Introduction to the Physics of Electrons in Solids

Brian K. Tanner (Author)

9780521239417, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 30 March 1995

268 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.482 kg

"...I like this book very much. It provides an ideal introduction to the science behind the ongoing revolutions in microelectronics and microphotonics based on transistors and lasers. The author's enthusiasm for his subject is embodied in a presentation with careful craftsmanship as to principle and disarming charm in selection of materials and examples...designed shrewdly...an excellent choice for an introductory course...Times have changed, and with them the curriculum should change as well. Tanner's book will make changing a pleasure for both students and instructors." J.C. Phillips, Physics Today

This book aims to introduce the reader to the behaviour of electrons in solids, starting with the simplest possible model, and introducing higher-level models only when the simple model is inadequate. Unlike other solid state physics texts, this book does not begin with complex crystallography, but instead builds up from the simplest possible model of a free electron in a box. The approach is to introduce the subject through its historical development, and to show how quantum mechanics is necessary for an understanding of the properties of electrons in solids. It does not treat the dynamics of the crystal lattice, but proceeds to examine the consequences of collective behaviour in the phenomena of magnetism and superconductivity. Throughout the mathematics is straightforward and uses standard notation. This text is suitable for a second or third year undergraduate course in physics, and would also be suitable for an introductory solid state course in materials science or materials chemistry.

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. The classical free electron model
2. Quantum mechanical free electron model
3. Application of the Fermi gas model
4. Energy bands
5. Experimental evidence for band structure and effective mass
6. Electrical conduction in semiconductors and insulators
7. Semiconductor devices
8. Localized electrons
9. Magnetism
10. Superconductivity
Appendices
Index.

Subject Areas: Condensed matter physics [liquid state & solid state physics PHFC]