ELECTRICAL

PROPERTIES
ENS167 FUNDAMENTALS OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
WILLIAM D. CALLISTER JR.
QUESTIONS TO BE
ANSWERED...
How are electrical conductance and resistance
characterized?
What are the physical phenomena that distinguish
conductors, semiconductors, and insulators?
For metals, how is conductivity affected by
imperfections, temperatures, and deformation?
For semiconductors, how is conductivity affected by
impurities (doping) and temperature?
ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTION
OHM'S LAW
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRONIC AND IONIC CONDUCTION
ENERGY BAND STRUCTURES AND SOLIDS
 OHM'S LAW
relates the current I - or time rate of charge
passage - to the applied voltage V as
follows:
resistance of the

V=IR
material,
ohms (V/A)

voltage,
volts (J/C) Current,
ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY ,
amperes (C/s) material property that is independent of
specimen geometry but related to R through
the expression

surface area of current flow,

perpendicular to the direction
of the current
unit: ohm-meter (Ωm)
current flow path length

Figure 18.1 Schematic representation of the

apparatus used to measure electrical resistivity.
WHICH WILL HAVE A
GREATER RESISTANCE?

Hint: Resistance is directly proportional to length

and is inversely proportional to area.
ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTIVITY,
is used to specify the electrical character Ohm's law may also be expressed as:
of a material
reciprocal of resistivity electric field

J = σε
intensity
ability to carry a current
ε = V/l
current density
(I/A)
unit: reciprocal ohm-meter

resistivity
SI unit: siemens per meter
(S/m)

CLASSIFICATION OF
MATERIALS
ACCORDING TO THE EASE WITH WHICH THEY CONDUCT AN
ELECTRIC CURRENT

Conductors Semiconductors

having conductivities on the intermediate conductivities,

order of from
metals are good conductors used in almost every sector
of electronics

Insulators

very low conductivities, ranging between

glass, plastic, rubber, wood
ELECTRONIC AND
IONIC CONDUCTION
ELECTRIC CURRENT ELECTRONIC CONDUCTION
results from the motion of electrically a current that arises form the flow of
charged particle in response to forces electrons, within most solid materials.
that act on them from an externally
applied electric field

positively charged IONIC CONDUCTION

particle
a net motion of charged ions that
are accelerated in the field direction produces a current, for ionic
materials.

are accelerated in the direction

opposite

negatively charged
particle
 ENERGY BAND
STRUCTURES IN
SOLIDS

ELECTRON ENERGY BAND

is formed when each distinct atomic state
splits into a series of closely spaced
electron states in the solid.

the splitting depends on interatomic

separation and begins with the outermost
electron shells.
Figure 18.2 Schematic plot of electron energy versus interatomic
separation for an aggregate of 12 atoms (N = 12).
 VARIOUS POSSIBLE ELECTRON BAND STRUCURES IN SOLIDS AT 0K:
copper magnesium insulators semiconductors

FERMI ENERGY
energy corresponding to the highest filled state at 0 K
ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTION
CONT.
CONDUCTION IN TERMS OF BAND AND
ATOMIC BONDING MODELS
ELECTRON MOBILITY
ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY OF METALS
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF
COMMERCIAL ALLOYS
CONDUCTION IN
TERMS OF BAND
AND ATOMIC
BONDING MODEL

METAL
For metals having either of the band
structures shown above, there are vacant
energy states adjacent to the highest filled
state at Ef. Thus, very little energy is required
to promote electrons into the low lying empty
states
CONDUCTION IN TERMS OF BAND
AND ATOMIC BONDING MODEL

For electrically insulating materials,

interatomic bonding is ionic or strongly
covalent. Thus, the valence electrons
are tightly bound to or shared with the
individual atoms.
The bonding in semiconductors is
covalent (or predominantly covalent)
and relatively weak, which means that
the valence electrons are not as
strongly bound to the atoms.

SEMICONDUCTORS
AND INSULATORS
CHARGE CARRIERS IN
INSULATORS AND
SEMICONDUCTORS

Two types of electronic charge

carriers:

Free Electron
– negative charge
– in conduction band

Hole
– positive charge
– vacant electron state in
the valence band
 ELECTRON MOBILITY

Vd = 𝜇eℰ
The drift velocity 𝜐d represents the average electron velocity in the
direction of the force imposed by the applied field
The constant of proportionality 𝜇e is called the electron mobility and is an
indication of the frequency of scattering events; its units are square meters
per volt-second (m2 /V·s)

The conductivity 𝜎 of most materials
may be expressed as
where n is the number of free
or conducting electrons per
unit volume (e.g., per cubic
meter) and |e| is the absolute
magnitude of the electrical
charge on an electron (1.6 ×
10−19 C). Thus, the electrical
conductivity is proportional to
both the number of free
electrons and the electron
mobility
METALS: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND
IMPURITIES ON RESISTIVITY

Resistivity is defined as the reciprocal of

conductivity

in which 𝜌t, 𝜌i, and 𝜌d represent the

individual thermal, impurity, and
deformation resistivity contributions,
respectively.
 METALS: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND
IMPURITIES ON RESISTIVITY

INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE

For the pure metal and all the copper–nickel alloys

shown in Figure 18.8, the resistivity rises linearly
with temperature above about −200°C. Thus

where 𝜌0 and a are constants for

each particular metal.
 METALS: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND
IMPURITIES ON RESISTIVITY
INFLUENCE OF IMPURITIES

For additions of a single impurity that forms a solid

solution, the impurity resistivity 𝜌i is related to the
impurity concentration ci in terms of the atom fraction
(at%/100) as follows

where A is a composition-
independent constant that is a
function of both the impurity and
host metals.
For a two-phase alloy consisting of
𝛼 and 𝛽 phases, a rule-of-mixtures
expression may be used to
approximate the resistivity as
follows:

where the Vs and 𝜌s represent volume fractions and individual

resistivities for the respective phases.
METALS: INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND
IMPURITIES ON RESISTIVITY

INFLUENCE OF PLASTIC DEFORMATION

Plastic deformation also raises the

electrical resistivity as a result of
increased numbers of electron-
scattering dislocations. Furthermore,
its influence is much weaker than that
of increasing temperature or the
presence of impurities
SEMI-
CONDUCTIVITY
INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTION
EXTRINSIC SEMICONSUCTION
THE TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF CARRIER
CONCENTRATION
FACTORS THAT AFFECT CARRIER MOBILITY
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
The property of a material in which conducts
electricity less well than a good conductor but
better than an insulator.

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
those in which the electrical behavior is
based on the electronic structure
inherent in the pure material.

EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR
those in which the electrical
characteristics are dictated by impurity
atoms.
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
 Pure Material Semiconductors:
e.g., Silicon & Germanium
Group IVA materials

Compound semiconductors

III-V compounds
Ex: GaAs & InSb

II-VI compounds
Ex: CdS & ZnTe

INTRINSIC
The wider the electronegativity difference
between the elements the wider the energy
gap.

SEMICONDUCTORS
 INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTION IN TERMS OF
ELECTRON AND HOLE MIGRATION

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY GIVEN BY:

no. of electrons/m^3 no. of holes/m^3

hole mobility

electron mobility
NUMBER OF CHARGE
CARRIERS
INTRINSIC CONDUCTIVITY EXAMPLE: GaAs

For intrinsic semiconductor n = p = n i

 INTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTORS:
CONDUCTIVITY VS. T

Data for Pure Silicon:

σ increases with T
opposite to metals Selected values from Table 18.3, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
INTRINSIC VS. EXTRINSIC CONDUCTION
INTRINSIC: EXTRINSIC:
case for pure Si electrical behavior is determined by
no. of electrons = no. of holes (n = p) presence of impurities that introduce
excess electrons or holes. (n ≠ p)

n-TYPE EXTRINSIC: (n >> p) p-TYPE EXTRINSIC: (p >> n)

Adapted from Figs. 18.12(a) & 18.14(a), Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
EXTRINSIC
EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTIVITY
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
 EXTRINSIC
SEMICONDUCTORS:
CONDUCTIVITY VS. TEMPERATURE
Data for Doped Silicon:
σ increases doping
reason: imperfection sites lower the activation
energy to produce mobile electrons.

Comparison: intrinsic vs extrinsic conduction...

Adapted from Fig. 18.17, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
(Fig. 18.17 from S.M. Sze, Semiconductor Devices,
Physics, and Technology, Bell Telephone
Laboratories, Inc., 1985.)
extrinsic doping level: 1021/m^3 of a n-type donor
impurity (such as P).
for T < 100 K: "freeze-out“, thermal energy insufficient to
excite electrons.
for 150 K < T < 450 K: "extrinsic"
for T >> 450 K: "intrinsic"
SEMICONDUCTIVITY
CONT.
THE HALL EFFECT
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

hole mobility
THE HALL
EFFECT

the production of a voltage difference, known as the Hall voltage,

across a conductor or semiconductor material when a magnetic field
is applied perpendicular to the direction of current flow.
SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES

The unique electrical properties of semiconductors

permit their use in devices to perform specific
electronic functions.
 The p–n Rectifying Junction
Allows flow of electrons in one direction only (e.g., useful
to convert alternating current to direct current).
Processing: diffuse P into one side of a B-doped crystal.

 Forward bias: carriers

flow through p-type and
n-type regions; holes and
electrons recombine at
p-n junction; current flows

electron + hole → energy

Reverse bias: carriers

flow away from p-n junction;
junction region depleted of
carriers; little current flow.
 PROPERTIES OF
RECTIFYING JUNCTION
 THE TRANSISTOR
Transistors, which are extremely important
semiconducting devices in today’s
microelectronic circuitry, are capable of two
primary types of function.

First, they can perform the

same operation as their vacuum-
tube precursor, the triode—that is,
they can amplify an
electrical signal.

In addition, they serve as switching devices in

computers for the processing
and storage of information
THE JUNCTION TRANSISTOR
THE JUNCTION TRANSISTOR
electrical Conduction in Ionic
Ceramics and Polymers
DIELECTRIC
BEHAVIOR
CAPACITANCE
FIELD VECTORS AND POLARIZATION
TYPES OF POLARIZATION
 CAPACITANCE

When a voltage is applied across a capacitor, one plate becomes positively charged and the
other negatively charged, with the corresponding electric field directed from the positive to
the negative plates. The capacitance C is related to the quantity of charge stored on either
plate Q by

C = Q/V C = 𝜀0 A/ l 𝜀r = 𝜀/𝜀0

where A represents the area of the plates and l is the

distance between them. The parameter 𝜀0, called the
permittivity of a vacuum, is a universal constant having
the value of 8.85 × 10−12 F/m.
FIELD VECTORS AND POLARIZATION
Polarization is the alignment of permanent or
induced atomic or molecular dipole moments
with an externally applied electric field.
An electric dipole moment p is associated with
each dipole as follows where q is the magnitude
of each dipole charge and d is the distance of
separation between them. A dipole moment is a
vector that is directed from the negative to the
positive charge.
p = qd

In the presence of an electric field ℰ, which is also a

vector quantity, a force (or torque) comes to bear on an
electric dipole to orient it with the applied field. The
process of dipole alignment is termed polarization.
 D0 = 𝜀0ℰ
D = 𝜀ℰ
D = 𝜀0ℰ + P
P = 𝜀0(𝜀r − 1)ℰ
 TYPES OF POLARIZATION

Electronic Polarization may be induced to one degree or another in

all atoms. It results from a displacement of the center of the negatively
charged electron cloud relative to the positive nucleus of an atom by
the electric field (Figure 18.31a). This polarization type is found in all
dielectric materials and exists only while an electric field is present
 TYPES OF POLARIZATION

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. The magnitude of the dipole moment for each ion
pair pi is equal to the product of the relative displacement di and the charge on
each ion, or

pi = qdi
 TYPES OF POLARIZATION

The third type, orientation polarization, 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. This alignment tendency is counteracted by
the thermal vibrations of the atoms, such that polarization decreases with increasing
temperature. The total polarization P of a substance is equal to the sum of the electronic,
ionic, and orientation polarizations (Pe, Pi , and Po, respectively), or

P = Pe + Pi + Po
DIELECTRIC
BEHAVIOR CONT.
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE
DIELECTRIC CONSTANT
DIELECTRIC STRENGTH
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

Alternating Currents
Electric Field changes
along with time
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

RELAXATION
FREQUENCY
For each polarization type, some
minimum reorientation time exists
that depends on the ease with
which the particular dipoles are
capable of realignment.
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

Polarization requires to keep up

with the minimum reorientation time

is dependent upon
frequency magnitude
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE DIELECTRIC CONSTANT

DIELECTRIC
LOSS
absorption of electrical energy by
a dielectric material that is
subjected to an alternating electric
field.

dielectric loss
DIELECTRIC STRENGTH
DIELECTRIC STRENGTH

DIELECTRIC
As the current through a dielectric by the motion of
these electrons increases dramatically, sometimes

BREAKDOWN
localized melting, burning, or vaporization occurs.

This produces irreversible degradation

and perhaps even failure of the material.
DIELECTRIC STRENGTH

DIELECTRIC
Represents the magnitude of an electric field
necessary to produce a breakdown.

STRENGTH Also known as Breakdown Strength

DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

Ceramics
DIELECTRIC
MATERIALS
A number of ceramics
and polymers are used as
insulators and/or
capacitors.

Polymers
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

CERAMICS
Includes: glass, porcelain, steatite, and mica
Dielectric constants: 6 to 10
Additional info: high dimensional stability and
mechanical strength
Applications: electrical insulation, switch bases,
and light receptacles
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

POLYMERS
Dielectric constants: 2 to 5
Applications: insulation of wires, cables,
motors, generators, capacitors, etc.
OTHER ELECTRICAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MATERIALS
FERROELECTRICITY

is a property observed in certain materials

characterized by the presence of a spontaneous electric
polarization without the presence of an electric field,
much like how ferromagnetism is characterized by a
spontaneous, permanent magnetic field.
FERROELECTRIC
CERAMICS
Experience spontaneous polarization
BaTiO3 -- ferroelectric

below its Curie temperature (120ºC)

Fig. 18.35, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Other materials that
display ferroelectricity
Rochelle Salt
Potassium Niobate
Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate
Lead-Zirconate Titanate
Capacitors
Piezoelectricity

is a special property of certain materials that can

convert mechanical pressure or squeezing into
electricity, and electricity into movement or
vibration.
 Mechanical Energy

Electrical Energy

Electrical Energy

Mechanical Energy
 a) stress-free

b) with applied
stress

Adapted from Fig. 18.36, Callister & Rethwisch 8e. (Fig. 18.36 from Van Vlack, Lawrence H., Elements of
Materials Science and Engineering, 1989, p.482, Adapted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey.)
WHAT MAKES A MATERIAL PIEZOELECTRIC?

Atomic Structure
Distribution of electric
charge

Non-piezoelectric crystal Piezoelectric crystal structure

structure
Quartz
Ferroelectricity
and Piezoelectricity

Similarities
associated with the asymmetry in the crystal structure of the materials
can generate an electric charge or voltage in response to an external stimulus

Differences
ferroelectric materials have permanent electric dipole moment, piezoelectric materials do not
ferroelectric materials can retain their polarization even in the absence of electric field,
piezoelectric materials do not
piezoelectric materials do not have the ability to switch polarization states
All ferroelectric materials
are piezoelectric, but not all
piezoelectric materials are
ferroelectric.

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 SUMMARY
Electrical conductivity
and resistivity are:
material parameters
geometry independent
Conductors, semiconductors, and
insulators...
differ in range of conductivity values
differ in availability of electron excitation states

For pure semiconductors, conductivity is increased by

increasing temperature
doping [e.g., adding B to Si (p-type) or P to Si (n-type)]

For metals, resistivity is Other electrical characteristics

increased by
increasing temperature ferroelectricity
addition of imperfections piezoelectricity
plastic deformation
 End of
Presentation

ELECTRICAL
PROPERTIES
ENS167 FUNDAMENTALS OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
WILLIAM D. CALLISTER JR.

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