DRUDE- LORENTZ THEORY

SCENARIO AND ASSUMPTION

 In an atom electrons revolve around the nucleus and a metal is composed of such
atoms.
 The valence electrons of atoms are free to move about the whole volume of the
metals like the molecules of a perfect gas in a container. The collection of valence
electrons from all the atoms in a given piece of metal forms electrons gas. It is free
to move throughout the volume of the metal
 These free electrons move in random directions and collide with either positive ions
fixed to the lattice or other free electrons. All the collisions are elastic i.e., there is no
loss of energy.
 The movements of free electrons obey the laws of the classical kinetic theory of
gases.
 The electron velocities in a metal obey the classical Maxwell – Boltzmann
distribution of velocities.
 The electrons move in a completely uniform potential field due to ions fixed in the
lattice.
 When an electric field is applied to the metal, the free electrons are accelerated in
the direction opposite to the direction of applied electric field.
 ASSUMPTIONS
 Drude treated the (free) electrons as a
classical ideal gas but the electrons
should collide with the stationary ions,
not with each other.
average rms speed

so at room temp.
3
relaxation time
(average time between
scattering events)
mean free path

4
DRUDE THEORY: ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
we apply an electric field. The equation of motion is

integration gives

And if is the average time between

collisions then the average drift speed is
for we get
remember: 5
DRUDE THEORY: ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

number of electrons passing in unit time

current of negatively charged electrons

current density

Ohm’s law
and with we get

6
DRUDE THEORY: ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
Ohm’s law

and we can define

the conductivity

and the
resistivity

and the
mobility
7
OHM’S LAW

 valid for metals

 valid for
homogeneous
semiconductors
 not valid for
inhomogeneous
semiconductors
 not valid for
metal contacts to
semiconductors
8
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF MATERIALS

9
Success of classical free electron theory:
(1). It verifies Ohm’s law.
(2). It explains the electrical and thermal
conductivities of metals.
(3). It derives Wiedemann – Franz law.
(i.e., the relation between electrical
conductivity and thermal conductivity)
(4). It explains optical properties of
metals
• Estimate vrandom by treating the electrons as a
classical ideal gas & using the result from
classical statistical physics:
The Equipartition Theorem:
(½)m(vrandom)2 = (3/2)(kB)T
• Results: The mean free path is
l = vrandomt  1-10 Å
• This is of the order of interatomic
distances,
so it is reasonable!
 A Very Important Experimental Result for Metals:
“The Wiedemann-Franz Law”
• Since 1853, it has been known that a universal property
of metals is an experimentally well verified relationship
between the thermal & electrical conductivities. As just
discussed, in the presence of an external electric field E,
the current density j is given by
Ohm’s “Law”: j = sE
• In a simple one dimensional ΔV
geometry as in the figure, j
j = sE = sdV/dx
• The thermal analogue of this jq
is -ΔT
jq = -kdT/dx.
k  Thermal Conductivity.
• Drude’s assumption was that k in metals is dominated
by
the electronic contribution. A result from elementary
kinetic theory of classical ideal gasses is:
k = (1/3)vrandomlcel
where cel is the electronic specific heat per unit volume.
• Each electron has an energy (3/2)kBT so, for n electrons
per unit volume:
Etot = (3/2)nkBT, cel = (dEtot/dT) = (3/2) nkBT
• Recall that l = vrandomt, & divide k by σ = (ne2t / m)
giving:

k 1 2
2
kB 3  kB 
 mvrandom 2    T
s 2 e 2 e 
• Dividing by T gives the simple result that
k
2
3  kB 
   K/σ=LT
sT 2  e 
• This is a very nice result!! All the parameters
that might be regarded in some way as poorly
known have dropped out, leaving what looks
like it might be a universal quantity.
Experimentally, this is indeed the case.
• The measured value is a factor of 2 different
from this result, but in Drude’s original work, a
numericalerror made the agreement appear to be
exact!
 Temperature dependence of resistivity

To find the temperature dependence of , let’s consider the temperature dependence

of the mean free time , since this determines the drift velocity.

Fig 2.5 scattering of an electron from the

thermal vibration of the atoms. The electron
travels a mean distance l  ut between
collisions.
Since the scattering cross-sectional area is S,
in the volume Sl there must be at least one
scatterer as

1
t [2.11]
SuNs
Ns : concentration of scattering centers
When the conduction electrons are only scattered S : cross-sectional area
by thermal vibrations of the metal ion, then in the
mobility expression  d  et m refers to the mean
u : mean speed
e a : amplitude of the vibrations
time between scattering events by this process.
 Temperature dependence of resistivity

 Lattice-scattering-limited conductivity
: the resistivity of a pure metal wire increase linearly with the temperature, due to the
scattering of conduction electrons by thermal vibrations of the atoms.  feature of a metal
(cf. semiconductors)

The thermal vibrations of the atom can be considered to be simple harmonic motion, much
the same way as that of a mass M attached to a spring. From the kinetic theory of matter,
1 1
Ma2 w2 (average kinetic energy of the oscillatio ns)  kT
4 2
So a 2  T . This makes sense because raising the T increases atomic vibrations. Thus
1 1 C
t 2 or t  Since the mean time between scattering events τ is inversely
a proportional to the area a that scatters the ‘e’,
2
T T
eC
substituting for t in  d  et / me results in  d (to show a relation with T)
meT
1 1 meT
So, the resistivity of a metal T    T  AT [2.12]
sT en d e 2 nC
 MATTHIESSEN’s and NORDHEIM’s Rules.

Matthiessen’s rule and the temperature coefficient of resistivity

: The theory of conduction that considers scattering from lattice vibrations only works well
with pure metal and it fails for metallic alloys. Their resistivities are weakly T-dependent,
and so, different type of scattering mechanism is required for metallic alloys.
Let’s consider a metal alloy that has randomly distributed impurity atoms.
We have two mean free times between collision.
t T : scattering from thermal vibration only
Strained region by impurity exerts a
scattering force F = - d (PE) /dx
t i : scattering from impurity only

In unit time, a net probability of

tI
scattering, is given by
1 1 1
  [2.13]
t tT ti
t
Then, since drift mobility depends
on effective scattering time,
effective drift mobility is given by
Two different types of scattering processes involving scattering from
impurities alone and thermal vibrations alone. 1 1 1
  [2.14]
ud u L u I
Matthiessen’s rule and the temperature coefficient of resistivity

where uL is the lattice-scattering-limited drift mobility,

uI is the impurity-scattering-limited drift mobility.

Since effective resistivity  of the material is simply 1 / enud

1 1 1
   which can be written   T   I [2.15]
enud enuL enuI
This summation rule of resistivities from different scattering mechanisms
is called Matthiessen’s rule.
Furthermore, in a general from, effective resistivity can be given by
  T   R (  R : residual resistivit y )
: scattering E of impurities, dislocations, in ternal atom,
vacancies, gain boundaries, etc

Since residual resistivity shows very little T-dependence

  AT  B [2.17]
whereas ρT = AT .
 Resistivity of various metals vs. T

However   AT  B is only an approximation for some metals and not true for all metals.
This is because the origin of the scattering may be different depending on the temperature.
2000 100
Inconel-825 T
NiCr Heating Wire
1000 10
Iron
Tungsten
Monel-400
Resistivity (n m)

Resistivity(n m)
T
 (n m)
0.1 3.5
3 T
Tin   T5 2.5
100 Platinum 0.01
2
Copper
Nickel
0.001
1.5   T5
Silver 1
0.5  = R
  R
0.0001 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
T (K)

10 0.00001
100 1000 10000 10 100 1000 10000
Temperature (K) Temperature(K)

The resistivity of various metals as a function of temperature above 0
°C. Tin melts at 505 K whereas nickel and iron go through a magnetic
to non-magnetic (Curie) transformations at about 627 K and 1043 K
respectively. The theoretical behavior ( ~ T) is shown for reference.
[Data selectively extracted from various sources including sections in
Metals Handbook, 10th Edition, Volumes 2 and 3 (ASM, Metals
Park, Ohio, 1991)]
The resistivity of copper from lowest to highest temperatures (near
melting temperature, 1358 K) on a log-log plot. Above about 100 K,
  T, whereas at low temperatures,   T 5 and at the lowest
temperatures  approaches the residual resistivity R . The inset
shows the  vs. T behavior below 100 K on a linear plot ( R is too
small on this scale).
 Solid solution and Nordheim’s rule
How does the resistivity of solid solutions change with alloy composition ?

In an isomorphous alloy of two metals, that is, a binary alloy that forms a solid solution
(Ni-Cr alloy), we would expect Eqn 2.15 to apply, with the temperature-independent
impurity contribution increasing with the concentration of solute atoms.

  T   I [2.15]

This means that as alloy concentration

increases, resistivity increases and
becomes less temperature dependent as
ρI, overwhelms ρT, leading to αo << 1/273.

This (temperature independency) is the advantage of alloys in resistive components.

 Solid solution and nordheim’s rule
1500
How does the concentration of solute atoms UID
US

Temperature (°C)
1400
LIQ S
affect on ρI ?
LIQUID PHASE
1300 L IDU
S SO
1200 L+
 Nordheim’s rule for solid solutions: an 1100
SOLID SOLUTION
important semiempirical Eqn. that can be used to 1000
0 20 40 60 80 100

predict the resistivity of an alloy, which relates the 100% Cu at.% Ni 100% Ni

(a)
impurity resistivity to the atomic fraction X of
solute atoms in a solid solution, as follows: 600
Cu-Ni Alloys
500

Resistivity (n m)
400
C (Nordheim’s coefficient): 300
represents effectiveness of the solute atom in 200

increasing the resistivity. 100

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
100% Cu at.% Ni 100% Ni
(b)

Nordheim rule is useful for predicting the
resistivities of dilute alloys, particularly in
the low-concentration region.
%Nordheim’s rule assumes that the solid solution has the
solute atoms randomly distributed in the lattice, and these
random distributions of impurities cause the ‘e’ to become
scattered as they whiz around the crystal.
(a) Phase diagram of the Cu-Ni alloy system. Above the liquidus line
only the liquid phase exists. In the L + S region, the liquid (L) and solid
(S) phases coexist whereas below the solidus line, only the solid phase (a
solid solution) exists. (b) The resistivity of the Cu-Ni alloy as a function
of Ni content (at.%) at room temperature. [Data extracted from Metals
Handbook-10th Edition, Vols 2 and 3, ASM, Metals Park, Ohio, 1991 and
Constitution of Binary Alloys, M. Hansen and K. Anderko, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 1958]
 Fundamental problems with Drude’s
Theory began to emerge:
1. It could not explain the observation of positive Hall
coefficients in many metals.
2. As more became known about metals at low
temperatures, it was obvious that since the
conductivity increased sharply, l was far too long to
be explained by simple electron-ion scattering.
3. A vital part of the thermal conductivity analysis is
the use of the kinetic theory value of 3/2nkB for the
electronic specific heat. Measurements gave no
evidence for a contribution of this size.
Wave function
A variable quantity which characterizes de-Broglie
waves is known as Wave function and is denoted by the
symbol .
The value of the wave function associated with a
moving particle at a point (x, y, z) and at a time ‘t’ gives the
probability of finding the particle at that time and at that point.

de Broglie wavelength
deBroglie formulated an equation relating the
momentum (p) of the electron and the wavelength (l)
associated with it, called de-Broglie wave equation.
l h/p
where h - is the planck’s constant.
 The salient features of quantum free electron theory

Somerfield proposed this theory in 1928 retaining the concept

of free electrons moving in a uniform potential within the metal
as in the classical theory, but treated the electrons as obeying
the laws of quantum mechanics.

Based on the de-Broglie wave concept, he assumed that a

moving electron behaves as if it were a system of waves.
(called matter waves-waves associated with a moving
particle).

According to quantum mechanics, the energy of an electron in

a metal is quantized. The electrons are filled in a given energy
level according to Pauli’s exclusion principle. (i.e. No two
electrons will have the same set of four quantum numbers.)
Each Energy level can provide only two states namely, one
with spin up and other with spin down and hence only two
electrons can be occupied in a given energy level.

So, it is assumed that the permissible energy levels of a free

electron are determined.

It is assumed that the valance electrons travel in constant

potential inside the metal but they are prevented from escaping
the crystal by very high potential barriers at the ends of the
crystal.

In this theory, though the energy levels of the electrons are

discrete, the spacing between consecutive energy levels is very
less and thus the distribution of energy levels seems to be
continuous.
Band theory of solids