Homework 8

3.23 Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials, Fall 2014

Due on Tuesday, December 2 at noon

in the problem set box outside 13-4138

Problem 1: Dipole Selection Rules and and Optical Absorption

1) (after Fox 3.3) Atomic wavefunctions may be written : ( r ) Rnl ( r )Yl m , The parity
l
of the wavefunction is given by (1) . Explain what is meant by the parity of the
atomic wavefunction.
2) Prove that the matrix element M for an electric dipole transition must be zero unless l
changes by an odd number during the transition. [If you are ambitious, you can prove
that the selection rule is in fact more strict, such that l 1 for allowed transitions, i.e.,
transitions such that M 0 ]

3) By writing the components of r in spherical coordinates, prove that m 0 if the light
is polarized along the z -axis, and = 1 if the light is polarized along the x- or y-
axes.
4) Explain why in general it is not rigorous to speak of s-bands, p-bands, etc., when
describing the band structure of a solid. However, around the point this description is

valid, and the angular dependence of a Bloch wave (r ) can be described in terms of
an orbital quantum number l .
5) (after Fox 3.12) In Si the s-like antibonding orbital lies at a higher energy than the p-like
antibonding orbital, which contrasts with the ordering of the levels for Ge or GaAs. This
leads to important differences in their band structures (below). Indicate, on a sketch of
the band diagram for Si, the lowest energy dipole-allowed transition at the point, and
give the approximate wavelength corresponding to this transition. Explain qualitatively
how transitions at energies E1 and E2 can be dipole-allowed.

= 0.80 eV

Ge Si
Problem 2: Luminescence

The figure below shows the emission spectrum from the direct gap semiconductor
(Ga0,47In0,53)As at two time delays after 2x1024m-3 carriers have been excited using an ultra-short
laser pulse.

1) Calculate the electron Fermi energy for the initial carrier density if T = 0. ( = 0.041me)
2) Calculate the hole Fermi energy for the same conditions, on the assumption that the
densitities of states from the light and heavy hole bands can just be added together. (mhh
= 0.47me and mlh = 0.05 me)
3) The effective temperature of the charge carriers for the 24 ps spectrum is 180 K. Are the
carriers degenerate?
4) Explain the shape of the 24 ps spectrum, given that the band gap of (Ga0.47In0.53)As is
0.81 eV.
5) Use the data at 250 ps to obtain a rough estimate of the carrier density at this time delay.
Hence estimate the average lifetime of the carriers.

Problem 3: Lorentz model

1) The Lorentz model of light-matter interaction assumes that an electron, bound to a

nucleus, under an applied electric field, follows the equation below. Explain why and
what the different terms introduced herein correspond to.

a.
+ + 0 =

2) Take the Fourier transform of the above equation (i.e.: what does the equation become if
all the functions considered above are plane waves of the same frequency ). Express x
as a function of E. (x and E are now the amplitude of the harmonic at frequency ).
3) The individual dipole moment of this displacement is p=-e x. The total polarization is
thus P=-e N x (with N the density of electrons considered above). Express P as a
function of E, and the relevant parameters.
4) The dielectric susceptibility is defined by:
 a. = 0
b. Explain why = 1 = 2 1.
c. Note that it is a complex quantity.
1
5) Show that 1 = 1 = 2 +.
0 0

a. Note that has the dimension of (frequency)2. Hence we define the plasma
0

frequency as = . Plot ( )/ , and Im( )/ as functions of /0 ,
0
with = 0 /100.
6) Explain qualitatively why (0) > ()
7) Express the absorption coefficient of a material as a function of n and the considered
wavelength.
a. Note: the absorption coefficient of a plane wave is defined such as:

b. = (0 2 () )
8) Explain qualitatively why a more realistic model uses:

a. = 2+

b. What does i correspond to?
9) Now, lets consider only one resonance, in a metal. In this case, we can assume that 0 =
0. Using this hypothesis, simplify the equation above. What does correspond to? In the
case of light, how does it compare to ?
10) In the high frequency limit, derive ( ) and ( ). At normal incidence, the reflection
1
coefficient of EM waves on a material is : = | |. Plot R around the plasma
+1
frequency.
11) During the second world war, resistance fighters in Europe used AM radio (frequency:
100 kHz) instead of the FM radio (frequency: 100 MHz) to communicate with the UK.
Explain why they made this choice, despite the intrinsically noisier AM signal.

Problem 4: dispersion relation on an ionic crystal

NaCl is an ionic crystal whose static electric permeability is =5.9. Its lattice constant is a=5.6 .
Elementary mass for Na and Cl are 23 amu and 35.5 amu, respectively. The polarization of NaCl
is the result of photon-phonon interaction (i.e. there is a dipole arising for the vibration of the
lattice: do not forget that each lattice point is a charged ion) therefore we will be considering in
this exercise optical phonons. We ignore the atomic polarization and assume that the
polarization is totally induced by nearest neighbor ionic interaction. Following the steps below
we will derive the dispersion relation of light (k) in a 1D chain of NaCl.

1) The ionic interaction can be modeled by a spring of constant K. Write the equation of
motion of this system under a constant electric field E . You will use the letter W to
describe the displacement of the virtual particle.
 Hint: This is a two body problem. You can reduce it to a one particle system by defining
an effective mass and considering all the forces that apply on one of the particle.

2) Under a constant electric field, what is the polarization density of this material?
3) Using its dielectric permittivity, evaluate the spring constant K of NaCl.
4) In the case of transverse wave the Gauss law can be rewritten div ( E ) 0 . What is the
current density in the material as a function of the displacement of the virtual particle?
Write the Maxwell equation in this case and derive the propagation equation.
5) Using the propagation equation, the phonon equation and the following trial functions:
E Eo e i ( krt ) and W Wo e i ( krt ) , derive the dispersion relation :
c2k 2 02 2
. Sketch it.
2 02 2
6) What is the wavelength range at which the light will be totally reflected?