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EE‐606: Solid State Devices
EE‐606: Solid State Devices
Lecture 6: Energy Bands (continued)
Muhammad Ashraful Alam
alam@purdue.edu

Alam  ECE‐606 S09 1
Outline

1) Properties of electronic bands

2) E‐k diagram and constant energy surfaces

3) Conclusions

Reference: Vol 6 Ch 3 (pages 63 70)

Reference: Vol. 6, Ch. 3 (pages 63‐70) 

Alam  ECE‐606 S09 2
 Electron and Hole fluxes: Filled/Empty Bands

E
q
J 3 = − ∑ υi = 0
L i ( filled )

q q kmax q 0
J2 = − ∑
L i( filled )
υi = − ∑ υi − ∑ − υi = 0
L 0 L − kmin
EF
Filled and empty bands
carryy no current !
-k k
Alam  ECE‐606 S09 3
Electron and Hole Fluxes: Partially Filled Bands
E

E q
J 3 = − ∑ υi ≠ 0
L i ( filled )

q q q
J2 = − ∑ υi = − ∑ υi + ∑ υi
L i( filled ) L all L i( empty )
q
3
= ∑
L i( empty )
υi

2 ‐ve charge moving with –ve mass

1 +ve charge moving with +ve
h i ih mass
k 4
Alam  ECE‐606 S09
what good is effective mass ?

E
1/m*
1/m

1 1 d 2E
= 2
m* dk 2

-k k
Alam  ECE‐606 S08 5
Outline

1) P
Properties of electronic bands
ti f l t i b d

2) E‐k diagram and constant energy surfaces

3) Conclusions

Alam  ECE‐606 S09 6
 Solution Space: Brillouin Zone

E
p

Real x

K‐lattice k
4π 2π 2π 4π
k −
p
−
p p p
π π
−
p π π
p −
p p
7
General rules for Brillouin Zone

1) Define reciprocal lattice with the following vectors ….

b×c c×a a×b

k x = 2π k y = 2π k z = 2π
a ib × c a ib × c a ib × c

2) Use Wigner Seitz algorithm to find the unit cell 
in the wave vector (reciprocal) space
in the wave‐vector (reciprocal) space. 

Alam  ECE‐606 S09 8
 Wigner‐Seitz Method for Reciprocal Space 

Primitive cell in real space Unit‐cell in reciprocal lattice

b ky

a kx

b × zˆ zˆ × a
k x = 2π k y = 2π
a ib × zˆ a ib × zˆ
Alam  ECE‐606 S09 9
Brillouin Zone  for One‐dimensional Solids

Real‐space
p Replacing
ep ac g
(a+b) by p …

1st B‐Z 2π π π 2π kx
− −
p p p p

E‐k diagram
kx
π π
− 0
p p

10
E‐k diagram in 2D solids

b
E
Real‐space

π ky
b

1st B‐Z kx
π π kx
−
a a
ky
π
−
b

E‐k diagram

ky kx
π π
0
b a
Alam  ECE‐606 S09 11
Constant Energy‐surface in 2D

π ky E
b

1st B‐Z kx
π π
− a
a
π E1
−
b

E1 kx
E‐k diagram ky
ky kx
π π
0
b a

k1 ky
Const. Energy
Const Energy
Surface kx
Alam  ECE‐606 S09 12
 Conclusion

1) Electrons can only sit in‐specific energy bands. Effective masses and 
band gaps summarize information about possible electronic states
band gaps summarize information about possible electronic states.

2) Effective mass is not a fundamental concept. There are systems for 
which effective mass can not be defined
which effective mass can not be defined. 

3) Of all the possible bands, only a few contribute to conduction. These are 
often called conduction and valence bands. 

4) For 2D/3D systems, energy‐bands are often difficult to visualize. E‐k 
diagrams along specific direction and constant energy surfaces for 
specific bands summarize such information. 

5) Most of the practical problems can only be analyzed by numerical 
solution. 
l i

Alam  ECE‐606 S09 13