National Institute of Technology Silchar

Silchar, Cachar, Assam 788010

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC

MATERIALS
(EC 208)

Mr. Anupal Deka

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Bijit Choudhuri, Faculty, NIT Silchar, sir
for his class presentation slides and the book “Electronic Materials and Devices” by Prof. S.
O. Kasap which forms the majority of the contents of the 3rd chapter. Also minor contribution
from the other reference books of our institute syllabus and some random internet sources are
incorporated.

Mr. Anupal Deka

 Electric Properties of Materials

• The prime objective of this chapter is to explore the electrical properties of materials,
that is, the motion of charges inside a material in response to an applied electric field.
• 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.
• For example, when we consider an integrated circuit(IC) package, 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).

Metals and Conduction by Electrons:

• Metal atoms have only a few (1, 2 or 3 usually) valence electrons, so when many metal
atoms are brought together to form a solid, these valence electrons escapes from the
influence of individual parent atoms and become collectively shared to the entire solid.
The remaining non-valence electrons and atomic
nuclei of each atom form the ion cores, each of
which possesses a net positive charge equal in
magnitude to the total valence electron charge per
atom
• The valence electrons therefore become
delocalized and form an electron gas or electron
cloud or a sea of electrons, permeating the space
between the ions and are free to move within the
metal. Hence they are called conduction
electrons.
• The attraction between the negative charge of this
electron gas and the metal ions more than compensates for the energy initially required
to remove the valence electrons from the individual atoms.
• Thus, the bonding in a metal is essentially due to the attraction between the stationary
metal ions and the freely wandering electrons between those ions which is commonly
known as metallic bonding.
• The conduction electrons in metal are treated
as “free charges” that can be accelerated by an
applied electric field and these electrons attain
an average velocity, called the drift velocity.
• The fundamental relations that govern
electrical conduction are based on motion of
electron in solids considering various concepts
such as mean free time between electron
collisions, lattice vibrations, crystal defects,
impurities, etc.
Free Electron Theory or The Drude Model of Metals:
 Paul Drude proposed one model to understand how electrons move inside solids to
conduct current in 1900 when it was not exactly clear what atoms were on a
microscopic scale.
 Drude started from the discovery of electrons in 1897 by J.J. Thomson and assumes as
a simplistic model of solids (although he proposed the model for any material but it is
found to be correct for metals only) that the bulk of the solid is composed of positively
charged scattering centers, and a sea of electrons submerge those scattering centers to
make the total solid neutral from a charge perspective.
 In the model, free electrons in the metals are assumed to behave like gas molecules
obeying the kinetic theory of gases, of course, with some obvious differences. The
assumptions were as follow:

a. The metal crystal have crystal defects, vacancies, dislocations, impurities, etc.,
which will scatter the conduction electrons. More importantly, due to their thermal
energy, the atoms will vibrate about their lattice sites (equilibrium positions). An
electron will be “scattered” from one atom to another.
b. In absence of an applied electric or magnetic field, the path of an electron may be
visualized as illustrated in Figure a, where scattering from lattice vibrations causes
the electron to move randomly in all possible directions inside the lattice. On those
occasions when the electron reaches a crystal surface, it becomes “deflected” (or
“bounced”) back into the crystal. So in the absence of a field, after some duration
of time, the electron crosses its initial x plane position again. Over a long time, the
electrons therefore show no net displacement in any one direction.
c. The mean free time between collisions, τ for the free electrons is independent of
position within the solid and velocity of the electrons.
d. Electrons attain equilibrium with the surrounding through such collisions.
e. When electric field along – x direction is applied to the metal the electron
experiences an acceleration in the + x direction under the action of the force -eEx
in addition to its random motion and then it suddenly collides with a vibrating atom
 and loses the gained velocity and so on. So after some time, it will drift a finite
distance in the x direction.
 The electric current density J is defined as the net amount of charge flowing across a
∆𝑞
unit area per unit time 𝐽 = 𝐴∆𝑡 where Δq is the net quantity of charge flowing through
an area A in time Δt.
 Figure shows the net flow of electrons
in a conductor section of cross-
sectional area A in the presence of an
applied field Ex
 As a result of the application of the
electric field Ex, all conduction
electrons acquire a net velocity in the x direction
 The average velocity of the electrons in the x direction at time t is denoted by vdx(t).
This is called the drift velocity, which is the instantaneous velocity vx in the x direction
averaged over many electrons (perhaps, ∼1028 m−3); that is
1
𝑣𝑑𝑥 = (𝑣𝑥1 + 𝑣𝑥2 + ⋯ + 𝑣𝑥𝑁 )
𝑁
where vxi is the x direction velocity of the ith electron, and N is the number of conduction
electrons in the metal.
 Suppose that n is the number of electrons per unit volume in the conductor (n = N/V).
In time Δt, electrons move a distance Δx = vdx Δt, so the total charge Δq crossing the
area A is enA Δx.
∆𝑞 enAvdx Δt
 The current density in the x direction is: 𝐽𝑥 = = = envdx
𝐴∆𝑡 𝐴∆𝑡
 This general equation relates Jx to the average drift velocity vdx of the electrons.
 Now, if vxi is the velocity of ith electron in x direction at time t and suppose its last
collision was at time ti then for time duration (t-ti) it is accelerated without any collision.
So, if uxi was its velocity just after the collision then we can write,
𝑒𝐸𝑥
𝑣𝑥𝑖 = 𝑢𝑥𝑖 + (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑖 )
𝑚𝑒
 So the average drift velocity vdx of all the electrons will be
𝑒𝐸𝑥
𝑣𝑑𝑥 = ∑ 𝑣𝑥𝑖 = ∑ 𝑢𝑥𝑖 + ∑(𝑡 − 𝑡𝑖 )
𝑚𝑒
𝑖 𝑖 𝑖
𝑒𝐸𝑥
= 𝜏
𝑚𝑒
where 𝜏 is called mean free time or mean time between collisions or mean scattering
time or relaxation time. Here ∑𝑖 𝑢𝑥𝑖 = 0 as immediately after collision with a vibrating
ion the electron may move in any direction i.e. 𝑢𝑥𝑖 s are completely random.
 So drift velocity increases linearly with the applied field(for low field) and the
𝑒𝜏
proportionality constant 𝑚 is called the drift mobility and denoted by µd i.e.
𝑒
𝑒𝜏
𝑣𝑑𝑥 = µ𝑑 𝐸𝑥 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 µ𝑑 =
𝑚𝑒
 The current density in the x direction is:
𝑒 2 𝑛𝜏
𝐽𝑥 = envdx = enµ𝑑 𝐸𝑥 = 𝐸 = 𝜎𝐸𝑥
𝑚𝑒 𝑥
which is known as Ohm’s law which relates current density Jx with the applied field Ex,
 𝑒 2 𝑛𝜏
where 𝜎 = is called the conductivity of the material.
𝑚𝑒
 The path travelled by an electron within mean free time is called mean free path, l i.e.
𝑙 = 𝑢𝜏 where u is the mean speed (not velocity) of electron.
 However, Ohm’s law may be written in another form 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 where the resistance of
𝐿 1
the sample R is given by 𝑅 = 𝜌 𝐴 with 𝜌 = 𝜎 being the resistivity of the sample.
The Hall Effect:
 The Hall effect is a consequence of the forces that are exerted on moving charges by
electric and magnetic fields.
 The Hall effect device is
used to experimentally
distinguish whether a
semiconductor is n type or
p type and to measure the
majority carrier
concentration and
majority carrier mobility.
However, it is also used
extensively in engineering
applications as a magnetic
probe and in other circuit
applications.
 The force(Lorentz force) on a particle(say hole) having a charge q and moving in a
magnetic field is given by
𝐹 = 𝑞[𝑣 × 𝐵]
where the cross product is taken between velocity and magnetic field so that the force
vector is perpendicular to both the velocity and magnetic field.
 In the Figure, a semiconductor with a current Ix (which is due to an applied external
field Ex along +x direction) is placed in a magnetic field perpendicular to the current.
In this case, the magnetic field is in the z direction.
 Electrons and holes flowing in the semiconductor will experience a force as indicated
in the figure. The force on both electrons and holes is in the −𝑦 direction.
 In a p-type semiconductor (po >no), there will be a build-up of positive charge on the
y=0 surface of the semiconductor and, in an n-type semiconductor (no > po), there will
be a build-up of negative charge on the y=0 surface. This net charge induces an
additional electric field in the y direction (+y for p and –y for n) as shown in the figure.
 The induced electric field in the y direction is called the Hall field (EH). The Hall field
produces a voltage across the semiconductor which is called the Hall voltage (VH).
 So we can write,
𝑉𝐻 = + 𝐸𝐻 𝑊
where EH is assumed positive in the +y direction and VH is positive with the polarity
as shown in fig.
 In a p-type semiconductor, the Hall voltage will be positive as shown in Figure. In an
n-type semiconductor, the Hall voltage will have the opposite polarity. Thus the polarity
of the Hall voltage is used to determine whether an extrinsic semiconductor is n type or
p type.
 Initially when magnetic field is applied then slowly over time the carriers started to
build-up in the y direction because of magnetic force acting on the moving carriers but
as carriers started accumulating there they induced an extra field which started opposing
further build-up of carriers. Initially the strength of the induced field will not be
sufficient to completely stop such movement but over time the set up will reach steady
state so that the induced field strength exactly balances the applied magnetic force.
 In steady state, the balance along y direction may be written as
𝐹 = 𝑞[𝐸𝐻 + (𝑣𝑑𝑥 × 𝐵𝑧 )] = 0
 which becomes
𝐸𝐻 = 𝑣𝑑𝑥 𝐵𝑧
 So,
𝑉𝐻 = 𝑣𝑑𝑥 𝐵𝑧 𝑊
𝐽𝑥 𝐼𝑥
 Again, as 𝐽𝑥 = 𝑞𝑝𝑣𝑑𝑥 ⟹ 𝑣𝑑𝑥 = 𝑞𝑝 = 𝑞𝑝𝑊𝑑 ; so

𝐼𝑥 𝐵𝑧
𝑉𝐻 =
𝑞𝑝𝑑
𝐼𝑥 𝐵𝑧
⟹𝑝=
𝑞𝑑𝑉𝐻
 So, the majority carrier hole concentration is determined from the current, magnetic
field, and Hall voltage.
 For an n-type semiconductor, the Hall voltage is given by
𝐼𝑥 𝐵𝑧
𝑉𝐻 = −
𝑞𝑛𝑑
𝐼𝑥 𝐵𝑧
⟹𝑛=−
𝑞𝑑𝑉𝐻
where VH itself is a negative quantity.
 Also, for p-type, as 𝐽𝑥 = 𝑞𝑝𝑣𝑑𝑥 and 𝐸𝐻 = 𝑣𝑑𝑥 𝐵𝑧 gives
1
𝐸𝐻 = 𝐽 𝐵
𝑞𝑝 𝑥 𝑧
𝐸𝐻 1
⟹ = = 𝑅𝐻
𝐽𝑥 𝐵𝑧 𝑞𝑝
where RH is known as Hall coefficient which measures the induced Hall field per unit
transverse applied magnetic field and current density. Greater the value of RH more the
sensitivity of Hall device.
𝐸 1
 For n-type, 𝑅𝐻 = − 𝐽 𝐵𝐻 = − 𝑞𝑛
𝑥 𝑧
𝜇𝑝
 Again, for p-type, conductivity 𝜎 = 𝑞𝑝𝜇𝑝 ⟹ 𝑅𝐻 = 𝜎
𝜇𝑛
 For n-type, conductivity 𝜎 = 𝑞𝑝𝜇𝑛 ⟹ 𝑅𝐻 = − 𝜎
 Once the majority carrier concentration has been determined, we can calculate the low-
field majority carrier mobility.
 For a p-type semiconductor, we can write
𝐽𝑥 = 𝑞𝑝𝜇𝑝 𝐸𝑥
𝐼𝑥 𝑞𝑝𝜇𝑝 𝑉𝑥
⟹ =
𝑊𝑑 𝐿
𝐼𝑥 𝐿
⟹ 𝜇𝑝 =
𝑞𝑝𝑉𝑥 𝑊𝑑
 Similarly for n-type semiconductor,
𝐼𝑥 𝐿
𝜇𝑛 =
𝑞𝑛𝑉𝑥 𝑊𝑑
𝐿 1 𝑉𝑥 𝑊𝑑
 Also, Resistance, 𝑅 = 𝜌 𝑊𝑑 ⟹ 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝜌 = 𝜎 = 𝐼𝑥 𝐿
Superconductivity:
 For a material to be called superconductor, it mainly needs to satisfy following criteria
i.e. if the material is brought below a specific temperature, called its critical
temperature, Tc (i.e. T < Tc ) then
i) Its resistivity should become zero or conductivity become infinity.
ii) It should show Meissner effect i.e. it should expel all the magnetic field from
bulk of the sample as if it were perfectly diamagnetic substance provided it is
subjected to such external magnetic field having strength less than a critical field
value Bc only and also allowed to carry current density less than a critical current
density value Jc.
 The resistivity of normal conductors also
decreases with decrease in temperature due
to less scattering but is limited by scattering
from impurities and crystal defects at low
temperatures and saturates at a finite value
determined by the residual resistivity. But for
superconductor, resistivity sharply drops to
zero below Tc. e.g. Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb)
etc.
 Mostly the natural superconductors have
critical temperature value to be very low e.g. 4.2 K for Hg or 7.2 K for Pb which makes
it very hard to use their superconductivity in normal day to day applications. However
there are a lot of synthetic compounds which show superconductivity at some
reasonably higher temperatures like La-Ba-Cu-O (35 K), Y- Ba-Cu-O (95 K) and Hg-
Ba-Ca-Cu-O (130 K, the highest reported).
 Typically the superconductors having critical temperature value greater than 30 K are
called to be High-Tc superconductors and there are a few commercial devices utilizing
High-Tc superconductors such as thin-film SQUIDs, High-Q filters, resonant cavities
in microwave communications.
 When we place a superconducting material in presence of an external magnetic field
𝐵 = 𝜇𝑜 𝐻 having strength below its critical field value Bc, at any temperature above Tc
then field lines penetrate the sample as expected from any normal low 𝜇𝑟 medium.
 However when the superconductor is cooled below Tc then it rejects all the magnetic
flux inside the sample by self-inducing a magnetization M by developing surface
currents such that 𝜇𝑜 M and the applied field B cancels everywhere inside the sample
i.e. 𝜇𝑜 𝑀 = −𝐵. Thus below Tc a superconducting material is perfectly diamagnetic
with susceptibility, 𝜒𝑚 = −1. This is known as Meissner effect.
 Although practically, any external field below its critical field Bc also does penetrate
into the bulk of the sample but the magnitude of this penetrating field decreases
exponentially from surface to bulk with the following relation:
𝑥
𝐵(𝑥) = 𝐵𝑜 exp(− )
𝜆
where 𝐵𝑜 is the strength of the field at the surface and 𝜆 is a characteristic length of
penetration called penetration depth which depends on the temperature and Tc of the
material.
 Typically near absolute zero temperature penetration depth is around 10-100 nm which
is negligible. At Tc the penetration depth becomes infinity and hence any field can
penetrate the sample and superconductivity gets destroyed.
 But if a normal conductor with infinite conductivity is kept in a magnetic field then it
does not reject the field inside.
 Similarly if we suddenly switch off the externally applied magnetic field with
temperature still being less than Tc then the field around the superconductor simply
disappears instantaneously but in case of normal conductor with infinite conductivity if
we do so then this change in the field induces surface currents in the perfect conductor
by virtue of Faraday’s law of induction which eventually produces a magnetic field of
same magnitude and direction with the original external field to oppose the change
(Lenz’s law). And as 𝜌 being zero,
there will be no Joule heat dissipation
so this current can be sustained
forever.
 When a magnet of suitable strength is
placed over a superconducting
material and then its temperature is
cooled below its Tc then the magnet
gets levitated as a direct consequence
of Meissner effect to make field inside
zero.
Critical Field:
 The superconductivity at any
temperature below Tc vanishes if we
apply an external magnetic field having
strength higher than a specific value
called its critical field value, Bc.
 Bc value depends on the temperature of
the superconductor and is a characteristic
of the material. It will be maximum at
absolute zero temperature if
extrapolated.
 So any superconductor material will turn
into a normal conductor if we apply
external field higher than its Bc at that
temperature.
 Superconductors are classified into two types based on their diamagnetic properties as
follows: Type I and Type II.

 In Type I superconductors, as the applied magnetic field B increases, so does the

opposing magnetization M until the field reaches the critical field Bc, where upon the
superconductivity disappears. At that point, the perfect diamagnetic behaviour i.e. the
Meissner effect, is lost.
 A Type I superconductor below Bc, is in the Meissner state, where it excludes all the
magnetic flux from the interior of the sample. Above Bc, it is in the normal state, where the
magnetic flux penetrates the sample as it would normally and the conductivity is finite.
 In Type II superconductors, the transition does not occur sharply from the Meissner
state to the normal state but goes through an intermediate phase in which the applied
field is able to pierce through certain local regions of the sample.
 As the magnetic field increases, initially the sample behaves as a perfect diamagnet
exhibiting the Meissner effect and rejecting all the magnetic flux.
 When the applied field increases beyond a critical field denoted as Bc1, the lower critical
field, the magnetic flux lines are no longer totally expelled from the sample. The overall
magnetization M in the sample opposes the field, but its magnitude does not cancel the
field everywhere.
  As the field increases, M gets smaller and more flux lines pierce through the sample
until at Bc2, the upper critical field, all field lines penetrate the sample and
superconductivity disappears.
 Type II superconductors therefore have two critical fields Bc1 and Bc2.

 When the applied field is between Bc1 and Bc2, the sample develops local small
cylindrical (filamentary) tubular regions of normal state in a matrix of superconducting
state and the magnetic flux lines pierce through these filaments of local normal state.
 The state between Bc1 and Bc2 is called the mixed state (or vortex state) because there
are two states-normal and superconducting-mixed in the same sample. The filaments of
normal state have finite conductivity and a quantized amount of flux through them.
Each filament is a vortex of flux lines and hence the name vortex state.
 It should be apparent that there should be currents circulating around the walls of
vortices. These circulating currents ensure that the magnetic flux through the supercon-
ducting matrix is zero.
 The sample overall has infinite conductivity due to the superconducting regions.
 All engineering applications of superconductors invariably use Type II materials
because Bc2 is typically much greater than Bc, found in Type I materials and,
furthermore, the critical temperatures of Type II materials are higher than those of Type
I. Many superconductors, including the recent high-Tc, superconductors, are of Type II.

Critical Current Density:

 Another important characteristic feature of the superconducting state is that when the
current density through the sample exceeds a critical value J c, it is found that super-
conductivity disappears.
 This is not surprising since the current through the superconductor will itself generate
a magnetic field and at sufficiently high current densities, the magnetic field at the
surface of the sample will exceed the critical field and extinguish superconductivity.
 This plausible direct relation between Bc, and Jc, is only true for Type I
superconductors, whereas in Type II superconductors, Jc, depends in a complicated way
on the interaction between the current and the flux vortices.
 New high-Tc superconductors have exceedingly high critical fields that do not seem to
necessarily translate to high critical current densities. The critical current density in
Type II superconductors depends not only on the temperature and the applied magnetic
field but also on the preparation and hence the microstructure (e.g., poly-crystallinity)
of the superconductor material.
  Critical current densities in new high-Tc, superconductors vary widely with preparation
conditions. For example, in Y-Ba-Cu-O, Jc, may be greater than 107 A cm-2 in some
carefully prepared thin films and single crystals but around 103-106 A cm-2 in some of
the polycrystalline bulk material (e.g., sintered bulk samples). In Nb3Sn, used in
superconducting solenoid magnets, on the other hand, Jc, is close to 107 A cm-2 at near
0 K.
 The critical current density is important in
engineering because it limits the total cur-
rent that can be passed through a
superconducting wire or a device.
 The limits of superconductivity are therefore
defined by the critical temperature Tc, critical
magnetic field Bc (or Bc2), and critical
current density Jc. These constitute a surface
in a three dimensional plot, which separates
the superconducting state from the normal
state.
 Any operating point (T1, B1, J1) inside this
surface is in the superconducting state.

Origin of Superconductivity:
 Although superconductivity was discovered in 1911, the understanding of its origin did
not emerge until 1957 when Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer formulated the theory
(called the BCS theory) in terms of quantum mechanics. The quantum mechanical
treatment is certainly beyond the scope of our syllabus.
 The cardinal idea is that, at
sufficiently low temperatures, two
oppositely spinning and oppositely
traveling electrons can attract each
other indirectly through the
deformation of the crystal lattice of
positive metal ions.
 The electron 1 distorts the lattice
around it and changes its vibrations
as it passes through this region. It is to be noted that random thermal vibrations of the
lattice at such low temperatures are not strong enough to randomize this induced lattice
distortion and vibration.
 The vibrations of this distorted region now look differently to another electron, 2,
passing by. This second electron feels a "net" attractive force due to the slight
displacements of positive metal ions from their equilibrium positions.
 So in this way the two electrons interact indirectly through the deformations and
vibrations of the lattice of positive ions. This indirect interaction at sufficiently low
temperatures is able to overcome the mutual Coulombic repulsion between the electrons
and hence bind the two electrons to each other. The two electrons are called a Cooper
pair.
 The intuitive diagram in Figure, of course, does not even convey the intuition why the
spins of the electrons should be opposite. The requirement of opposite spins comes
 from the formal quantum mechanical theory making the net spin of the Cooper pair is
zero and their net linear momentum is also zero.
 There is a further significance to the pairing of electron spins in the Cooper pair. As a
quasi-particle, or an entity, the Cooper pair has no net spin and hence the Cooper pairs
do not obey the Fermi-Dirac statistics. They can therefore all "condense" to the lowest
energy state and possess one single wave function that can describe the whole collection
of Cooper pairs.
 All the paired electrons are thus described collectively by a single coherent wave
function 𝜓, which extends over the whole sample. A crystal imperfection cannot simply
scatter a single Cooper pair because all the pairs behave as a single entity-like a "huge
molecule." Scattering one pair involves scattering all, which is simply not possible.
 Superconductivity is said to be a macroscopic manifestation of quantum mechanics.
The BCS theory although has had good success with traditional superconductors, but
there seems to be some doubt about its applicability to the new high-Tc,
superconductors.