential form 1,3 & 4 equations in
(in medium) (in free terms of D & H
space/vacuum)
𝑸𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝝆 𝛁. 𝑬 = 𝟎 𝛁. 𝑫 = 𝝆
∯ 𝑬. 𝒅𝑺 = 𝛁. 𝑬 =
𝜺𝟎 𝜺𝟎 (since D=𝜺𝟎 𝑬)
𝛁. 𝑩 = 𝟎 𝛁. 𝑩 = 𝟎 𝛁. 𝑩 = 𝟎
∯ 𝑩. 𝒅𝑺 = 𝟎
𝝏∅𝑩 𝝏𝑩 𝝏𝑩 𝛁 × 𝑬 = −𝝁𝟎 𝝏𝒕
𝝏𝑯
∮ 𝑬. 𝒅𝒍 = − 𝛁×𝑬 =− 𝛁×𝑬= −
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕 (𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑩 = 𝝁𝟎 𝑯)
𝝏𝑬 𝝏𝑬 𝝏𝑬
∮ 𝑩. 𝒅𝒍 = 𝝁𝟎 (𝑰 + 𝑰𝑫 ) (𝛁 × 𝑩) = 𝝁𝟎 (𝑰 + 𝜺𝟎 ) (𝛁 × 𝑩) = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 (𝛁 × 𝑯) = 𝑰 + 𝜺𝟎
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕

❖ NOTE
✓ Since charge does not exist in free space or vacuum the first and fourth
Maxwell equations do not contain charge and conduction current
✓ First two equations are static fields and last equations are time-varying fields
Conduction current (J)
Conduction current is the electric current which exists in a conductor when the electrons flow
in the conductor through frequent collisions.
ሬሬሬሬԦ
𝒗𝒅
Consider a metal conductor whose length is L and
A
area of cross section is A. The conductor has n
number of free electrons with charge e move
randomly in cloud form within the volume of
L
material. When the conductor is connected to E
external electric field E the randomly moving
electrons acquire drift velocity 𝒗𝒅 and move
opposite to the direction of E. A-area of cross section, L-length of the conductor, E-
electric field, 𝑣𝑑 -drift velocity
The current 𝐼 = 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑑 𝐴 and
𝐿
the resistance is given by 𝑅 = 𝜌
𝐴
𝐼 𝐼 1𝑉
From Ohm’s law 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 → 𝑉 = 𝜌𝐿 → = 𝐼
𝐴 𝐴 𝜌𝐿 J is current density 𝐽 = 𝐴 and this current is due to conduction
1
Displacement
∴ 𝑱 = 𝝈𝑬 where 𝜎current (JD)
= 𝜌 conductivity of electrons in the metal 𝑱 = 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒅 (in terms of drift velocity)

It is a quantity that is defined in terms of the rate of change of electric displacement field and it
is not an electric current of moving charges, but a time-varying electric field.
When a capacitor is charging (or discharging), current flows in the circuit. However, there is no
actual charge transfer in the insulated region between capacitor which is contradictory to the flow
of current. Hence, displacement current is the current in the insulated region due to the changing
electric flux
For a charged capacitor, electric field between the plates is given by,
𝑄
𝐸=
𝜀0 𝐴
𝑉 𝑄 𝐴
{𝐸 = ; 𝐶 = ; 𝐶 = 𝜀0 (𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚)}
𝑑 𝑉 𝑑
From above field equation 𝑸 = 𝜺𝟎 ∅𝑬 where ∅𝐸 is electric flux
𝒅𝑸 𝒅∅𝑬
The displacement current 𝑰𝑫 = → 𝑰𝑫 = 𝜺𝟎
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕

Relation between D, E, P Eexternal

• When a dielectric material is placed between two plates of a parallel
+Q -Q’ +Q’ -Q
plate capacitor it becomes polarised under external electric field + - + -
(Eext). + - + -
• The induced dipoles inside dielectric material create internal electric + - + -
field that is localised within medium (Eint). This field opposes (Eext) + - Ei + -
therefore, the net electric field is given by 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝐸𝑒𝑥𝑡 − 𝐸𝑖𝑛𝑡 and net + - + -
charge is given by 𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑄 − 𝑄′ + - + -
• From the figure, Q is surface charge on plates of capacitor, Q’ is - -
d
induced or polarized charge and d is separation between the plates.
 𝑄𝑛𝑒𝑡
From Gauss’s law in dielectrics ∯ 𝐸. 𝑑𝐴 = 𝜀0
(𝑄 − 𝑄′ ) 𝑄 𝑄′
𝜀0 𝐸 = = − =𝐷−𝑃
𝐴 𝐴 𝐴
Where D & P are displacement vector & polarization vector respectively
𝑄
D is associated with surface/free charge of plates of capacitor (𝐷 = 𝐴 )
𝑄′
P is polarised/induced charge in dielectric medium (𝑃 = )
𝐴
from the above equation 𝐷 − 𝑃 = 𝜀0 𝐸
therefore, 𝑫 = 𝜺𝟎 𝑬 + 𝑷

Planewave or classical wave solution from Maxwell’s equations

• One of the most important predictions of the Maxwell equations is the existence of
electromagnetic waves which can transport energy (EM).
• The planewave is the simplest solution that come from 2nd PDE (partial differential
eqn.) and also speed of light can be obtained by solving Maxwell’s equations.
• Consider Maxwell’s equations in free space;
𝛁. 𝑬 = 𝟎
𝛁. 𝑩 = 𝟎
𝝏𝑩
𝛁×𝑬=−
𝝏𝒕
𝝏𝑬
(𝛁 × 𝑩) = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎
𝝏𝒕
rd 𝝏𝑩
consider 3 equation 𝛁×𝑬 =−
𝝏𝒕
𝝏(𝛁×𝑩)
Take the curl 𝛁 × (𝛁 × 𝑬) = − ---------- (1)
𝝏𝒕
𝝏𝑬
From 4th equation (𝛁 × 𝑩) = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 -----------(2)
𝝏𝒕
𝝏(𝝏𝑬)
Substitute eq. 2 in eq. 1 𝛁 × (𝛁 × 𝑬) = −𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 ----------(3)
𝝏𝒕
𝟐
From vectors identity 𝛁 × (𝛁 × 𝑬) = 𝛁(𝛁. 𝐄) − 𝛁 𝑬 --------- (4)
Substitute Maxwell’s eq. 1 in the above eq. 4
Therefore, 𝛁 × (𝛁 × 𝑬) = −𝛁 𝟐 𝑬 ---------(5)
𝝏(𝝏𝑬) 𝝏𝟐 𝑬
Compare eq. 3 & 5 𝛁 𝟐 𝑬 = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 𝝏𝒕𝟐
𝝏𝒕
The above equation is 3D- planewave solution (𝛁 𝟐 )- 3D- operator or Laplacian
operator
𝝏𝟐 𝑬 𝝏𝟐 𝑬
1D- planewave solution is = 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 𝝏𝒕𝟐
𝝏𝒕𝟐
We know that the general solution of planewave or classical wave is
𝝏𝟐 𝒚 𝟏 𝝏𝟐 𝒚
= 𝑪𝟐 𝝏𝒕𝟐
𝝏𝒕𝟐

Compare the above two equations

𝟏 𝟏
= 𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎 → 𝑪 = → 𝑪 = 𝟐𝟗𝟗, 𝟕𝟗𝟐, 𝟒𝟓𝟖 ≈ 𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔⁄𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅
𝑪𝟐 √𝝁𝟎 𝜺𝟎

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜇0 = 4𝜋 × 10−7 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑟𝑦/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 & 𝜀0 = 8.85410−12 𝐹𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 & 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦
 ሬሬԦ) & theorem
Poynting vector (𝑷
• ሬ𝑷
ሬԦ- it may be interpreted as the intensity of EM energy flow at a given point in EM field,
that is the energy per second crossing a unit area whose normal is oriented in
the direction of the vector (𝑬 × 𝑯) where E & H are electric field strength & magnetic
field strength respectively. Since it represents energy per unit area, it picks up units of
power W/𝑚2
𝟏
Mathematically 𝑷 = (𝑬 × 𝑯)𝒐𝒓 µ (𝑬 × 𝑩) 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐵 = µ𝐻 (𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚)
Here P → Poynting vector and it is named after its discoverer, J.H. Poynting. The direction
of P is perpendicular to E and H and in the direction of vector 𝑬 × 𝑯
• Poynting theorem statement: the net power flowing out of a given volume V is equal
to the time rate of decrease of stored electromagnetic energy in that volume decreased
by the conduction losses.
i.e. total power leaving the volume = rate of decrease of stored electromagnetic energy
– ohmic power dissipated due to motion of charge
• Proof: the energy carried by EM wave can be obtained using Maxwell’s equation in
medium
Consider time-varying Maxwell’s equations in medium;
𝝏𝑩 𝝏𝑯
(𝛁 × 𝑬) = − 𝝏𝒕 = −𝝁 𝝏𝒕 -------(1)
𝝏𝑬
(𝛁 × 𝑯) = (𝑱 + 𝜺 ) -------(2)
𝝏𝒕
Take the dot product with H to eq. 1 & dot product with E to eq. 2
𝝏(𝑯.𝑯)
𝑯. (𝛁 × 𝑬) = −𝝁 ---------(3)
𝝏𝒕
𝝏(𝑬.𝑬)
𝑬. (𝛁 × 𝑯) = (𝑬. 𝑱 + 𝜺 ) ---------(4)
𝝏𝒕
From vector identity 𝛁. (𝑨 × 𝑩) = 𝑩. (𝛁 × 𝑨) − 𝑨. (𝛁 × 𝑩)

Therefore, from eq. 3 and 4 𝛁. (𝑬 × 𝑯) = 𝑯. (𝛁 × 𝑬) − 𝑬. (𝛁 × 𝑯) -----------(5)

𝝏(𝑯.𝑯) 𝝏(𝑬.𝑬)
Substitute eq. 3 & 4 in eq. 5 𝛁. (𝑬 × 𝑯) = −𝝁 − (𝑬. 𝑱 + 𝜺 )
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕

𝝏(𝑯.𝑯) 𝝏(𝑬.𝑬)
𝛁. (𝑬 × 𝑯) = −𝑬. 𝑱 − [𝝁 +𝜺 ] ----------------(6)
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕

𝝏(𝒙.𝒙) 𝟏 𝝏(𝒙𝟐 )
From differential equations =𝟐
𝝏𝒕 𝝏𝒕

The eq. 6 can be written as

𝟏 𝝏(𝑯𝟐 ) 𝟏 𝝏 ( 𝑬𝟐 ) 𝟏𝝏
𝛁. (𝑬 × 𝑯) = −𝑬. 𝑱 − [𝝁 +𝜺 ] = −𝑬. 𝑱 − (𝝁𝑯𝟐 + 𝜺𝑬𝟐 )
𝟐 𝝏𝒕 𝟐 𝝏𝒕 𝟐 𝝏𝒕
Integrate the above eq. over volume V enclosed by surface S
𝟏 𝝏
∭ 𝛁. (𝑬 × 𝑯). 𝒅𝑽 = − ∭(𝑬. 𝑱). 𝒅𝑽 − ∭ (𝝁𝑯𝟐 + 𝜺𝑬𝟐 ). 𝒅𝑽
𝟐 𝝏𝒕
 From Gauss’s law the LHS of above eq. can be taken as
𝟏 𝝏
∬(𝑬 × 𝑯). 𝒅𝑺 = − ∭(𝑬. 𝑱). 𝒅𝑽 − ∭ (𝝁𝑯𝟐 + 𝜺𝑬𝟐 ). 𝒅𝑽
𝟐 𝝏𝒕
𝝏
∬ 𝑷. 𝒅𝑺 = − ∭(𝑬. 𝑱). 𝒅𝑽 − ∭ (𝑼 ). 𝒅𝑽
𝝏𝒕 𝑬𝑴

Total power leaving the volume = power dissipated due charges motion - rate of decrease stored EM energy

The above theorem is also called Work-Energy theorem

𝟏
Poyiniting vector 𝑷 = 𝑬 × 𝑯 and EM energy 𝑼𝑬𝑴 = 𝟐 (𝝁𝑯𝟐 + 𝜺𝑬𝟐 )

----------------------------------------------****************___________________________
 Additional Information

Maxwell’s equations (Intuitive understanding)

• These are a set of 4 complicated equations that describe the world of
electromagnetics. These equations describe how electric and magnetic fields
propagate, interact, and how they are influenced by objects.
• James Clerk Maxwell, was an Einstein/Newton-level genius who took a set of
known experimental laws (Faraday's Law, Ampere's Law) and unified them into a
symmetric coherent set of Equations known as Maxwell's Equations.
• Maxwell was one of the first to determine the speed of propagation of
electromagnetic (EM) waves was the same as the speed of light - and hence to
conclude that EM waves and visible light were really the same thing.
• Maxwell's Equations are laws - just like the law of gravity. These equations are
ruling the universe uses to govern the behaviour of electric and magnetic fields.
• A flow of electric current will produce a magnetic field. If the current flow varies
with time (as in any wave or periodic signal), the magnetic field will also give rise
to an electric field.
 Insulator Semiconductor Conductor
FEG more than 3eV FEG nearly 1eV FEG=0eV
No free electrons exist Free electrons & holes exist Only free electrons exist.
Resistivity high Resistivity moderate Resistivity low
Ex: wood, stone, rubber, etc. Si, Ge, graphite etc. Cu, Al, etc.

SEMI CONDUCTORS

Introduction

 A semiconductor is a material for which energy gap (Eg) between the valence and the
conduction band is relatively small. The Eg is around 0.2 – 2.5 eV.

 The electrical conductivity of semiconductors varies between conductors (metals) and

insulators.

 Ex: Silicon (Eg 1.1 eV) and Germanium (Eg 0.67 eV)

 It behaves as an insulator at 0K and conductor at higher temperature.

Semiconductors are mainly two types

 Intrinsic (Pure) Semiconductors
 Extrinsic (doped or impure) Semiconductors

Intrinsic semiconductors:-

 A Semiconductor which does not have any kind of impurities, behaves as an Insulator at
0k and behaves as a Conductor at higher temperature is known as Intrinsic
Semiconductor or Pure Semiconductor. When the electron from the valence band jumps
to conduction band, a vacancy is created in valence band. This absence of electron is
called hole. In intrinsic semiconductors, the no. of free electrons is equal to the no. of
holes in valence band.

 Ex: Germanium & Silicon(4th group elements) and they possess diamond cubic
crystalline structure.

15
Extrinsic Semiconductors

The Extrinsic Semiconductors are those in which impurities of large quantity are present.
Usually, the impurities can be either 3rd group elements or 5th group elements.

Addition of impurities into pure element is called doping & added element is called as dopant.

Based on the impurities present in the Extrinsic Semiconductors, they are classified into two
categories.

1. N-type semiconductors

2. P-type semiconductors

N - type Semiconductors

 When any pentavalent element such as Phosphorous, Arsenic or Antimony is

added to the intrinsic Semiconductor, four electrons are involved in covalent bonding
with four neighboring pure Semiconductor atoms.

 The fifth electron is weakly bound to the parent atom. And even for lesser thermal energy
it is released leaving the parent atom positively ionized.

 The Intrinsic Semiconductors doped with pentavalent impurities are called N-type
Semiconductors.

 The energy level of fifth electron is called donor level.

16
  The donor level is close to the bottom of the conduction band , most of the donor level
electrons are excited in to the conduction band at room temperature and become the
Majority charge carriers.

 The no. of free electrons is greater than the no. of holes in these semiconductors.

 Hence in N-type Semiconductors electrons are Majority carriers and holes are Minority
carriers.

P - type Semiconductors

When a trivalent elements such as Al, Ga or Indium added to the Intrinsic Semiconductor all the
three electrons are involved in Covalent bonding with the three neighboring Si atoms and
accepts one electron from the another neighbouring Si atom to complete the outermost
configuration.

 The energy level of this impurity atom is called Acceptor level and this acceptor level lies
just above the valence band.

17
  These type of trivalent impurities are called acceptor impurities and the semiconductors
doped with the acceptor impurities are called P-type Semiconductors.

 Even at relatively low temperatures, these acceptor atoms get ionized taking electrons
from valence band and thus giving rise to holes in valence band for conduction.

 Due to ionization of acceptor atoms only holes and no electrons are created.

 Thus holes are more in number than electrons and hence holes are majority carriers and
electrons are minority carriers in P-type semiconductors.

Concept of hole

The absence of electron in a particular place in an atom is called as hole. Hole is a electric charge
carrier which has positive charge. The electric charge of hole is equal to electric charge of
electron but have opposite polarity. When a small amount of external energy is applied, then the
electrons in the valence band moves in to conduction band and leaves a vacancy in valence band.
This vacancy is called as hole.

In conductors current is caused by only motion of electrons but in emiconductors current is

caused by both electrons in conduction band and holes in valence band. Current that is caused by

18
electron motion is called electron current and current that is caused by hole motion is called hole
current. Electron is a negative charge carrier whereas hole is a positive charge carrier.

Let‟s take an example, as shown in fig there are three atoms atom A, atom B and atom C. At
room temperature valence electron in an atom A gains enough energy and jumps in to
conduction bnd as shown in fig (1). When it jumps in to conduction band a hole (vacancy) is
created in the valence band at atom A as shown in fig (2). Then the neighboring electron from
atom B moves to atom A to fill the hole at atom A. This creates a hole at atom B as shown in fig
(3). Similarly neighboring electron from atom C moves to atom B to fill the hole at atom B. This
creates a hole at atom C as shown in fig (4). Likewise electrons moves from left side to right side
and holes moves from right to left side.

Carrier Concentration in Intrinsic Semiconductor

19
When a suitable form of Energy is supplied to a Semiconductor then electrons take transition
from Valence band to Conduction band. Hence a free electron in Conduction band and
simultaneously free hole in Valence band is formed. This phenomenon is known as Electron -
Hole pair generation. In Intrinsic Semiconductor the Number of Conduction electrons will be
equal to the Number of Vacant sites or holes in the valence band.

Calculation of Density of Electrons

Let „dn‟ be the Number of Electrons available between energy interval „E and E+ dE‟ in the
Conduction band

dn  Z ( E )dE F ( E )
top of the band

n  z( E ) F ( E )dE................(1)
Ec

Where Z(E) dE is the Density of states in the energy interval E and E + dE and F(E) is the
Probability of Electron occupancy.

4
3 1
Z ( E )dE  3
(2m) 2 E 2 dE
h
4
3 1
Z ( E )dE  3 (2me ) 2 E 2 dE
h
Where me* is the effective mass of the electron

Since E starts at the bottom of the Conduction band Ec

4
3 1
Z ( E )dE  3 (2me ) 2 ( E  Ec ) 2 dE
h
Probability of an Electron occupying an energy state E is given by
1
F (E) 
E  Ef
1  exp( )
kT
For all possible temperatures E  EF  kT
1
F (E) 
E  Ef
exp( )
kT
E  EF E E
F ( E )  exp( ( ))  exp( F )
kT kT

20
 Substituting Z(E) and F(E) values in Equation (1)

top of the band

n  z ( E ) F ( E )dE
Ec

4 3 1
E E
n   3 (2me ) ( E  Ec ) 2 exp( F
 2
)dE
Ec
h kT


4 3
n  3 (2me )  ( E  Ec ) 2 exp( EF  E )dE
1
 2

h Ec kT


4 3
EF 1
E

 2
n 3
( 2 me ) exp( ) ( E  E c ) 2
exp( )dE.....( 2)
h kT Ec kT
To solve equation 2, let us put
E  Ec  x
E  Ec  x
dE  dx
4 E  12 E
3 1
n  123 (2me )x2 exp( F ) 32( E  E c ) 2 exp( )dE
we know that  ( x)h exp( )dE kT (kT0) kT
0
kT 2

4 Ec  x
3 1
EF
kT 0
 2
n 
substitute in equation
3
( 2 m
(3e)) exp( ) ( x ) 2
exp(  ( ))dx
h kT
4
3
E F  E c  12 x
n 3
( 2 m  2
e ) exp( )  ( x) exp(  )dx.....(3)
h kT 0
kT
1
4 E  Ec 2
3 3
n  3 (2me ) 2 exp( F ) {(kT ) 2 }
h kT 2
2me kT 32 E  Ec
n2 ( 2
) exp( F )
h kT
EF  Ec
n = Nc exp( ) where
kT

2mekT 32
Nc = 2 ( )
h2

The above equation represents Number of conduction electrons per unit volume of the
Semiconductor.

21
 Calculation of density of holes

Let „dp‟ be the Number of holes or Vacancies in the energy interval „E and E + dE‟ in the
valence band

dp  Z ( E )dE {1  F ( E )}
Ev
p  z( E ){1  F ( E )}dE................(1)
bottomof the band

Where Z(E) dE is the density of states in the energy interval

E and E + dE and

1-F(E) is the probability of existence of a hole.

Density of holes in the Valence band is

4
3 1
Z ( E )dE  3
(2mh ) 2 E 2 dE
h

Since Ev is the energy of the top of the valence band

4
3 1
Z ( E )dE  3
(2mh ) 2 ( Ev  E ) 2 dE
h

Probability of an Electron occupying an energy state E is given by

1
1  F (E)  1  { }
E  Ef
1  exp( )
kT
E  E f 1
1  F ( E )  1  {1  exp( )}
kT
neglect higher order terms in above exp ansion
for higher T values
E  Ef
1  F ( E )  exp( )
kT

Substitute Z(E) and 1 - F(E) values in Equation (1)

22
 Ev
p  z ( E ){1  F ( E )}dE
bottomof the band

4 E  EF
Ev 3 1
p 

h 3
(2mh ) 2 ( Ev  E ) 2 exp(
kT
)dE

4  EF v
3 E 1
E
p  3 (2mh ) 2 exp( )  ( Ev  E ) 2 exp( )dE....( 2)
h kT  kT

To solve equation 2, let us put

Ev  E  x
E  Ev  x
dE  dx
4  EF v
3 E 1
E
p  3 (2mh ) 2 exp( )  ( Ev  E ) 2 exp( )dE
h kT  kT

4  EF E x
3 0 1


 2
p 3
( 2 mh ) exp( ) ( x ) 2
exp( v )(dx)
h kT  kT

4 3
Ev  E F 1
x
 2
p  3 (2mh ) exp( )  ( x) 2 exp( )dx
h kT 0 kT
1
4 Ev  E F 2
3 3
 2
p  3 (2mh ) exp( )(kT ) 2
h kT 2

2mh kT 32 E  EF
p  2( 2
) exp( v )
h kT

EV  E F
p = Nv exp( ) where
kT

2mh* kT 32
Nv = 2 ( )
h2

The above equation represents Number of holes per unit volume of the material.

23
 Intrinsic Carrier Concentration:-

In intrinsic Semiconductors n = p. Hence n = p = n i is called intrinsic Carrier Concentration

ni2  np
ni  np
2me kT 32 E F  Ec 2mh kT 32 E  EF
ni  {2 ( 2
) exp( )}{2( 2
) exp( v )}
h kT h kT
2kT 32   34 E  Ec
ni  2( 2 ) (me mh ) exp( v )
h 2kT
2kT
3 3
 Eg
ni  2( 2 ) 2 (me mh ) 4 exp( )
h 2kT

2me kT 32 E F  Ec 2mhkT 32 E  EF
2( 2
) exp( )  2( 2
) exp( v )
h kT h kT
2mekT 32 E F  Ec 2mh kT 32 E  EF
( 2
) exp( )( 2
) exp( v )
h kT h kT
2E m 3 E  Ec
exp( F )  ( h ) 2 exp( v )
kT me kT
taking logarithms on both sides

2 EF 3 mh E  Ec
 log(  )  ( v )
kT 2 me kT
3kT m E  Ec
EF  log( h )  ( v )
4 me 2
Ev  Ec
EF  ( )
2

In intrinsic semiconductors, we know that me* = mh*

Thus the Fermi energy level EF is located in the middle of the forbidden band.

CONDUCTIVITY OF INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTORS

In semiconductor, the conduction band electron and valance band hole participate in electrical
conduction. To obtain expression for electrical conductivity consider an intrinsic semiconductor
bar which is connected to external battery.

24
The electric field exist along x direction. The field accelerate electrons (conduction electrons)
along negative X-direction and holes along positive X-direction. They start moving with a
constant velocity called Drift velocity vd .

The total current in the semiconductor (due to both electron and hole)
I = I e + Ih
or total current density
J = Je + Jh -------------------------------(1)

In order to find the current density of electrons, let the concentration of electrons be 'n' , charge
as 'e' and drift velocity as ‘ve’
Je = neve --------------------(2)
The drift velocity produced per unit electric field is called 'mobility' , Thus
µe = ve/E
or
µe E = ve
substituting in equation (2)
Je = neµe E -------------------(3)
From Ohms law, J = σ E, therefore Je = σe E
Je = σe E = neµe E ------------(4)
(or)
σe = neµe ----------(5)
Similarly, current density for holes
Jp = σp E = peµp E ----------(6)

25
 and conductivity of holes
σP = peµP ----------(7)
Substituting value of Je and Jp from eq 4 and 5 in eq 1, we get
J = (neµe + peµp ) E
From ohm‟s law, J = σ E
σ = neµe + peµp
where σe = neµe and σP = peµP
Also ni = CT3/2 e-Eg/2KT -------------(8)
σi = nie(µe+µp ) = CT3/2 e-Eg/2KT e(µe+µp ) -----------(9)
The mobilities of carrier depend upon temperature as
µ α 1/T3/2 ---------------(10)
For Electrons , µe α αT-3/2 and for holes , µp α βT-3/2
Or µe + µp = (α + β ) T-3/2 = γ T-3/2 -------------(11)
Subsitute equ (11) in equ (9),
σi = CT3/2 e-Eg/2KT e γ T-3/2
σi = Ce γ e-Eg/2KT
Let B = Ce γ
σi = B e-Eg/2KT ------------------------------(12)
This is the expression for conductivity in an intrinsic semiconductor

Hall Effect
When a Magnetic field is applied perpendicular to a current Carrying Conductor or
Semiconductor, Voltage is developed across the specimen in a direction perpendicular to both
the current and the Magnetic field. This phenomenon is called the Hall Effect and voltage so
developed is called the Hall voltage.
Let us consider, a thin rectangular slab carrying Current in the X-direction. If we place it in a
Magnetic field B which is in the Z-direction. Potential difference VPQ will develop between the
faces P and Q which are perpendicular to the Y-direction. This transverse voltage is called Hall
voltage.

26
It is easy to determine Hall voltage induced by the magnetic field.
Firstly, the magnetic force induced by the magnetic field is given by Lorentz force

F  q(vd  B)

The Hall field that is developed due to this magnetic field as the charges get deflected will inturn
exert an electric force on charge carriers which is given by

F  qEH
This happens until an equilibrium is reached. When an equilibrium is reached, the Magnetic
deflecting force on the charge carriers are balanced by the electric forces due to electric Field.

q(vd  B)  qEH
E H  ( vd  B )
Where v d is drift velocity
The relation between current density and drift velocity is

J
vd 
ne

Where n is the number of charge carriers per unit volume. Substituting these values in the
expression for Hall field we get

27
 E H  ( vd  B )
J
EH  (  B)
ne
1
EH  ( J  B)
ne
EH  RH ( J  B)
1 E
RH ( Hall ,.coefficien t )   H
ne J B

If VH be the Hall Voltage in equilibrium, the Hall Electric field.

VH
EH 
d
Where d is the width of the slab.
EH
RH 
JB
1 VH
RH  
JB d
VH  RH JBd
If A is cross sectional area current density
I
J
A
I
VH  RH ( ) Bd
A
If L is the thickness of the sample,
VH L
RH 
IB

Since all the three quantities EH , J and B are Measurable, the Hall coefficient RH and hence
the carrier density can be find out. Generally for N-type material since the Hall field is
developed in negative direction compared to the field developed for a P-type material,
negative sign is used while denoting hall coefficient RH.

Applications of Hall effect

 Determination of type of semiconductor(„n‟ type or „p‟ type)

 Calculation of carrier concentration: n= 1/eRH

 Determination of mobility: µ=(σ/ne)

 Measurement of magnetic flux density: B = (VHt / IRH )

28
PN – Junction Diode

A p – n junction diode is formed when a p-type semiconductor is fused to an n-type

semiconductor, creating a potential barrier across the diode junction. And it is also known
as a Semiconductor Diode.

The majority charge carriers from N and P side diffuse across the junction and get
neutralized. The neutralization process will get stopped till an Electric field or a Potential
barrier is developed by the immobile acceptor and donor ions across the junction.
The junction of N and P semiconductors is free of charge carriers; hence the region is
called as depletion region. The width of depletion region alters with the external applied
[Link] no external potential is applied to PN junction, the condition is called as
zero bias. The junction potential for silicon diodes is 0.6V – 0.7V and for germanium
diodes is 0.3V.

29
V - I Characteristics of PN Junction

The diode can be operated in two different ways. When positive terminal of the battery is
connected to the P-type & negative terminal is to the N-type of the PN-junction diode, known
the diode is kept in forward bias. When negative terminal of the battery is connected to the P-
type & positive terminal is to the N-type of the PN-junction diode, known the diode is kept in
reverse bias.

PN junction diode is a two terminal device, the characteristics of diode depends on the
polarity of the external potential applied to the PN junction diode. When the junction is
biased in the forward condition, the majority carriers are attracted towards the junction and

30
get replenished at the junction. In this condition, width of the depletion region
decreases(causing reduction in resistance across junction) and with the increase in external
potential, diode acts as short circuit that allows the maximum amount of current to flow
through it.

When the junction diode is biased in the reverse condition, the majority charge carriers are
attracted by the respective terminals away from the PN junction, thus avoiding the diffusion
of electrons and holes at the junction. There will be a small amount of current called as
leakage current due to minority charge carriers at the junction. This small current is called as
drift current. In this condition, width of the depletion region increases(causing increase in
resistance across junction) When the reverse bias potential is increased further the diode acts
as open circuit, thereby blocking the current to flow through it.

The V-I Characteristics of a p-n junction diode is as shown in figure. The forward bias
characteristics are drawn in 1st quadrant while the reverse bias in the 3rd quadrant. From
figure, it can be implied that the region between knee voltage & breakdown voltage is known
as non-ohmic region.
Above the knee & breakdown voltage the current increases. Breakdown voltage is due to
thermally broken covalent bonds. Diode is conducting in forward bias & non-conducting in
reverse bias.

31
The energy band diagram for a p-n junction diode is as shown. It can be observed that at
equilibrium, the Fermi energy levels of p and n-side of the junctions coincide resulting in the
band diagram.

Applications of Diode

PN junction diode can be used as a

 Rectifier
 logic gate
 voltage stabiliser
 switching device
 voltage dependent capacitor
 photodiode
 light-emitting diode (LED) laser diode
 photo detector
 solar cell in electronics.

32
Thermistor
A Thermistor is a special type of resistor whose resistance changes as its temperature changes.
Thermistors are made of metal oxides such as manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel, as well as
single-crystal semiconductors silicon and germanium. When the temperature of the thermistor is
low, its resistance is high. This is because a Thermistor is made of a material which does not
conduct electricity well at low temperatures. The outer electrons are loosely bound to the atoms
and are not free to flow through the Thermistor.

The resistance of a Thermistor is defined as

ΔR = k ΔT
where
ΔR = change in resistance
ΔT = change in temperature
k = first-order temperature coefficient of resistance
The resistance of a thermistor decreases as the temperature increases. Thermistors can be
classified into two types depending on the sign of k. If k is positive, the resistance increases
with increasing temperature, and the device is called a positive temperature coefficient (PTC)
thermistor, Posistor. If k is negative, the resistance decreases with increasing temperature, and
the device is called a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor. Thermistors are used
as temperature related sensors.
Applications
Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) Thermistors find applications as
 Current limiting device for circuit protection

33
  As timers in degaussing coil circuit in CRT monitors
 As heater in automotive industry
 In lithium battery protection circuit
 Voltage controller oscillators
Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) Thermistors find applications as
 As a thermometer for low-temperature measurements
 As an inrush current limiter
 Sensor for monitoring fluid temperature
 Hot ends of 3D printers
 Temperature sensors for toasters, coffee makers, ovens, Air conditioners and other home
appliances

34
 Light Emitting Diode (𝐿𝐸𝐷):

LED is a 𝑝 − 𝑛 junction device which emits light when forward biased, by a phenomenon called
electro luminescence in the in the UV, Visible or IR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The quanta of light energy released are approximately proportional to the band gap of the
semiconductors. The symbol of LED is

Principle & Working:

When a voltage is applied across a 𝑝 − 𝑛 j𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡io𝑛 (fo𝑟w𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏i𝑎𝑠e𝑑),the
electron crosses 𝑝 − 𝑛 j𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡io𝑛 from the 𝑛 − 𝑡𝑦𝑝e semiconducting material to 𝑝 −
𝑡𝑦𝑝e semiconductor material. These free electrons stay in conduction
band(ℎi𝑔ℎe𝑟 e𝑛e𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡e) for a few seconds and while holes present in the valence
band. The electron make downward transition from conduction band , recombine with
the majority holes in the valence band (𝑠𝑝o𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛eo𝑢𝑠 e𝑚i𝑠𝑠io𝑛) . During the
recombination, the difference in the energy is given up in the form of heat and light
radiation. i.e. photon. In normal diode this energy release in the form of heat.
The energy of light
radiation depends on the strength of the recombination.
The emitted light is very small in intensity and is of the
order of microampere range. Similar, action takes place
in 𝑛 − 𝑟e𝑔io𝑛 also. Under reverse bias no photons
(𝑟𝑎𝑑i𝑎𝑡io𝑛) emitted.
The wavelength of emitted photon is
ℎ𝑐
𝐸

Where, ℎ = 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑘𝑠 𝑐o𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 (6.625 × 10−34 𝐽S)

ℎ𝑐
𝐸 𝐸

Where, 𝐸g is the energy gap in electron volt.

Therefore, colour of the emitted light depends on the type of material used.

Construction:
LEDs are made from semiconductor compounds such as GaAs , GaP, GaAsP etc. mixed
together at different ratios and produce a distinct wavelength of colour.
An n-type layer is grown on a substrate and a p-type layer is grown on it by the process of
diffusion. The p-layer is made very thin to prevent loss of photons due to absorption in the
layer. Metal connections are established at the edges of the p-layer in order to allow light to
escape. A metal film is deposited at the bottom of the substrate for reflecting as much light as
possible towards the surface of a device. The light generated at the junction may not emerge
from the surface of the device as it is likely to suffer total internal reflection at the
semiconductor-air boundary. Therefore the device is encapsulated in a clear epoxy resin of
suitable refractive index.
Features:
 LED output is not monochromatic
 Output intensity is temperature dependent
 Very fast responsive time
 Available in different colors
 Has long life (105hours)
 Suitable for any environment
 Viewing angle is not limited

Applications:
 Indicator light.
 Large scale video displays.
 Status indicator on equipment.
 Message display at airport and railway station.
 UNIT IV

MAGNETIC MATERIALS

INTRODUCTION
1. The materials which get easily get magnetized in a magnetic field are known as
magnetic materials.
2. Magnetism arises from the Magnetic Moments or Magnetic dipoles of Magnetic
Materials.
3. When the electrons revolve around the nucleus Orbital magnetic moment arises,
similarly when the electron spins, spin Magnetic moment arises.
4. The permanent Magnetic Moments can arise due to

1. The orbital magnetic moment of the electrons

2. The spin magnetic moment of the electrons, and
3. The spin magnetic moment of the nucleus.

Note: Magnetic moment due to nucleus spin is very very small compared to other two,
hence can be neglected.

Magnetic dipole: The two equal and opposite magnetic poles are separated by a small
distance

Magnetic dipole moment: Product of pole strength and length of the magnet

Magnetic Induction (or) magnetic flux density (B): It represents the magnitude of the internal
field strength within a substance that is subjected to an H field.

1
Magnetic field Intensity (H): Ratio between the magnetic induction and the permeability of
the medium

B 1
i.e. H= ampere m

Magnetic Permeability (µ): Ratio of the magnetic induction to the applied magnetic field
intensity
B 1
= henry m
H
Magnetic Susceptibility (χ): Ratio between the intensity of magnetization to the applied
magnetic field intensity χ = M/H

Intensity of Magnetization(I or M) : The process of converting a non magnetic material into

a magnetic material.

Classification of Magnetic Materials:

Solids are classified into three groups basing on the magnitude and sign of relative
permeability, µr exhibited by them. Thus, they are
Diamagnetic materials: (µr <1)
Paramagnetic materials: (µr >1)
Ferromagnetic materials: (µr>>1)
Alternatively, it has been found that the solids can be divided into two broad groups, on the
basis of magnetic dipole [Link] atoms of one group do not possess permanent
magnetic dipole moment whereas the other group carry permanent magnetic dipole moment.
Diamagnetic materials are the materials consisting of atoms with zero magnetic dipole
moment. Basing on the interaction of permanent magnetic dipoles, the second group is
further subdivided into the following four groups.

i. Paramagnetic materials

ii. Ferromagnetic materials

iii. Antiferromagnetic materials

iv. Ferromagnetic materials

2
Diamagnetic Materials:
1. Diamagnetic materials create an induced magnetic field in a direction opposite to an
externally applied magnetic field.
2. They are repelled by the applied magnetic field.
3. The permanent dipoles are absent in Diamagnetic materials .
4. In a non-uniform magnetic field, they are repelled away from stronger parts of the field.
5. The magnetic susceptibility χ of these materials is always negative.
6. The relative permeability µr is always less than one. (μr < 1)
7. χ is small but negative.
8. They are independent of temperature.
Examples:- Inert gases, organic compounds, hydrogen, air, water, gold, silver and bismuth.

Paramagnetic Materials:
1. Paramagnetic materials exhibit magnetism when the external magnetic field is applied.
2. Paramagnetic materials loose magnetization in the absence of an externally applied
magnetic field.
3. These materials are weakly attracted towards magnetic field.
4. Paramagnetic materials experiences a feeble attractive force when brought near the
pole of a magnet
5. These materials possess some permanent dipole moment which arise due to some
unpaired electrons.
6. The magnetic susceptibility χ is small and +ve.
7. They obey Curie law i.e., χ=C/T ( μr > 1 .
8. Examples:- oxygen, solutions of iron salts, copper chloride, chromium

Ferromagnetic Materials:
1. Ferromagnetism is the phenomenon in which a material gets magnetized to a very
large extent in the presence of an external field.
2. The direction in which the material gets magnetised is the same as that of the external
field.
3. Ferromagnetic materials experience a very strong attractive force when brought near
the pole of a magnet.
4. They show hysteresis behaviour due to the presence of magnetic domains.
5. Permeability is very much greater than one. μr >>>1
6. Susceptibility is +ve and high.
7. χ decreases with temperature in complex manner. i.e., χ=C/(T-θ).
8. Feerro magnetic materials depend on temperature, above curie temperature Tc
ferromagnetic materials are converted into paramagnetic materials.
9. Examples:-Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, As etc

3
Antiferromagnetic Materials:
1. It is a phenomenon in which the magnetic interaction between any two dipoles
aligns themselves anti-parallel to each other.
2. Since all dipoles are of equal magnitude and the net magnetisation is zero.
3. Like ferromagnetic materials antiferromagnetic materials also possess dipole
moment due to spin of the electron.
4. The susceptibility is very small and is +ve.
5. χm = C/(T+TN) where TN is known as Neel temperature.
6. These materials also depend on temperature. Above Neel temperature they turn
into paramagnetic materials.
7. Examples: Salts

Ferrimagnetic materials:
1. Ferrimagnetism is a phenomenon in which the magnetic interaction between any
two dipoles aligns anti-parallel to each other.
2. But since the magnitude of dipoles are not equal.
3. Ferrimagnetic materials possess magnetic dipoles moment due to the spin of the
electron.
4. The susceptibility is very Large and +ve. χm = C/(T±θ)
5. Above Tc they exhibit paramagnetic behavior.
6. Examples: Ferrites

4
 Magnetic Domains:
Magnetic Domains consists of spontaneously magnetized small regions where all the
magnetic moments are aligned in same direction. This small region is called as domains.
Each domain is at all times spontaneously magnetized to saturation and has a definite
magnetic moment. In the absence of the magnetic field , the magnetic moment vectors of the
separate domain are oriented in all probable directions so that the net magnetic moment of
the entire body equals to zero.

When the magnetic fields are applied, the magnetization of the material takes place through
two processes.
By motion of domain walls: The movement of domain walls –in weak magnetic fields
Magnetic moment increases & boundary of domains are displaced, volume of domains
changes
By rotation of domains: If applied field is strong, the domains can rotate into the field
direction.

In soft magnetic materials the domain walls are thin and in hard magnetic materials the
domain walls are thick.

Hysteresis Curve:
The lagging of Magnetization behind the applied magnetic field is called the Hysteresis

If we start with no Magnetized specimen (B=0) with the increasing values of magnetizing
field H the magnetic induction of the specimen increases from zero to higher values and
attains its maximum value at a point (a), at this point the magnetic induction Br referred as
Saturation Magnetic induction. When we increase Magnetic field H there is no further
increment in Magnetic moment. When we decrease Magnetic field H to Zero, the Magnetic
induction B attains point (b). This point is referred as Residual Magnetic Induction Br.
Further if we increase the Magnetic field from zero to negative values, the magnetic
induction of material becomes zero at a point (c), at that point the Magnetic field -Hc is
referred as Coercivity of the specimen. If we increase Magnetic field H in reverse direction
5
Magnetization of material reaches its peak value at a points (f). On reversing the polarities
of Magnetic field and increasing its strength the Magnetization slowly decreases first to
residual value then to zero and finally increases to saturation state and touches the original
saturation curve. The area of loop indicates the amount of energy wasted in one cycle of
operation is called Hysteresis Curve .

❖ The retentivity of a material is a measure of the magnetic flux density remaining in the material

when the magnetizing field is removed

❖ Coercivity is a measure of the magnetic field strength required to destroy the residual magnetism in

the material

Weiss molecular field theory of a ferromagnet

Weiss proposed that an interaction exists between the electrons of the adjacent atoms
in a ferromagnet. This interaction gives rise to a molecular field. This field, produced at any
point by all the neighbouring molecules, is proportional to and acting in the same sense as
the intensity of magnetization (M). Let this internal molecular field be represented by Hi.
Thus, Hi = λM where λ is molecular field coefficient, called as Weiss constant.
When magnetic field (H) is applied on a feromagnet, then the effective magnetic
field(Heff) is given by

Heff = H + Hi = H + λM .................. (1)

But we know

M = [µ0µ2 NHeff] / 3kT = [µ0µ2 N / 3kT ] . [H + λM ] ............ (2)

Where µ0 = permeability of free space,

µ = permeability of the mediun,
N = number of molecules per unit volume,
k = Boltzmann’s constant,
and T = absolute temperature or Kelvin temperature.

Simplifying equation (2) and rearranging the terms, we get,

M[ 1 - {µ0µ2 N / 3kT}] = [µ0µ2 N / 3kT].H ........................... (3)

Let C = [µ0µ2 N / 3k] .........(4)

6
 and TC = Cλ .......................(5)
where TC is Curie temperature.

From equations (3), (4) and (5), we get

M[1 – T/TC ] = CH/T ..............(6)

But M = ᵡmferro H ..................(7)

Where ᵡmferro is ferromagnetic susceptibility.
Thus,
ᵡmferro = M / H = C / [T – TC] ...................(8)

The above equation is known as Curie-Weiss law. The constant C is called as Curie constant.

Hard and Soft Magnetic Materials:

Hard Magnetic Materials:

❖ The area under the curve is large.

❖ Hard magnetic materials have large hysteresis loss due to large hysteresis loop area
❖ The coercivity and retentivity are large
❖ These materials have small values of permeability and susceptibility
❖ They do not easily magnetized or Demagnetized.
❖ Domain walls are thick.
❖ High eddy current loss.
❖ Impurities and defects will be more
❖ These are used for making permanent magnets.
❖ Examples: AlNiCo, Chromium Steel, tungsten steel, Carbon steel.

Soft Magnetic Materials:

❖ The area under the curve is small.

❖ Soft Magnetic materials have low hysteresis loss due to small hysteresis loop area.
❖ The coercivity and retentivity are small
❖ These materials have large values of permeability and susceptibility.
❖ They can be easily magnetized and demagnetized.
7
 ❖ Domain walls are thin.
❖ Low eddy current loss.
❖ Impurities and defects will be less.
❖ These are used for making electromagnets
❖ Examples: Iron silicon alloy, Ferrous nickel alloy, Ferrites, Garnets.

Ferrites and its Applications:

Definition

Ferrites or Ferrimagnetic materials are the modified structure of iron without carbon. In
Ferities the spins of adjacent ion is the presence of a magnetic field are in opposite
directions with different magnitudes.

❖ These are made from ceramic ferromagnetic compounds.

❖ It has low tensile strength and it is brittle and soft.

❖ In these materials all valence electrons are tied up by ionic bonding.

❖ These are bad conductors with high resistivity of the order of 1011 m
❖ Ferrites have low eddy current loss and low hysteresis loss.
❖ The general formula for Ferrites is X²+ (Fe2)3+ O4 where X-may is a metal (divalent
metal) such as Mg, Ni, Mn, Zn, etc.
❖ Ferrites are manufactured by powder metallurgical process by mixing, compacting and
then sintering at high temperatures followed by age hardening in magnetic fields.

Applications:
❖ Ferrites are used to produce ultrasonic wave by Magnetostriction principle.
❖ Ferrites are used in audio and video transformers.
❖ Ferrites rods are used in radio receivers to increase the sensitivity.
❖ Ferrites are widely used in non-reciprocal microwave devices such as gyrator,
circulator and Isolator.
❖ They are used in computers and data processing circuits.

Gyrator: It transmits the power freely in both directions with a phase shift of
radians.
Circulator : It provides sequential transmission of power between the ports.
Isolator : It is used to display differential attenuation.

8
 Unit 3.2
Superconductors
 Contents

Introduction

General properties of superconductors

Meissner effect

Type I and Type II Superconductors

BCS Theory(qualitative)

Introduction to high temperature superconductors

Applications of superconductors
 Introduction
Superconductivity: Certain metals and alloys exhibit almost zero
resistivity ( infinite conductivity ) when they are cooled to sufficiently
low temperatures. This phenomenon is called [Link]
specimen is known as superconductor and the state is known as
superconducting state

Discovered by [Link] in 1911 – showed

lead and mercury completely loses
resistance at low temperatures near to 4K
1933 – [Link] and [Link]
revealed that a superconductor repels the
magnetic lines of force when it is placed in
an external magnetic field
1957 – BCS theory gave theoretical
explaination to superconductivity
Superconductivity –Some important features

 The electrical resistivity drops to zero

 The magnetic lines are excluded from the material

 There is a discontinuous change in specific heat

 A small change in thermal conductivity and the

volume of the material

 General Properties of Superconductors
[Link] Resistance
Electrical resistance drops to zero at the
transition temperature.
[Link] experimentally found the
resistance of a superconducting ring by
passing a standard current through it. The
volume of the current in the
Conclusion :
superconducting ring is not changed for
Superconductors have
more than 21/2 years and Rs/Rn <10-5,
virtually zero electrical
where Rs is the resistance of the material in
resistance and they can
superconducting state and Rs is the conduct electricity without
resistance in normal state resistance
 [Link] TEMPERATURE:
The temperature at which a normal substance changes to a
superconducting substance and vice-versa is called the critical
temperature (Tc) or the transition temperature.
Resistivity

Super Conducting
state Normal Conducting
state

Tc Temperature(T)K

Different materials have different transition temperature(Tc) values.

Ex: Hg Tc =4.2K Lead Tc =1.19K Tungsten Tc =0.01K; Tin Tc =0.39K;
Cadmium Tc =0.55K etc..
3. Critical magnetic field (Hc )
Below critical temperature, superconductivity can be
destroyed by the application of strong magnetic field. At any
temperature, the minimum field required to destroy
superconductivity is called critical field (Hc) of the material. The
field depends upon the temperature of the superconducting
materials given by

2
𝑇
𝐻𝑐 = 𝐻0 [ 1 − ]
𝑇𝑐

H0 is the critical field at 0K and T is the Kelvin temperature

4. Diamagnetic property
Superconductors are perfect diamagnets. When the material,
which is placed in a uniform magnetic field ,is cooled below Tc,
the magnetic flux inside the material is excluded from the
material. This is called Meissner effect.

B≠0 B=0

Normal Conduction in Perfect diamagnatic

a Magnetic Field as material or super
T>Tc or H>Hc conducting material

A material can behave as a superconductor only when

The resistivity of the material should be zero and
The magnetic induction in the material should be zero when it is placed in a
uniform magnetic field.
[Link] of Heavy current

When a heavy current is passed through a superconductor, its

superconducting properties will be destroyed and it becomes a
normal conductor.

The current which destroys the superconducting properties is called

critical current (Ic)

Ic = 2πrHc

r is the radius of the wire

 6. Isotopic Effect:
The phenomenon of decrease of critical temperature with
increasing atomic mass is called isotopic effect.

7. High pressure
The transition temperature depends on applied high
pressure. When a very high pressure is applied on a
superconductor, its transition temperature slightly
increases. The transition temperature is directly
proportional to the high pressure applied on it.
 Meissner Effect:
When a weak Magnetic field is applied to a superconducting
specimen at a temperature Tc , the magnetic flux lines are
expelled & the specimen acts as an ideal Diamagnetic
material. This effect is called Meissner effect.

B  0 (H  M )
B0
0  0 (H  M )
B≠0 B=0
H M 0
H  M
M
Normal Conduction in Perfect diamagnatic  1
a Magnetic Field as material or super H
T>Tc or H>Hc conducting material   1
 Types of superconductors
Based on diamagnetic response of superconductors they can be classified as..
1) Type - I superconductors (or) Soft superconductors
2) Type - II superconductors (or) Hard superconductors

1) Type - I superconductors (or) Soft superconductors

 Superconductors exhibiting a
complete Meissner effect are called
magnetization

type I superconductors (also known

Superconducting as soft superconductors).
state
Normal state
 When the magnetic field is
gradually increased from its initial
value H < Hc, at Hc the diamagnetism
applied magnetic abruptly disappear and the transition
field from superconducting state to normal
state is sharp as shown in Fig.
 Ex: Al, Zn, Hg and Sn
 Type - II superconductors (or) Hard superconductors
 In type II superconductors as
shown in the Fig, up to field HC1
the specimen is in a pure
superconducting state. The
magnetic flux lines are rejected.
 When the field is increased
beyond HC1 (the lower critical
field), the magnetic flux lines start
penetrating. The specimen is in a
mixed state between HC1 and HC2
(the upper critical field).

Above Hc2, the specimen is in a normal state. This means that the Meissner
effect is incomplete in the region between HC1 and HC2. This region is known
as Vortex-region.
Nb-Sn, Nb-Ti, Nb-Zr are some examples of this type.
 Comparison between Type-I & Type-II Superconductors

Type –I Superconductors Type –II Superconductors

They exhibit complete Meissner effect They do not exhibit complete Meissner
effect
They show perfect diamagnetic behavior They do not show perfect diamagnetic
behavior

They have only one critical magnetic field, They have two critical magnetic fields,
Hc lower field Hc1 and Upper field Hc2

There is no mixed state or intermediate Mixed state or intermediate state is

state in case of these materials. present in these materials(Vortex-region)

The material loses magnetization abruptly The material loses magnetization gradually

They are Soft superconductors They are Hard superconductors

Ex: Al, Zn, Hg ,Sn etc Ex: Nb-Sn, Nb-Ti, Nb-Zr etc
 High temperature Superconductors
Superconductors whose transition temperature is greater than 77K are
called High temperature superconductors. Several new oxide
superconductors have Tc above [Link] general, High Tc superconductors
are ceramic materials. They are prepared from the oxides of barium,
copper, yttrium etc. The unit cell of these contains one rare earth
metal atom, two barium atoms and three copper atoms and seven
oxygen atoms. The no. of atoms of each metal element give name 1-2-3
superconductors.
The 1-2-3 superconductors form as layers of copper and oxygen atoms
sandwiched between layers of other elements in the compound.

Some examples of HTS

Notations Chemical formula Tc (K)

123 YBa2 Cu3 O7 90
Tl-1212 Tl Ba2 CaCu2 O7 80
La2-xSrxCuO4 100
La-Sr-Cu-O 80-100
111 LiFeAs 20
122 (Ba,K)Fe2As2 56
Superconducting temperature, crystal structure and lattice constants of some cuprate
superconductors

Number of planes
Name Formula Temperature (K) of CuO2 Crystal structure
in unit cell

Y-123 YBa2Cu3O7 92 2 Orthorhombic

Tl-2223 Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 125 3 Tetragonal

Tl-2212 Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 108 2 Tetragonal

Tl-2201 Tl2Ba2CuO6 80 1 Tetragonal

Tl-1234 TlBa2Ca3Cu4O11 122 4 Tetragonal

Hg-1223 HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8 134 3 Tetragonal

Hg-1212 HgBa2CaCu2O6 128 2 Tetragonal

Hg-1201 HgBa2CuO4 94 1 Tetragonal

Bi-2223 Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 110 3 Tetragonal

Bi-2212 Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 85 2 Tetragonal

Bi-2201 Bi2Sr2CuO6 20 1 Tetragonal
Characteristics of HTSC
Superconductors are characterized by a material-dependent magnetic
field H, above which the superconducting state disappears.
 The critical field is a function of temperature. All the HTS materials
are type II superconductor’s .When the applied field H < Hc1, the material
is in the superconducting Meissner state whereas in the mixed state, the
magnetic field penetrates partly into the material in the form of vortices.
Type II superconducting materials have usually higher critical fields than
type I superconductors which makes them suitable for many advanced
applications

IMPORTANT FEATURES HTS

They have high Tc.
They have PEROVSKITE crystal structure.
They are direction dependent
They are reactive, brittle and cannot be easily formed (or) joined
HTS Material - YBCO
HTS materials usually have complicated crystal structures.
The compounds of HTS almost consists more than three different
chemical elements and the materials with the highest Tc have seven
elements in the crystal lattice.
Ex: YBa2Cu3O7-d (YBCO). YBCO has numerous advantages compared to
other ceramic superconductors
 Preparation of High Tc Superconductors

Shake and Bake method involves four-step

process

 Mixing the chemicals

 Calcination(the initial firing)

 The intermediate firing(oxygen annealing)

 The final oxygen annealing

APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
[Link] Transmission Lines
Since 10% to 15% of generated electricity is dissipated in
resistive losses in transmission lines, the prospect of zero loss
superconducting transmission lines is appealing.
•Current experiments with power applications of high-temperature
superconductors focus on uses of BSCCO in tape forms and YBCO in
thin film forms. Current densities above 10,000 amperes per square
centimeter are considered necessary for practical power applications,
and this threshold has been exceeded in several configurations.
[Link] Motors and Generators
Superconducting motors and generators could be made with a
weight of about one tenth that of conventional devices for the same
output. This is the appeal of making such devices for specialized
applications. Motors and generators are already very efficient, so
there is not the power savings associated with superconducting
magnets. It may be possible to build very large capacity generators
for power plants where structural strength considerations place limits
on conventional generators.
[Link] Magnetic Energy Storage
•Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) stores electricity
for long periods of time in superconductive coils. SMES will be used by
electrical utilities some day.
BCS theory of Superconductivity
 BCS theory of Superconductivity was put forwarded by Bardeen,
Cooper and Schrieffer in 1957 which explain how the
Superconductivity arises at very low temperature.

 Let us consider an electron passing through the lattice of positive

ions. The electron is attracted by the neighbouring positive ion form a
positive ion core and gets screened by them.

 Due to attraction between electron and positive ion core the lattice
gets deformed.

Animation of Cooper pairs:

 Now if another electron passes by the side of assembly of above said
electron and positive core, it gets attracted towards the assembly. The
second electron interacts with the first electron.

 This interaction is said to be due to the exchange of a virtual phonon

q between the two electrons. This interaction process in terms of wave
vectors k (k1-q=k’ and k2+q=k’2).

 The momentum transferred between two electrons, These two

electrons together form a Cooper pair and and is known as Cooper
electron.
Applications of superconductors
 In electric generators
 In Low loss transmission lines and transformers
 In magnetic levitation
 In generation of high magnetic fields
 In fast electrical switching
 In SQUIDS
 In Energy storage device
 UNIT IV MODERN OPTICS
4.1 LASERS
Contents: Introduction to LASERs-Characteristics of Lasers-Spontaneous and
Stimulated Emission -Lasers operating in UV-VIS-IR Regions-Some important
definitions-Lasing Action-Types of LASERs-Laser Applications

INTRODUCTION:

It is a device to produce a powerful monochromatic narrow beam of light in which the

waves are convergent. Laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation.

Maser is an acronym of microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

The light emitted from the conventional light source (eg: sodium lamp, candle) is said to be
incoherent. Because the radiation emitted from different atom do not have any definite phase
relationship with each other. Lasers are much important because the light sources having high
monochromaticity, high intensity, high directionality and high coherence. In the laser, the
principal of maser is employed in the frequency range of 1014to 1015Hz and it is termed as
optical maser. Laser principle now a day is extended up to γ-rays hence Gamma ray lasers are
called Grazers. The first two successful lasers developed during 1960 were Ruby laser and He-
Ne lasers. Some lasers emit light is pulses while others emit as a continuous wave.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LASER: LASER when compared with any

conventional light (Sun light or tube light etc.) Laser possesses few outstanding characteristics.
They are

1. High monochromaticity
2. High directionality
3. High intensity
4. High coherence

High monochromaticity

Lasers 1
 The light emitted from a laser is monochromatic

The band width of ordinary light is about 1000A0 . The band width of laser light is about 10A0
The narrow band width of a laser light is called on high monochromaticity. Laser light is more
monochromatic than that of a conventional light source. Because of this monochromaticity, large
energy can be concentrated in to an extremely small band width. For good laser dʋ=50Hz,
ʋ=5×1014 Hz.

BAND WIDTH: - The spread of the wavelength (frequency) about the wavelength of
maximum intensity is band width.

High directionality

The conventional light sources like lamp, torch light, sodium lamp emits light in all directions.
This is called divergence. Laser in the other hand emits light only in one direction. This is called
directionality of laser light. Light from ordinary light spreads in about few kilometers.

The directionality of a laser beam has been expressed in terms of divergence. The divergence
Δθ = (r2 –r1) /d2-d1 Where r2, r1 are the radius of laser beam spots d2 ,d1 are distances respectively
from the laser source. Hence for getting a high directionality then should be low divergence.

 To obtain high directionality there should be low divergence

 For a Laser, the beam spread is less than 0.01mm for every 1 meter but for ordinary
light is 0.5m for every 1 meter.

Lasers 2
 High intensity

The laser light is more intense than conventional light. The number of photons coming
out from a laser per second per unit area is given by

Intensity of a wave is the energy per unit time flowing through a unit area. The light from an
ordinary source spreads out uniformly in all directions and from spherical wave fronts around it.

Ex:- If you look a 100W bulb from a distance of 30cm the power entering the eye is 1 / 1000 of
watt. But in case of a laser light, energy is in small region of space and in a small wavelength and
hence is said to be of great intensity. The power range of laser about 10-3W for gas laser and
109W for solid state laser
The number of photons coming out from a laser per second per unit area is given by
N1 = p / hυЛr2 ≈ 1022 to 1034 photons/ m2 – sec.

Lasers 3
 High Coherence

When two light rays are having same phase difference then they are said to be coherent. It is
expressed in terms of ordering of light field. Laser has high degree of ordering than other
common sources. Due to its coherence only it is possible to create high power (1012 watts) in
space with laser beam of 1μm diameter.

There are two independent concepts of coherence.

1) Spatial coherence (2) Temporal coherence

Spatial coherence: The two light fields at different point in space maintain a

Constant phase difference over any time (t) they are said to be spatial coherence.

In He- Ne gas laser the coherence length ( lc ) is about [Link] means over the distance

the phase difference is maintained over any time .For sodium light it is about 3cm.

The coherence & monochromacity is related by

ξ = (Δυ / υ) α 1/ lc

For the higher coherence length ξ is small hence it has high monochromacity

Temporal coherence: The correlation of phase between the light fields at a

point over a period of time. For He- Ne laser it is a about 10-3 second, for sodium it is about
10-10 second only.

ξ = (Δυ / υ) α 1/ tc

Higher is the tc higher is the monochromacity.

Lasers 4
 SPONTANEOUS AND STIMULATED (INDUCED) EMISSION

Light is emitted or absorbed by particles during their transitions from one energy state
to another. The process of transferring a particle from ground state to higher energy state is
called excitation. Then the particle is said to be excited.

In absorption suitable amount of energy is absorbed by the atoms of the ground state
to get excited to the higher energy states

SPONTANEOUS EMISSION: The emission of particles from higher energy state to lower

energy state spontaneously by emitting a photon of energy hυ is known as “spontaneous

emission”

STIMULATED EMISSION:

The emission of a particle from higher state to lower state by stimulating it with another photon
having energy equal to the energy difference between transition energy levels called stimulated
emission.

Lasers 5
 Important features:

 The process of stimulated emission can be controlled from outside.

 The emitted photon and incident photon have same direction, phase, frequency, and
plane of polarisation.

 The light produced during stimulated emission is coherent and monochromatic

Comparison between spontaneous and stimulated emission

SPONTANEOUS EMISSION STIMULATED EMISSION

Incoherent radiation coherent radiation

Less Intensity High Intensity

Poly chromatic Mono chromatic

One photon released Two photons released

Less directionality High directionality

More angular spread during Less angular spread during

propagation propagation

Ex:-Light from sodium Ex: - light from a laser source-ruby

laser, He-Ne gas laser
Mercury vapour lamp

Lasers 6
 LASERs operating in UV-Vis- IR regions

The word laser will be limited to electromagnetic radiation-emitting devices using light
amplification by stimulated emission of radiation at wavelengths from 180 nanometers to 1
millimeter. The electromagnetic spectrum includes energy ranging from gamma rays to
electricity. Figure 1 illustrates the total electromagnetic spectrum and wavelengths of the various
regions.

The primary wavelengths for lasers include the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regions of the
spectrum. Ultraviolet radiation for lasers consists of wavelengths between 180 and 400
nanometers (nm). When radiation is absorbed, the effect on the absorbing biological tissue in
the ultraviolet region, is primarily photochemical.

The visible region consists of radiation with wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm. This is the
portion we call visible light. In the eye, visible and near infrared radiation passes through the
cornea, and is focused on and absorbed by the retina.

Lasers 7
It is the wavelength of the light that determines the visible sensation of color: violet at 400 nm,
red at 700 nm, and the other colors of the visible spectrum in between. When radiation is
absorbed, the effect on the absorbing biological tissue in this region both photochemical and
thermal are present. When the intensity of the radiation is sufficiently high, damage to the
absorbing tissue will result.

The infrared region of the spectrum consists of radiation with wavelengths between 700 nm and
1 mm. When radiation is absorbed, the effect on the absorbing biological tissue in the infrared
region, is primarily thermal. The color or wavelength of light being emitted depends on the type
of lasing material being used. For example, if a Neodymium:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet
(Nd:YAG) crystal is used as the lasing material, light with a wavelength of 1064 nm will be
emitted. Table 1 illustrates various types of material currently used for lasing and the
wavelengths that are emitted by that type of laser. Note that certain materials and gases are
capable of emitting more than one wavelength. The wavelength of the light emitted in this case is
dependent on the optical configuration of the laser.

Lasers 8
 Some Important Definitions

Life time: The duration of time spent by an atom in the excited state is known as life
time of that energy state. For example, the life time for hydrogen atom is 10-8 sec.
Population: The number of atoms per unit volume in an energy level is known as
population of that energy level. According to Boltzmann relation we have N= No
Exp{-E/kT} E2>E1 and N1>N2, i.e., the population of lower energy level is more.

Meta-stable state: The excited state above ground level, which has long life time is
known as meta stable state.

Population inversion: A state of a medium where a higher-lying electronic level has a

higher population than the lower-lying electronic i.e., E2>E1 and N1<N2

Pumping: “The process of sending the atoms from lower energy state to higher energy
state by supplying the suitable energy is called pumping”. In several ways pumping can
be done. Most commonly used pumping methods are

1). Optical Pumping,

2). Direct Electron Excitation or Electric Discharge,

3). In-elastic atom-atom Collision and

Lasers 9
 4). Chemical Reaction.

(1) Optical Pumping: In optical pumping, a light source (suitable photons) is used to
supply luminous energy. Most often this energy is given in the form of short flashes of
light. Ex: Xenon flash lamp in Ruby Laser.

(2 )Electric Discharge: In this method of pumping direct electron excitation occurs

through an electric discharge. This method is preferred in gaseous ion lasers. An electric
current flowing through the gas excites the atoms to the excited levels from where they
are dropped to the metastable upper laser level leading to population inversion. Ex: He-
Ne Laser.

(3) Inelastic Collisions Between Atoms: In an important class of lasers, pumping by

electrical discharge provides the initial excitation which raises one type of atoms to their
excited states. These atoms collide in-elastically with another atoms and provide them
enough energy to excite them to the higher energy level and thus help in population
inversion. This type of pumping occurs in CO2 laser.

(4) Chemical Reaction: In chemical lasers, radiations come out of a chemical reaction,
without any need of other energy source.

Requirements for Lasing action

Lasers 10
 Lasing Action: In stimulated emission, the emitted photon travels in the same
direction as that of incident photon(as shown in fig.). These two photons again stimulate
two more photons. As a result four

photons are released. In a similar way a chain reaction or avalanche effect is produced.
This phenomenon is known as Lasing Action. So, a monochromatic, intense and
coherent beam having the same frequency as that of incident beam is obtained. This is
called Laser beam. This is the principle of working of a Laser.

The Block diagram of Laser System contains three components

Source of Energy(Pump): It is an external source which supplies energy to obtain

population inversion. The pump can be optical, electrical or thermal. In Ruby Laser, we
use optical pumping and in He -Ne Laser, we use electric discharge pumping.

Active Medium: It is a medium in which meta-stable state is present. In meta-stable

state, only the population inversion takes place. It can be a Solid, Liquid, Gas or
Semiconductor.

Optical or Resonant Cavity: It consists of a pair of plane or spherical mirrors having

common principal axis. The reflection coefficient of one of the mirrors is very near to 1
and that of the other is kept less than 1. The resonator is basically a feed-back device, that
directs the photons back and forth through the laser medium.

Lasers 11
 Different levels of LASER

Two-level Laser

Lasers 12
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF LASERS

1. Solid state laser - Ruby laser, Nd-YAG laser

2. Gas laser - He-Ne laser, CO2 laser

3. Semi conductor laser - GaAs laser

RUBY LASER

• A ruby laser is a solid-state laser that uses a synthetic ruby crystal as its gain medium.

• It was the first type of laser invented, and was first operated by Theodore H. Maiman in 1960
.

Construction:

• The active laser medium (laser gain/amplification medium) is a synthetic cylindrical ruby rod.

• Ruby is made up of Al2O3 which is doped with 0.05% weight of Cr2O3 and whose length is
few centimeters and diameter is 0.5cm.

• The end faces of the rod are silvered in such a way that one end face becomes fully reflecting
while other end is partially reflecting, so that the two ends will act as optical cavity.

• A xenon lamp is rolled over ruby rod and is used for pumping ions to excited state.

• Chromium atoms absorb green and blue light and emit or reflect only red light.

Lasers 13
Working

 Ruby Laser is a 3-level laser. The chromium ions have three energy levels.

 The pumping light from the flash lamp is absorbed by Cr3+ ions, raising them from the
ground state E0 to the excited state E2.

 The desired Population inversion is achieved in between E0 and E1.

 The photons are allowed to pass back and forth millions of times in the active medium
with the help of mirrors at the ends.

 When the condition for laser action is satisfied, an intense pulse of light of the
wavelength 694.3nm or 6943Ao.

 It is a Pulsed Laser

Applications of Ruby Lasers

 Distance measurement using „pulse echo‟ technique.

 Holography

 Atmospheric ranging, scattering measurement.

 Trimming resistors

Lasers 14
  Drilling high quality holes

 Target designators and range finders in military applications etc.

 Ruby lasers were used extensively in tattoo and hair removal

Drawbacks of Ruby Lasers

 The laser requires high pumping power

 Efficiency is very low because only green component of pumping light is used while the
rest of components are left unused

 Laser output is not continuous but occurs in pulses of microseconds duration

 Defects due to crystalline imperfection are also present in this laser

 Requires coolant to maintain temperature

He-Ne LASER (Ali Javan in 1961)

 A helium-neon laser, usually called a He-Ne laser, is a type of small gas laser. He-Ne
lasers have many industrial and scientific uses, and are often used in laboratory
demonstrations of optics.
 He-Ne laser is a four-level laser.
 Its usual operation wavelength is 632.8 nm, in the red portion of the visible spectrum.
 It operates in Continuous Working (CW) mode.

Construction

 Active material - He - Ne gas in a discharge tube of length 80cm and diameter of 1cm.
The tube is made up of quartz and is filled with a mixture of Neon under a pressure of
0.1mm of Hg. The Helium under the pressure of 1mm of Hg the ratio of He-Ne mixture
of about 10:1, the no of helium atoms are greater than neon atoms. The output power

Lasers 15
 from these lasers depends upon the length of the discharge tube and the pressure of gas
mixture

 Pumping - The energy or pump source of the laser is provided by an electrical discharge
of around 1000 volts. A current of 5 to 100 mA is typical for CW operation

 Resonating cavity - The optical cavity of the laser typically consists of a plane, high-
reflecting mirror at one end of the laser tube, and a concave output coupler mirror of
approximately 1% transmission at the other end

WORKING

Pumping of He atoms- When electric discharge is passed through the gas mixture of He and
Ne, electrons are accelerated down the discharge tube in which mixture of He-Ne is placed.
These accelerated electrons collide with helium atoms and excite them to higher energy
levels (let us say F2 and F3). These levels happen to be Metastable and thus the He atoms
spend a sufficient amount of time there before getting de-excited.

Lasers 16
 Achievement of population inversion of Neon atoms –

Some of the excited states of Ne atoms correspond approximately to the same energy of the
excited levels F2 and F3 of He. Thus, when He atoms in levels F2 and F3 collide with the Ne
atoms in the ground state E1, then energy exchange takes place and this results in the
excitation of Ne atoms to the levels E4 and E6 and de-excitation of the He atoms to the
ground level F1. As the helium atoms have longer life time in excited states F2 and F3, thus
this process of energy transfer has high probability.

Therefore, the electric discharge through the gas mixture continuously populates the Ne
excited levels E4 and E6. This helps to create a state of population inversion between the
levels E4 (or E6) and lower energy levels E5 and E3. Therefore the purpose of He atoms is to
help in achieving a population inversion in the Ne atoms

Achievement of laser-

The following three transitions will occur:

E6 to E5 with laser wavelength of 3.39 μm or 33900 Angstroms.

E6 to E3 with laser wavelength of 6328 Angstroms.

E4 to E3 with laser wavelength of 1.15 μm or 11500 Angstroms.

The wavelengths of 3.39 μm and 1.15 μm corresponds to infrared region and wavelength
6328 Angstroms corresponds to red light wavelength (visible region).

Mirrors of the optical resonators are so designed to show low reflectivity for wavelengths
3.39 μm and 1.15 μm. Thus photons of these wavelengths will be eliminated. Therefore, the
photons of wavelengths 6328 Angstroms will move back and forth in optical resonator
system and thus laser of wavelength 6328 Angstroms emerges through the partially reflected
mirror.

The excited Ne atoms drop down from levels E3 to E2 through spontaneous emission and
this process will emit a photon of wavelength 0.6 μm. As the level E2 is also Metastable,
there is a probability of excitation of Ne atoms from E2 to E3 leading to quenching of the

Lasers 17
 population inversion. To eliminate quenching, the narrow discharge tube is used because Ne
atoms de-excited to level E1 from E2 through collisions with the walls of the tube

Applications of He – Ne Lasers

1. All interferometric experiments

2. Metrological applications

3. Bar code reading

4. Image processing

5. Holography

Semiconductor Laser:

A semiconductor diode laser is specially fabricated p-n junction device, which emits coherent
light when it is forward biased. R.N Hall and his coworkers made the first semiconductor
laser in 1962. It is made from Gallium arsenide (GaAs) direct band gap semiconductor,
which operated at low temperatures and emitted light in the near IR region. Now, p-n
junction lasers are made to emit light almost anywhere in the spectrum from UV to IR. Diode
lasers are remarkably small in size(0.1mm long) and they have high efficiency of the order of
40%.

CONSTRUCTION: The P-region and N-region in the diode are obtained by heavily doping
germanium and tellurium respectively in GaAs. The thickness of the P-N junction layer is very
narrow at the junction; the sides are well polished and parallel to each other. Since the refractive
index of GaAs is high the reflectance at the material air interface is sufficiently large so that the
external mirror are not necessary to produce multiple reflections. The P-N junction is forward
biased by connection positive terminal to P-type and negative terminal to N type.

Lasers 18
WORKING:

When high doped p and n regions are joined at the atomic level to form pn-junction, the
equilibrium is attained only when the equalization of fermi level takes place. in this case the
fermi level is pushed inside the conduction band in n type and the level pushed inside the valence
band in the p type

When the junction is forward biased, at low voltage the electron and hole recombine and cause
spontaneous emission. But when the forward voltage reaches a threshold value the carrier
concentration rises to very high value. As a result the region "d" contains large number of
electrons in the conduction band and at the same time large number of holes in the valence band.
Thus the upper energy level has large number of electrons and the lower energy level has large
number of vacancy, thus population inversion is achieved. The recombination of electron and

Lasers 19
hole leads to spontaneous emission and it stimulate the others to emit radiation. Ga As produces
laser light of 9000 Å in IR region.

Semiconductor lasers are two types.

 Homojunction lasers

 Heterojunction lasers

Homojunction lasers

 A junction is formed between two semiconductors having same band gaps. Ex: GaAS

Hetero junction lasers

Lasers 20
  A junction formed between two semiconductors having different band gaps. Ex: GaAS
with AlxGa(1-x)As –here p-type AlxGa(1-x)As and an n-type GaAS is used.

Advantages:

 Efficiency of laser can be increased by decreasing the temperature.

 Pulsed and continues lasers can be produced using the Semiconductor laser.

Note: In an Indirect band gap semiconductors like Si, Ge etc., the recombination of
electrons and holes will result in incoherent radiations & will not be in optical region.
Where as in Direct band gap semiconductors like GaAs, SiC etc., the recombination of
electrons and holes will result in coherent radiations & will be in optical region. Due to
the above fact GaAs used as semiconductor laser.

APPLICATION OF LASERS

Lasers in scientific research

1) Lasers are used to clean delicate pieces of art, develop hidden finger prints

2) Laser are used in the fields of 3D photography called holography

3) Using lasers the internal structure of micro organisms and cells are studied very

accurately

4) Lasers are used to produce certain chemical reactions.

Laser in Medicine

1) The heating action of a laser beam used to remove diseased body tissue

2) Lasers are used for elimination of moles and tumors, which are developing in the skin

tissue.

3) Argon and CO2 lasers are used in the treatment liver and lungs

4) Laser beam is used to correct the retinal detachment by eye specialist

Lasers 21
Lasers in Communication

1) More amounts of data can be sent due to the large band width of semiconductor lasers

2) More channels can be simultaneously transmitted

3) Signals cannot tapped

4) Atmospheric pollutants concentration, ozone concentration and water vapor concentration

can be measured

Lasers in Industry

Lasers are used

1) To blast holes in diamonds and hard steel

2) To cut, drill, welding and remove metal from surfaces

3) To measure distance to making maps by surveyors

4) For cutting and drilling of metals and non metals such as ceramics, plastics, glass

Lasers 22
Lasers 23
 FIBER OPTICS
CONTENTS : Introduction to optical fibre-Basic principle-Total internal reflection, propagation of
light through fibre- Numerical aperture (NA) and Acceptance angle, –Step index and graded index
optical fibres –Application of optical fibers.

Introduction to optical fibre

From time to time scientists have tried to design and improve communication system by which
messages are sent over long distances. The communication system consists of three parts viz.
1) Transmitter 2) Transmission channel (may be either a guided transmission line such as a wire
or wave guide) and 3) Receiver. Using a transmission line, the signal gets progressively
attenuated and distorted. So the improvement in the communication process would mean
motivation to improve transmission fidelity and at the same time to improve the data rate of
transmission.

With the development of LASERS, reliable and powerful coherent radiation became available.
So it was natural to use this light for communication purposes. There are two reasons for this
which is [Link] frequency and 2. More information carrying capacity. Compared to
conventional radio and microwave carriers, we also know that light waves cannot travel far in
open atmosphere as the energy gets dissipated very rapidly. Hence some kind of guiding channel
is needed just like for guiding electric current a conducting path, like a metal wire is needed.
Optical fiber provides the necessary wave guide for light.

Fiber optics is a technology related to the transport of optical energy (light energy) in guiding
media specifically glass fibers. In 1870, John Tyndall demonstrated that light follows the curve
of a stream of water pouring from a container. It was this simple principle that led to the study
and development of application of the fiber optics. The optical fibers are most commonly used in
telecommunication, medicine, and military, automotive and in industry. The information is
transmitted in the form of light from one end of the fiber to the other end with minimum losses.

Advantages of Optical fibers

1. Higher information carrying capacity
2. Light in weight and small in size
3. No possibility of internal noise and cross talk generation
4. No hazards of short circuits as in the case of metals
5. Can be used safely in explosive environment
6. Low cost
7. No need of additional equipment to protect against grounding and voltage problems
8. Nominal installation cost

1
9. Using a pair of copper wires only 48 independent speech signals can be sent
simultaneously whereas using an optical fiber 15000 independent speeches can be sent
simultaneously.

Construction of optical fiber

An optical fiber is a hair-thin cylindrical fiber of glass or any transparent dielectric
medium. In practical applications, they consist of many thousands of very long fine
quality glass/quartz fibers. The fibers are coated with a layer of lower r.I.

The optical fiber mainly consists of the following parts.

1. Core at the centre of thickness 50µm.

2. Cladding surrounding the core and is made of glass of slightly lower r.I than core’s
r.I. . Its overall diameter is in the range 125µm-200µm. Both core and cladding are
made of same glass but µcladding< µ core. For attaining this some impurities like Boron,
phosphorus or germanium are doped.
3. Si coating is provided between buffer jacket and cladding in order to improve the
quality of transmission light.
4. Buffer jacket over the optical fiber is made of plastic and it protects the fiber from
moisture and abrasion.
5. In order to provide necessary toughness and tensile strength, a layer of strength
material is arranged surrounding the buffer jacket.
6. Finally the fiber cable is covered by black polyurethane outer jacket. Because of this
arrangement fiber cable will not be damaged during hard pulling, bending, stretching
or rolling, though the fiber is of brittle glass.

2
Propagation of light through an optical fiber

Optical fiber is a very thin, transparent and flexible guiding medium that guides the light
rays. Optical Fiber cables can be used to transfer the data from one place to other place.
The propagation of light through the cable is in the form of multiple Total Internal
Reflection

Principle of optical fiber- Total Internal Reflection

The mechanism of light propagation along fibers can be understood using the principle of
geometric optics. The transmission of light in optical fiber is based on the phenomenon of
total internal reflection. Let n1 and n2 be the refractive index (r.I) of core and cladding
respectively such that n1 > n2. .Let a light ray travelling from the medium of R.I n1to R.I
n2 be incident with the angle of incidence ‘i’ and angle of refraction ‘r’. From Snell’s law,

n1 sin i = n2 sinr… ................................. (1)

The refracting ray bends towards the normal as the ray travels from rarer medium to
denser medium. On the other hand, the refracted ray bends away from normal as it travels

3
 from denser medium to rarer medium. In the later case, if the angle of incidence is greater
than the critical angle (c), then total internal reflection takes place.
When i <c, then the ray is refracted into the second medium.
When i = c, the ray travels along the interface of two media.
When i >c, then the ray totally reflects back into the same medium.

If i = c, then r=900

Therefore, n1 sin c = n2 sin90 = n2
 sin c= n2/n1 (since sin90 =1)
c= Sin-1 (n2/n1 )… ......................................... (2)

Thus, any ray whose angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, total internal
reflection occurs, when a ray is travelling from a denser medium to rarer medium.

Critical angle: When a ray passes from denser to rarer medium, it gets refracted away from
the normal, if the angle of incidence is such that the refracted ray grazes the interface between
two media, then that incidence angle is called critical angle. If i >Өc , then the ray gets totally
internally reflected into the same medium.

In optical fibers, when a light beam is launched into a fiber, the entire light may not pass through
the core and propagate. Only the rays which make the angle of incidence > Ө c, at the core-clad
interface will exhibit total internal reflection. The other rays are refracted into the cladding and is
lost. The totally internally reflected rays undergo repeated reflections until it emerges out of the
fiber, even if the fiber is bent. Thus the light ray is guided through the fiber from one end to other
end without any energy being lost due to refraction.

4
Acceptance angle and Numerical aperture of optical fiber

When the light beam is launched into a fiber, the entire light may not pass through the core and
propagate. Only the rays which make the angle of incidence greater than critical angle at the core
–cladding interface undergoes total internal reflection. The other rays are refracted to the
cladding and is lost. Hence the angle we have to launch the beam at its end is essential to enable
the entire light to pass through the core .This maximum angle of launch is called acceptance
angle.

Consider an optical fiber of cross sectional view. no, n1and n2 are refractive indices of air, core
and cladding respectively such that n1>n2>no. let light ray is incident on interface of air and core
medium with an angle of incidence ‘θi’ .This particular ray enters the core at the axis point A and
proceeds after refraction at an angle ‘θr’ from the axis .It then undergoes total internal reflection
at B on core at an internal incidence angle θ.

5
 To find θi at A:-

Therefore
n n2 2

Sin max
 1 2

n 0

Hence 
n n 2 2

max
 Sin (1
) 1 2

n 0

This maximum angle is called acceptance angle or acceptance cone angle. Rotating
the acceptance angle about the fiber axis gives the acceptance cone of the fiber.
Light launched at the fiber end within this acceptance cone alone will be accepted
and propagated to the other end of the fiber by total internal reflection. Larger
acceptance angles make launching easier.

6
 Numerical aperture of the fiber is dependent only on refractive indices of the core and cladding
materials and is not a function of fiber dimensions
Types of Optical Fibers
Optical fibers are classified as follows into various types basing on different parameters.

7
8
9
10
Applications of Optical Fiber:
Optical fiber in communication systems as a wave guide
An efficient optical fiber communication system requires high information carrying
capacity fast operating speed over long distances with minimum number of repeaters .An
optical fiber communication system mainly contains
1. Encoder2. Transmitter3. Wave guide4. Receiver5. Decoder.

Encoder
It is an electronic system that convert the analog information like voice, figure,
objects etc into binary data. This binary data contain a series of electrical pulses.
Transmitter
It consist of two parts namely drive circuit and light source .Drive circuit
supplies electric signals to the light source from the encoder in the required form. In the place of
light source either an LED or A diode Laser can be used ,which converts electric signals into
optical signals. With the help of specially made connecter optical signal will be injected into
wave guide from the transmitter.
Wave guide
It is an optical fiber which carries information in the form of optical signalsover long distances
with the help of repeaters. With the help of specially made connector optical signal will be
received by the receiver from the wave guide.
Receiver
It consists of three parts namely photo detector, amplifier and signal [Link] photo detector
converts the optical signals into equivalent electric signals andsupply them to amplifier. The
amplifier amplifies the electric signals as they become weak during the journey through the wave
guide over a long distances. The signal restorer keeps all the electric signals in sequential form
and supplies to decoder in suitable way.

11
 Decoder
It convert the received electric signals into the analog information.
Advantages of optical fiber communication
Enormous Band width
In the coaxial cable transmission the band width is up to around5000MHz only where as in fiber
optical communication it is as large as 105 GHz. Thusthe information carrying capacity of
optical fiber system is far superior to the coppercable system.
Electrical isolation
Since fiber optic material are insulators unlike there metallic counterpart, they do not exhibit
earth loop and interface problems. Hence communication through fiber even in electrically
hazarders environment do not cause any fear of spark hazards.
Immunity to interference and cross talk
Since optical fibers are dielectric waveguides, they are free from any electromagnetic
interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RIF). Hence fiber cable do not require
special shielding from EMI. Since optical interference among different fiber is not possible,
unlike communication using electrical conductors cross talk is negligible even when many fibers
are cabled together.
Signal security
Unlike the situation with copper cables a transmitted optical signal cannot be drawn fiber
without tampering it. Such an attempt will affect the originalsignal and hence can easily detected.
Small size and weight
Since fibers are very small in diameter the space occupied the fiber cable is negligibly small
compare to metallic cables. Optical cables are light in weight,these merits make them more
useful in air crafts and satellites.
Low transmission loss
Since the loss in fibers is as low as 0.2dB/Km , transmission loss is very less compare to copper
conductors. Hence for long distance communication, fibers
are preferred. Number of repeaters required is reduced.
Low cost
Since fibers are made up of silica which is available in nature, opticalfibers are less expensive

12
Fiber Optic Sensors:
Sensors are devices used to measure or monitor quantities such as displacement, pressure,
temperature, flow rate, liquid level, chemical composition etc. The measurement techniques
developed using fibers are more sensitive and reliable.
A smoke detector and pollution detector can be made from fibers.
The high sensitivity of fiber to external influences, like phase sensitivity, micro-bending losses
and modal noise is utilized to develop new sensors.
There are two types of fiber optic sensors.
1) Intrinsic or active sensors
2) Extrinsic or passive sensor

1) Intrinsic or active sensors:

In active sensors the quantity to be measured acts directly on the fiber itself. Fiber itself acts as a
transducing element and modifies the light passing through it.
Based on the modification occurring in the fiber, the active sensors are
i i) Intensity modulated sensors: which are based on the change in absorption or
transmission of light, refractive index, temperature etc.

ii ii) Phase modulated sensors: which involve the interference between signal and
reference in the interferometer, leading to a shift in the interference fringes. These will have high
sensitivity.

iii iii) Polarization modulated sensors: which involve the change in polarization state of
the guided signal by the variable.

iv iv) Wavelength modulated sensors: which involve the spectral dependent variation of
absorption and emission by the variable.

2) Extrinsic or passive sensor:

In passive sensors the quantity to be measured acts directly on the transducing material which
modifies light. The modified light is collected through another fiber to reach the detector to sense
the modification. Thus the fiber merely acts as a convenient transmission channel for the light.

13
Medical Endoscopy:
Endoscopy is an optical instrument which facilitates visual inspection of internal parts of a
human body. It is also called a fiberoscope.
It requires about 10,000 fibers forming a bundle of 1mm diameter and it can resolve objects with
a separation of 70μm. By allowing direct viewing of what was formerly hidden, a fiberoscope
has become a vital diagnostic tool for industry and medicine.

14
 The above Fig. shows the schematic diagram of a flexible endoscope.
 The endoscopes are designed using low quality, large diameter and short silica fibers.
 There are two bundles in an endoscope.
 One of them is used to illuminate the interior of the body.
 The other is used to collect the reflected light from the illuminated area.
 A telescope system is added in the internal part of endoscope for obtaining a wider field
of view and better image quality.
 At the object end, there is an assembly of objective lens and prism which are kept in a
transparent glass cover and at the viewing end, there is an eye lens.
 The input end of the endoscope contains a powerful light source.
 The light rays are finally incident on the surface of the object under study.
 The light rays reflected from the object surface are received by the objective lens through
a prism and are transmitted through the imaging fiber bundle to the viewing end of the
scope.
 Here eye piece reconstruct the image of the object and one can view the image of the
surface of the object.
 Endoscope pictures can be recorded on a videotape recorder.

15
 Unit –V
Nanomaterials
Contents: origin of Nanoscience- Bulk and Nano materials, types of nanomaterials, Surface to
volume ratio–Quantum confinement effect, Properties of materials––Fabrication of
nanomaterials – Top down approach and bottom up approach- Ball milling and Solgel methods-
Elementary ideas of carbon nanotubes - Material characterization techniques- X ray diffraction-
RAMAN Spectroscopy –SEM-TEM-Applications of nanomaterials.

Introduction
In 1959, Richard Feynman made a statement ‘there is plenty of room at the bottom’. Based
on his study he manipulated smaller units of matter. He prophesied that “we can arrange the
atoms the way we want, the very atoms, all the way down”. The term ‘nanotechnology’ was
coined by Norio Taniguchi at the University of Tokyo. Nano means 10-9. A nano metre is one
thousand millionth of a metre (i.e. 10-9 m).
Nanomaterials could be defined as those materials which have structured components with
size less than 100nm at least in one dimension. Any bulk material we take, its size can
express in 3-dimensions. Any planer material, its area can be expressed in 2-dimension. Any
linear material, its length can be expressed in 1-dimension.

Materials that are nano scale in 1-dimension or layers, such as thin films or surface coatings.
Materials that are nano scale in 2-dimensions include nanowires and nanotubes.
Materials that are nano scale in 3- dimensions are particles like precipitates, colloids and
quantum dots.
Bulk, thin films and nanomaterials:

Bulk Thin film Nano

Bulk materials are macroscopic Thin films have dimensions in Nanomaterials are defined as
in three dimension . macroscopic except in thickness the materials which have
Length, breadth and thickness Thickness around 103to 104 Å structured components with size
can be measured directly. only. less than 100 nm at least in one
dimension.

Types of nanomaterials:
 If one dimension is reduced to the nanorange while the other two dimensions remain
large, then we get a structure known as quantum well.
 If two dimensions are reduced and one remains large, the resulting structure is referred to
as the quantum wire.
 The extreme case of this process of size reduction in which all three dimensions reach at
the nanorange is called quantum dot.
 0-D (Delocalisation dimensions)
All dimensions (x, y, z) at nanometric scale; the other dimension is large.
Example: Nanoparticles
 1-D (Delocalisation dimensions)
Two dimensions (x, y) at nanometric scale; the other dimension is large. Example: Nanorods,
nanotubes
 2-D(Delocalisation dimensions)
One dimension (t measured along z-axis) at nanometric scale;two other dimensions (Lx, Ly) are
large.
Example: Thin nanofilms
 3-D (Delocalisation dimensions)
All of the three dimensions (Lx, Ly, Lz) are not at nanometric scale.
Example: Nanocrystalline and nanocomposite materials.

Properties of nano particles:

The properties of nano scale materials are very much different from those at a larger scale. Two
principal factors that cause that the properties to differ significantly are increased relative surface
area and quantum effects. These can enhance or change properties such as reactivity, strength
and electrical characteristics.
1. Increase in surface area to volume ratio
Nano materials have relatively larger surface area when compared to the volume of the bulk
material.
Let us consider a Sphere of radius ‘r’.
Its Surface Area =4πr2.
Its volume = 4/3πr3
Surface Area to Volume Ratio= 3/r.
Thus when the radius of the Sphere decreases , its Surface area to Volume ratio increases.
Example :

For a cubic volume,

Surface area = 6x1m2 =6m2

When it is divided it 8 pieces

Its surface area = 6x (1/2m) 2x8=12m2

When the same volume is divided into 27 pieces,

Its surface area = 6x (1/3m) 2x27=18m2

Therefore, when the given volume is divided into smaller pieces, the surface area increases.
Hence as particle size decreases, greater proportions of atoms are found at the surface compared
to those inside. Thus nano particles have much greater surface to volume ratio.

As growth and catalytic chemical reaction occur at surfaces, then given mass of material in
nano particulate form will be much more reactive than the same mass of bulk material. This
affects their strength or electrical properties.
2. Quantum confinement effects
When atoms are isolated, energy levels are discrete or discontinuous. When very large number of
atoms is closely packed to form a solid, the energy levels split and form bands. Nano materials
represent intermediate stage.
Actually, when the size of the grains is reduced to nano-level, then overlapping of wave function
and quantum confinements occurs.
If d is the diameter of the grain size, then the energy goes up by factor 1/d2
When the dimensions of a potential well or a box concerned with a particle are reduced to the
order of de Broglie wavelength of electron (within few tens of nanometres), then energy levels of
electrons change. This effect is called quantum confinement
When the material is in sufficiently small size, organization of energy levels into which
electrons can climb of or fall changes. Specifically, the phenomenon results from electrons and
holes being squeezed into a dimension that approaches a critical quantum measurement called
the exciton Bohr radius. These can affect the optical, electrical and magnetic behaviour of
materials.
Variations of properties of nano materials
The physical, electronic, magnetic and chemical properties of materials depend on size.
Small particles behave differently from those of individual atoms or bulk.
Physical Properties
Crystal structure of Nano particles is same as bulk structure with different lattice parameters.
The interatomic spacing decreases with size and this is due to long range electrostatic forces
and the short range core-core repulsion. The Melting point of Nanoparticles decreases with
size.
Chemical Properties
The Electronic structure of Nanoparticles is dependent on its size and the ability of Nano
cluster to react, depends on cluster size. The large Surface area to volume ratio the variations
in geometry and the electronic structure of Nano particles have a strong effect on catalytic
properties.

Electrical Properties
Nanomaterials have lower thermal and electrical conductivities than bulk materials. The classical
free electron theory of metals states that the movement of electrons within a metallic solid lead
to electrical conductivity. Nanomaterials have a high density of grain boundaries, which makes
electric-phonon and phonon-phonon scattering effective and reduces conductivity.
Optical properties
When compared to bulk materials, nanomaterials exhibit distinctive optical characteristics such
as greater scattering, absorption, and luminescence. The shape and size of nanoparticles can be
altered to change their optical properties. Such unique optical properties can be explained by
considering Quantum confinement and surface plasmon effects
Magnetic properties:
The strength of a magnet is measured in terms of coercivity and saturation magnetization values.
These values increase with a decrease in the grain size and an increase in the specific surface
area (surface area per unit volume) of the grains. In small particle a large number or fraction of
the atoms reside at the surface. These atoms have lower coordination number than the interior
atoms. As the coordination number decreases, the moment increases towards the atomic value
there is small particles are more magnetic than the bulk material.
Nano particle of even non magnetic solids are found to be magnetic. It has been found
theoretically and experimentally that the magnetism special to small sizes and disappears in
clusters. At small sizes, the clusters become spontaneously magnetic.
Synthesis of nanomaterials:
Nanomaterials deal with very fine structures: a nanometer is a billionth of a meter. This indeed
allows us to think in both the ‘bottom up’ or the ‘top down’ approaches to synthesize
nanomaterials, i.e. either to assemble atoms together or to dis-assemble (break,or dissociate) bulk
solids into finer pieces until they are constituted of only a few [Link] domain is a pure
example of interdisciplinary work encompassing physics,chemistry, and engineering upto
medicine.

Top-Down approach
 Top – down approach of nanomaterial synthesis use macroscopic initial structures, which
can be externally controlled in the processing of nanstructures.
 These methods begin with a pattern generated on a larger scale, which is reduced to
nanoscale after a sequence of operations is performed over them.
These methods are based on grinding of materials
Disadvantages
  They require large installations and huge capital is required for building their set-up.
Therefore these methods are quite expensive.
 The growth process is slow hence not suitable for large scale production.. However, they
are very suitable for laboratory experimentation.
 Not suitable for soft samples.

Bottom-up approach
 Bottom-up approaches of nanomaterial synthesis include miniaturization of materials
components to atomic level with further self assembly process leading to the formatin of
nanstructures.
 During self assembly the physical forces operating at nanoscale combine basic units into
larger stable structures
 In the bottom-up methods we start with atoms or molecules and build nano-structures by
the direct manipulation of atoms or molecules.
 These methods involve atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule for synthesis
nanostructures.
 Starting materials are in liquid state or gaseous state.

Ball milling (Top-Down approach)

The bulk solids are dis-assembled (broken or dissociated) into fine pieces until the nanomaterials
are obtained.
 Ball-Milling is a very popular, simple, inexpensive & extremely scalable method to
synthesize all classes of Nano materials.
 A ball mill is a device used to grind and blend materials for use in various applications. It
is a physical method of synthesis of nanoparticles and is an example of top down
approach of producing nanomaterials.
 The ball mill consists of a hollow cylindrical shell which rotates about its axis . The axis
of the shell may be either horizontal or inclined at a small angle to the horizontal.
 It is partially filled with the balls which form the grinding media of the ball mill.
  One can use either refracted balls or steel balls or plastic balls depending on the materials
to be synthesized.
 The inner surface of the cylindrical shell is generally coated with an abrasion resistant
material like rubber or manganese steel to minimize wear in mills.
Principle:
A ball mill works on the principle of impact and attrition. With the rotation of the shell, the
balls are lifted up and dropped down. In this process, the solid particles in between the balls
and ground are reduced in size by impact.
 The energy transferred to the powder from the balls depends on many factors such as
rotational speed of the balls, size of the balls, number of balls and milling time. During
the milling process, one has to take necessary steps to prevent oxidation
Types of Ball Mill:
 [Link] ball mill 2. Low energy tumbllng ball mill, 3. High energy ball mill 4.
Planetary ball mill

Bottup-Up Approach
Sol-Gel method
 It is a bottom-up approach of synthesis of nanomaterials. It is an example of liquid phase
synthesis.
 A sol is a colloidal or molecular suspension of solid particles or ions in a solvent.
 A gel is a semi-rigid mass that forms when the solvent from the sol begins to evaporate
and the particles or ions left behind begin to join together in a continuous network.
 Sol-Gel is a multi-step chemical solution process widely used to make ceramic and glass
materials in the form of thin films, fibers, or powders
Sol – Gel Process:

 The process of sol-gel starts with the mixing of metal alkoxides or salts in water or in a
suitable solvent like alcohol at ambient or slightly elevated temperatures.
 Metal oxides and metal chlorides are typical precursors in this process which undergo
hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions.
 In the process metal –oxo or metal-hyroxo polymers are formed.
  pH of the starting solution has to be controlled to avoid precipitation and also to form the
homogeneous gel. This is achieved by adding base or acidic solutions.
 Organic compounds with hydrophilic functional groups in small molecules such as citric
acid, oxalic acid etc and polymers can be used with metal ion sources to form the sol as
well as control of the particle size and uniformity of the products.
 A catalyst is used to start the reaction and control the pH of the solution

Sol -gels formation occurs in different stages.

1) Hydrolysis
2) Condensation and polymerization of monomers to form particles
3) Growth and Agglomeration of particles

This is followed by formation of networks which extends

throughout the liquid medium and forms a gel.
The rate of hydrolysis and condensation reactions are governed by various factors such as pH,
temperature, H2O/Si molar ratio, nature and concentration of catalyst and process of drying.
Under proper conditions spherical nanoparticles are produced.
Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are molecular-scale tubes of graphitic carbon having outstanding
properties. They are among the stiffest and strongest fibres known, and have remarkable
electronic properties. They also have many other unique characteristics. They belong to the
fullerence structural family. When graphite sheets are rolled into a cylinder and their edges
joined, they form carbon nano tubes”. i.e. Carbon nano tubes are extended tubes of rolled
graphite sheets. The molecular structure of graphite is one atom-thick a planar network of inter
connected hexagonal rings of carbon atoms.

CNTs are allotropes of carbon with a nanostructure that can have length-to-diameter ratio of upto
28,000,000 :1, which is significantly larger than any other material. These cylindrical carbon
molecular tubes have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in
nanotechnology, electronics, optics, and other fields of materials science. These materials also
have potential applications in architectural fields.

Structure
The bonding in CNT is sp2, with each atom joined to three neighbors, as in graphite. The tubes
can, therefore, be considered as rolled-up graphene sheets (graphene is an individual graphite
layer). There are three distinct ways in which a grapheme sheet can be rolled into a tube. These
are shown schematically in the figure.

Types of CNTs.(a)Armchair(axis of CNT is parallel to C-C bonds of

graphene) (b) zig-zag (axis of CNT is perpendicular to C-C bonds of
graphene(c) Chiral (axis of CNT is inclined to C-C bonds of graphene)
Electrical conductivity of a CNT depends on its specific structure. Based on the number of layers
constituting them, CNTs can be classified as single walled or multiwalled. These two are shown
in figure below. A single-walled nanotube can be obtained by wrapping one atomic layer of
grapheme into a seamless cylinder. A multiwall CNT, on the other hand, has more than one
surface within it.

(a)Single walled CNT (b) Multiwalled CNT

Fabrication
Techniques have been developed to produce nanotubes in sizeable quantities. Some common
techniques include are
[Link] arc discharge
2. Laser ablation
[Link] vapor deposition (CVD)
Most of these processes take place in vacuum or with process gases. CVD growth of CNTs can
occur in vacuum or at atmospheric pressure. Large quantities of nanotubes can be synthesized by
these methods. Advances in catalysis and continous growth processes are making CNTs more
commercially viable by the day.
Properties of CNTs
Some of the properties of CNTs are as follows.
Strength
Strength of a CNTs can be expressed through the following features.
 1. CNTs are one of the strongest and stiffest materials known, in terms of tensile strength
and elastic modulus, respectively. This strength results from the covalent sp2 bonds
formed between individual carbon atoms
2. The young’s modulus is the range of 1-5TPa for Singlewalled and tensile strength is
about 150GPa for multiwalled CNTs. These values are much greater than those for the
best-known materials, being comparable to high-carbon steel.
3. They can recover vrom severe structural distortions due to their ability to rehybridize
Electrical properties
1. CNTs can be either metallic or semiconducting, depending upon the structure. For
example, the arm chair form is metallic, whereas the zigzag form is found to be
semiconducting.
2. The energy gap of semiconducting CNT is inversely proportional to the diameter of the
tube. The energy band gap can also be affected by localized defects.
Thermal properties
1. CNTs are very good thermal conductors along the length of the [Link] thermal
conductivity of a CNT is found to increase with its length.
2. It is predicted that CNTs will be able to achieve conductivities up to 20 times more than
that of copper, a metal well known for its conductivity.
3. The temperature stability of CNTs is estimated to be up to 28000C in vacuum and about
7500C in air.
Chemical properties
1. CNTs are resistant to chemical reactions.
2. They can be used as catalysts in chemical reactions due to their high surface area.
Applications
CNTs have wide-ranging applications. The strength and flexibility of CNTs make them
potentially useful in controlling other nanoscale structures. This suggests an important role for
CNTs in nanotechnology engineering. The different fields of applications of CNTs are
[Link] – products ranging from clothes and sports gear to combat jackets and space
elevators.
2. Electrical circuits
3. fibres and fabrics
[Link] composite
5. Drug delivery
6. computer applications.
7. Novel hard disk
8. CNT gas sensor

Characterization Techniques
XRD- X-Ray diffraction technique
Braggs law
When X Rays incident on the atoms of a crystal, scattering radiations will occur.
At certain glancing angles, reflections from a set of planes are in phase and thus maximum
intensity is observed. At certain angles the reflected Rays are out of phase and low intensity
pattern is observed.
Bragg obtained an equation using the principle of interference to calculate interplanar spacing.
Bragg’s equation is
2d Sin θ = nλ
Consider a Set of parallel planes of crystal separated by a distance ‘d”
d is inter planar spacing

Let an X Ray PA incident on atom A ( plane I) and reflected in AR direction.

Let another X Ray QB incident on B (plane II) and reflected in BR direction.
From interference principle , the condition for the reflected rays to be in phase is the path
difference between the reflected rays must be an integral multiple of wavelength 
for maximum intensity path difference = n 
Let AC, AD be the two normals drawn from point A as shown in fig.
In Triangle ABC, Sin  = BC/AB ; BC = AB Sin 
or BC = d Sin  ---------- (1)
In Triangle ABD, Sin  = BD/AB ; BD = AB Sin 
or BD = d Sin  --------- (2)
But path difference = CB + BD
= d Sin  + d Sin 
= 2 d Sin 
But, for constructive interference (maximum intensity), the path difference must be an integral
multiple of wavelength i.e., nλ
2d Sin θ = nλ------- (3)
d is inter planar spacing
θ is angle of diffraction
λ is wavelength of X-Rays
n is order of diffraction
where n= 0,1,2,3…….
The equation 2d Sin θ = nλ is known as Bragg’s Law
XRD Technique
XRD is a very important experimental technique to analyze the crystal structure of solids,
including lattice constants, geometry, identification of unknown materials, orientation of single
crystals, etc. The analyzed material is finely ground, homogenized, and average bulk
composition is determined.
 In XRD, a collimated beam of X-rays is incident on a specimen and is diffracted by the
crystalline phases in the specimen according to Bragg’s law:
λ = 2d Sinө
Where d is the spacing between atomic planes in the crystalline phase and λ is the X-ray
wave length.
  The intensity of the diffracted X-rays is measured as a function of the diffraction angle
2Ө and the specimen’s orientation.

X-ray diffractometers consist of three basic elements: an X-ray tube, a sample holder, and an X-
ray detector.

X-rays are generated in a cathode ray tube by heating a filament to produce electrons,
accelerating the electrons toward a target by applying a voltage, and bombarding the target
material with electrons. When electrons have sufficient energy to dislodge inner shell electrons
of the target material, characteristic X-ray spectra are produced. These spectra consist of several
components, the most common being Kα and Kβ. The specific wavelengths are characteristic of
the target material (Cu, Fe, Mo, Cr). Copper is the most common target material for single-
crystal diffraction, with CuKα radiation = 1.5418Å. These X-rays are collimated and directed
onto the sample.
As the sample and detector are rotated, the intensity of the reflected X-rays is recorded. When
the geometry of the incident X-rays impinging the sample satisfies the Bragg Equation,
constructive interference occurs and a peak in intensity occurs. A detector records and processes
this X-ray signal and converts the signal to a count rate which is then output to a device such as a
printer or computer monitor.
 The geometry of an X-ray diffractometer is such that the sample rotates in the path of the
collimated X-ray beam at an angle θ while the X-ray detector is mounted on an arm to collect the
diffracted X-rays and rotates at an angle of 2θ. The instrument used to maintain the angle and
rotate the sample is termed a goniometer. For typical powder patterns, data is collected at
2θ from ~5° to 70°, angles that are preset in the X-ray scan.

Applications
X-ray powder diffraction is most widely used for the identification of unknown crystalline
materials (e.g. minerals, inorganic compounds). Determination of unknown solids is critical to
studies in geology, environmental science, material science, engineering and biology.
Other applications include:

 characterization of crystalline materials

 determination of unit cell dimensions
 measurement of sample purity
 to estimate the film thickness of epitaxial and highly textured thin films

Advantages of X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD)

Advantages
 Powerful and rapid (< 20 min) technique for identification of an unknown mineral
 In most cases, it provides an unambiguous mineral determination
 Minimal sample preparation is required
 XRD units are widely available
 Data interpretation is relatively straight forward
Raman Spectroscopy:
Raman spectroscopy has become an incredibly useful analytical technique for the identification
of organic, inorganic, and biological samples. Raman spectra can generally be measured from
solids, liquids, and gases, including thin films and powders.

When a monochromatic light incidents on a substance, the light get scattered. The scattered light
contains other wavelengths in addition to the incident wavelength. This phenomenon is known as
Raman effect

In scattered light, some lines which have wavelengths longer the incident light are known as
Stokes lines(more intense). Where as the lines which have wavelength shorter than the incident
light are known as Anti-Stokes lines(less intense).
Raman effect is observed due to interaction between photon and molecule of the substance.
Let E1 and E2 be the energy values of molecule before and after the collision and ν1 and ν2 be the
frequencies of photon before and after the collision.
If E1 = E2 then ν1 = ν2 ; Unmodified line (Rayleigh line). Molecule does not absorb energy just
it deviates photon.
If E1 < E2 then ν1 > ν2 ; Stokes line. Molecule absorbs energy from photon and goes to
excited state.
If E1 > E2 then ν1 < ν2 ; Anti-Stokes line. Molecule gives energy to the photon and comes to
lower state.
Instrumentation

A Raman spectrometer includes three main components such as the laser, the sampling interface,
and the spectrometer itself.

A typical Raman laser will consist of different characteristics, such as a small form factor, low
power consumption, narrow linewidth, a stable power output, and a stable wavelength output. In
case Raman measurements are conducted using a 785nm source, it is important to ensure that the
source is only emitting 785nm.
The second component includes the sampling interface. In many Raman spectrometers, fibre-
optic probe are typically used which offers an extremely flexible sampling interface

The third component is the spectrometer. Here, important performance factors are small form
factor, high resolution, low power consumption, and low noise. An appropriate detector is very
important and must be utilized depending on which excitation laser is being used. For visible
excitation, a standard CCD is selected; for UV excitation, a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or CCD
is typically chosen; and for NIR excitation, an indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) array is
normally employed.

Different types of information can be obtained from a Raman spectrum. Every molecule has its
own unique Raman spectrum, which can be correlated to a molecular fingerprint. This helps in
developing databases of known standards that can be subsequently utilized for verification of
unknown standards.

Applications
 To decide about single, double and triple bond.
 To study the binding forces between the atoms or group of atoms.
 To study the molecular structure of crystals and compounds.
 To know the number of atoms in molecule, their relative arrangement. Etc.

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an instrument that produces images of a sample by
scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the
sample, producing various signals that contain information about the surface topography and
composition of the sample.
The SEM instrument is based on the principle that the primary electrons released from the source
provide energy to the atomic electrons of the specimen which can then release as the secondary
electrons (SEs) and an image can be formed by collecting these secondary electrons from each
point of the specimen.
Components of SEM
Electron column
The electron column is where the electron beam is generated under vacuum, focused to a
small diameter, and scanned across the surface of a specimen by electromagnetic deflection
coils.
Electron gun:
An electron beam is thermionically emitted from an electron gun fitted with a tungsten
filament cathode. Tungsten has the highest melting point and lowest vapour pressure of all
metals, thereby allowing it to be heated for electron emission, and because of its low cost.
Condenser Lenses:
After the beam passes the anode it is influenced by two condenser lenses that cause the beam
to converge and pass through a focal point.
Apertures:
The function of these apertures is to reduce and exclude extraneous electrons in the lenses.
The final lens aperture located below the scanning coils determines the diameter or spot size
of the beam at the specimen.
Scanning System:
Images are formed by rastering the electron beam across the specimen using deflection coils
inside the objective lens.
Specimen Chamber:
The lower portion of the column is specimen stage and controls are located. Specimens are
mounted and secured onto the stage which is controlled by a goniometer. The secondary
electrons from the specimen are attracted to the detector by a positive charge Manual stage
controls are found on the front side of the specimen chamber for x-y-z movement.
Electron Detectors:
Detectors collect the signal generated from interaction of beam with specimen. Electronic
detectors convert the signal into digital images and most often collected signal are Secondary
electrons by secondary electron detector (Everhart–Thornley) Backscattered electrons by
backscattered electrons detector (Solid-State detector) and X-rays signal by Energy
dispersive spectrometer (EDS) detector.
 The electron gun produces a stream of monochromatic electrons.
 This stream is focused to a small coherent beam by the first and second condense lens.
 The condenser aperture knocks off high angle electrons.
 The beam strikes the specimen.
 The transmitted portion is focused by the objective lens into an image.
 Objective aperture enhances the contrast by blocking out high-angle diffracted electrons.
 Selected area aperture enables to examine the periodic diffraction of electrons by an
ordered arrangement of atoms in the sample.
 Intermediate and projector lenses enlarge the image.
 The beam strikes the phosphor screen and image is formed on the screen.
SEM gives useful information on:
• TOPOGRAPHY: It is the study of surface features of an object or “how it looks”.
• MORPHOLOGY: It is the study of the shape, size and arrangement of the particles in
the object.
• COMPOSITION: It is the study of the elements and compounds the sample is
compound of & their relative ratios.

• Crystallographic Information: The arrangement of atoms in the specimen and their

degree of order, detection of atomic-scale defects a few nano materials in a diameter.

Transmission Electron Microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a technique in which a beam of electrons is
transmitted through a specimen to form an image. The specimen is most often an ultrathin
section less than 100 nm thick or a suspension on a grid. An image is formed from the interaction
of the electrons with the sample as the beam is transmitted through the specimen. The image is
then magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a Fluorescent screen, a layer
of photographic [Link] electron microscopes are capable of imaging at a significantly
higher resolution than conventional microscopes.
When the beam strikes the phosphor screen& images is formed on the screen. The darker areas
of the image represent thicker or denser sample areas since these areas transmit lesser electrons.
The brighter areas of the image represent thinner or lesser denser sample areas since these areas
transmit more electrons.
Principle of Transmission Electron Microscopy:
The transmission electron microscope can be compared with a slide projector. In a slide
projector, light from a light source is made into a parallel beam by the condenser lens; this passes
through the slide (object) and-is then focused as an enlarged image onto the screen by the
objective lens.
In the electron microscope, the light source is replaced by an electron source, the glass lenses are
replaced by magnetic lenses, and the projection screen is replaced by a fluorescent screen that
emits light when struck by electrons or more frequently in modern instruments, an electronic
imaging device such as a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera.
The whole trajectory from source to screen is under vacuum and the specimen (object) has to be
very thin to allow the electrons to travel through it. Not all specimens can be made thin enough
for the TEM. A scanning electron microscope may be used to look at the surface of the
specimen, rather than a projection through it.
Components of Transmission Electron Microscopy:
A TEM is composed of the following:
1. Electron Gun:
The TEM consists of an electron emission source, which may be a tungsten filament or a lan-
thanum hexaboride (LaB6) source, known as electron gun.
2. Vacuum System:
Electrons behave like light only when they are manipulated in vacuum. Different vacuum pumps
are used to obtain and maintain vacuum of pressure as low as 10–8 Pa.
3. Electromagnetic Lenses:
The electromagnetic lenses typically consist of coils, and when an electric current is passed
through these coils, an electromagnetic field is created between the pole pieces creating a gap in
the magnetic circuit. By varying the current through the coils, the strength of the field, and
thereby the power of the lens, can be varied
Typically, a TEM consists of three stages of lensing – condenser lenses, objective lenses, and
projector lenses. The condenser lenses are responsible for primary beam formation, whereas the
objective lenses focus the beam that comes through the sample itself.
The projector lenses are used to expand the beam onto the phosphor screen or other imaging
device such as film. The magnification of the TEM is due to the ratio of the distances between
the specimen and the objective lens’ image plane.
4. Specimen Stage:
The specimen is placed on a mesh having a diameter of about 2.5 mm and is held by a specimen
holder. The mesh or grid is made of copper, molybdenum, gold, or platinum. The specimen stage
also includes airlocks to allow for the insertion of the specimen holder into the vacuum with a
minimal increase in pressure in other areas of the microscope.
Sample preparation includes the preparation of thin sections of the maximum thickness of a few
tens or hundreds of nanometers. As TEM specimen holders permit the rotation of a sample by a
desired angle, multiple views of the same specimen can be obtained by rotating the angle of the
sample along an axis perpendicular to the beam. By taking multiple images of a single TEM
sample at differing angles, typically in 1° increments, a set of images known as a “tilt series” can
be collected.
5. Imaging Devices:
Originally, TEMs used a fluorescent screen that emitted light when impacted by the transmitted
electrons, for real-time imaging and adjustments; and a film camera to record permanent, high-
resolution images. Modern instruments rely primarily on solid-state imaging devices, such as a
CCD (charge-coupled device) camera, for image capture. They may still include a fluorescent
screen, but it may be observed by a video camera.

TEM gives useful information on:

 • MORPHOLOGY: It is the study of the shape, size and arrangement of the particles in
the object.
• COMPOSITION: It is the study of the elements and compounds the sample is
compound of & their relative ratios.
• Crystallographic Information: The arrangement of atoms in the specimen and their
degree of order, detection of atomic-scale defects a few nano materials in a diameter.

SEM TEM
SEM is based on scattered electrons TEM is based on transmitted electrons
SEM Focuses on the sample’s surface and its TEM Provides the details about internal
composition composition in addition to the surface
Samples for SEM need not be very thin TEM Samples need to be very thin
SEM has shorter resolution TEM has higher resolution
Pictures are shown on moniter Pictures are shown on fluorescent screen
SEM provides a 3-D image TEM provides a 2-D image