CHAPTER 13: ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES

WHY STUDY the Electrical Properties of Materials?

Consideration of the electrical properties of materials is often important when materials selection
and processing decisions are being made during the design of a component or structure.The
electrical behaviors of the various materials are diverse. Some need to be highly electrically
conductive (e.g., connecting wires), whereas electrical insulativity is required of others (e.g., the
protective package encapsulation).
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the four possible electron band structures for solid materials.
2. Briefly describe electron excitation events that produce free electrons/holes in (a) metals,
(b)semiconductors (intrinsic and extrinsic), and (c) insulators.
3. Calculate the electrical conductivities of metals, semiconductors (intrinsic and extrinsic), and
insulators given their charge carrier density(s) and mobility(s).
4. Distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic semiconducting materials.
5. (a) On a plot of logarithm of carrier (electron, hole) concentration versus absolute temperature, draw
schematic curves for both intrinsic and extrinsic semiconducting materials.(b) On the extrinsic curve
note freeze-out, extrinsic, and intrinsic regions.
6. For a p–n junction, explain the rectification process in terms of electron and hole motions.
7. Calculate the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor.
8. Define dielectric constant in terms of permittivities.
9. Briefly explain how the charge storing capacity of a capacitor may be increased by the insertion and
polarization of a dielectric material between its plates.
10. Name and describe the three types of polarization.
11. Briefly describe the phenomena of ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity.
TVT 02/11 1
 ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION
Ohm’s law:
Where: R:resistance (ohms, V/A).
I: current (amperes, C/s)
V:voltage (volts, J/C)

Resistivity: (Ohm-meters, Ω-m)

Electrical conductivity: [Mho/m,(Ω-m)-1]

Ohm’s law: Electric field intensity:

Where: J=I/A: current density (A/m2)
:electric field intensity (V/m)

Metals: good conductors: σ ≃ 107 (Ω-m)-1

Insulators:
Low conductivities: 10-20 – 10-10 (Ω-m)-1
Semiconductor:
Intermediate conductivities: 10-6 – 10-4 (Ω-m)-1

TVT 02/11 2
ENERGY BAND STRUCTURES IN SOLIDS

Four different types of band structures

Fermi energy: the energy corresponding to the highest filled state at 0 K.

TVT 02/11 3
ELECTRON MOBILITY
The scattering of electrons by imperfections
in the crystal lattice:impurity atoms, vacancies,
interstitial atoms, dislocations, and the thermal
vibrations of the atoms.
Drift velocity:

μe : the mobility of an electron (m2/V.s)

The conductivity:
n : the number of free or conducting electrons per unit volume.
|e| = 1.6x10-19 C

ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY OF METALS

Matthiessen’s rule:
ρt: thermal resitivity contribution:
ρi: imputity resitivity contribution: ci: impurity concentration
For a two-phase alloy consisting of and phases:
ρd: deformation resitivity contribution

TVT 02/11 4
TVT 02/11 5
 SEMICONDUCTIVITY
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTION

Intrinsic Conductivity:
μe : the mobility of an electron (m2/V.s)
μh : the mobility of an hole (m2/V.s)
n = p = ni : intrinsic carrier concentration.

TVT 02/11 6
EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTION

n-Type Extrinsic Semiconduction

At room temperature: n >> p

Conductivity:
The electrons are majority; holes are the minority
charge carriers.

TVT 02/11 7
p-Type Extrinsic Semiconduction
At room temperature: p >> n
Conductivity:
The holes are majority;
electrons are the minority charge carriers.

Extrinsic semiconductors (both n- and p-type) are

produced (by doping )from materials that are initially
of extremely high purity, commonly having total impurity
contents on the order of 10-7 at %.

TVT 02/11 8
= μ
qN (
o μ
n+ ) − Eg kT
exp(
p 2/ σ σ
o= − /EA
exp( )=
kT μ
pq

σ
= exp(
o − Eg/ kT
2
σ oq=N o μ
n( μ
+
p

THE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF CARRIER CONCENTRATION

n = No exp ( - Eg / 2 kT ) n-type: σ = σ o exp( − E D / kT) = nqμ n

p-type:

where:
TVT 02/11 9
FACTORS THAT AFFECT CARRIER MOBILITY
The magnitudes of electron and hole mobilities are influenced by the scattering of
electron.
Influence of Dopant Content

TVT 02/11 10
Influence of Temperature

Temperature dependence of electron and hole mobilities for silicon

TVT 02/11 11
 ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION IN IONIC CERAMICS AND IN POLYMERS
CONDUCTION IN IONIC MATERIALS

Mobility of Ion:

where nI and DI represent, respectively, the valence and

diffusion coefficient of a particular ion.
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS
Conducting Polymers

TVT 02/11 12
 DIELECTRIC BEHAVIOR
A dielectric material is an electrically insulating and exhibits or may be made to exhibit
an electric dipole structure.
CAPACITANCE
The capacitance (farads,F) C is related to
the quantity of charge stored on either plates:
Parallel-plate capacitor:

where:
-12
0:Permittivity of vacuum ( = 8.85.10 F/m)
: Permittivity of dielectric medium ( F/m)
r : Reletive Permittivity ( or called dielectric constant)

TVT 02/11 13
FIELD VECTORS AND POLARIZATION
Electric dipole moment:

In the capacitor:
Surface charge density D (C/m2):
For vacuum:

Dielectric:
P = Q’/A (C/m2) : the polarization
For many dielectric materials:

TVT 02/11 14
TYPES OF POLARIZATION
Electronic Polarization : displacement of the center of the negatively
charged electron cloud relative to the positive nucleus of an atom by
the electric field. This type is found in all dielectric materials and, of
course, exists only while an electric field is present.
Ionic Polarization
Occurs only in materials that are ionic. An applied
field acts to displace cations in one direction and
anions in the opposite direction, which gives
rise to a net dipole moment.
Orientation Polarization
This type is found only in substances that
possess permanent dipole moments.
Polarization results from a rotation of the
permanent moments into the direction of
the applied field. Due to the thermal
vibrations of the atoms, the polarization
decreases with increasing temperature.
The total polarization P:

TVT 02/11 15
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

For each polarization type, some minimum reorientation

time exists, which depends on the ease with which the
particular dipoles are capable of realignment.
A relaxation frequency is taken as the reciprocal of this
minimum reorientation time.

DIELECTRIC STRENGTH
The dielectric strength, sometimes
called the breakdown strength,
represents the magnitude of an
electric field necessary to produce
a dielectric breakdown.

TVT 02/11 16
 OTHER ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MATERIALS
FERROELECTRICITY
The group of dielectric materials called ferroelectrics exhibit spontaneous polarization.
that is, polarization in the absence of an electric field.
The ferroelectric Curie temperature is the temperature at which spontaneous polarization
is lost on heating.

Ferroelectrics have extremely high dielectric constants ( BaTiO3 : r ~5000)

Other ferroelctrics: Rochelle salt (NaKC4H4O6.4H2O), potassium dihydrogen phosphate
(KH2PO4), potassium niobate ( KNbO3), lead zirconate–titanate ( Pb[ZrO3,TiO3])-PZT

TVT 02/11 17
PIEZOELECTRICITY
Polarization is induced and an electric field is established across a specimen by the
application of external forces.

Piezoelectric materials: BaTiO3, PbTiO3, Pb(ZrTi)O3(PZT), KNbO3 and Quartz

The piezoelectric behavior of a polycrystalline specimen may be improved by heating
above its Curie temperature and then cooling to room temperature in a strong electric
field.

TVT 02/11 18