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Chapter 12
Electrical Proper5es
Topics:
Electrical Conduc5on

Semiconduc5on

Electrical Conduc5on in Ionic Ceramics
and Polymers

Dielectric Behavior

Ferroelectricity and Piezoelectricity

SEM and EDX maps of

integrated circuit

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186,000 miles of transmission lines

owned and operated by more than 500
companies

hJp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_transmission

12.2 Ohms Law

Ohms law states that the current I (amperes,
C/s) owing through a material is related to
the applied voltage V (volts, J/C) and the
resistance R (ohms, V/C) of the material.

Resis6vity, , is related to resistance, yet
dependent on specimen geometry in terms of
length between measurement points and
cross-sec5onal area.

Together, the two equa5ons provide the
rela5on between resis5vity and current ow.

V = IR

RA
l

VA
Il

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12.3 Electrical Conduc6on

Electrical conduc6vity is given by the reciprocal of the resis5vity.

1

Ohms law may also be expressed in terms of electrical conduc5vity




where J is the current density and the electric eld intensity is dened as the voltage
dierence between two points divided by the distance separa5ng them.

J =

V
l

12.4 Electronic and Ionic Conduc6on

Electrical proper5es are strongly dependent on the composi5on and structure of a
material and vary widely.
Metals:

>103 -1cm-1
Semiconductors
103 > >10-12 -1cm-1
Dielectrics/insulators
< 10-12 -1cm-1
Superconductors have innite conduc5vity (at low temperature)

The electrical conduc5vity
of dierent classes of
materials vary for reasons
involving the nature of
the par;cle moving within
the voltage eld.

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12.5 Energy Band Structure in Solids

The concept of an electron energy band is derived from the quantum mechanical
considera5on of energy levels within a conned system and the required rela5onship
between the number of energy levels and the size of the system. The schema5c
below is constructed specically for a system consis5ng of 12 atoms.

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12.5 Energy Band Structure in Solids

For systems containing many atoms, the discrete energy levels eventually overlap in
energy producing energy bands.

The energy bands exhibit a spa5al dependent within a solid (in analogy to the shape
and orienta5on of atomic orbitals) and possess specic energy values.

Energies at which electrons are not allowed make up energy band gaps.

12.5 Energy Band Structure in Solids

The occupa5on/popula5on of energy bands (orbitals) is equally important to energy
level in determining electronic proper5es. The existence of par;ally lled or unlled
states is required for conduc5on.
The Fermi energy is dened as the energy corresponding to the highest lled level at a
temperature of 0 K.

The conduc5vity of a material can be related to the presence of the par5ally lled
valence band.

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12.6 Conduc6on in Terms of Band and Atomic Models

In metals, electrical conduc5vity is related to the proximity (energy wise) and availability
of empty electronic states. External forces (electric eld, temperature) promote or
excite electrons into these empty states; the mobility of these excited electrons
provide the mechanism of electrical conduc5on in metals.

12.6 Conduc6on in Terms of Band and Atomic Models

In insulators, electrical conduc5on is largely prohibited due to the existence of a large
energy band gap between the lled and empty states (oben referred to as the valence
and conduc5on bands, respec5vely).

In semiconductors, the energy band gap is such that electrons can be excited across the
gap. Conduc5on is then provided by the resul5ng species, either free electrons in the
conduc5on band or holes in the valence band.

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12.6 Conduc6on in Terms of Band and Atomic Models

12.7 Electrical Mobility

In metals, electrical proper5es are determined by the movement of electrons within the
material. Electrons, due to their charged nature, will move in a direc5on opposite to
an applied eld. The mo5on of electrons within a solid is impeded by scaJering events
associated with the presence of ladce defects (vacancies, inters55als, disloca5ons),
impuri5es, and thermal vibra5ons of atomic cores, resul5ng in a net velocity.

vd = e
The electron mobility (e) is the constant of
propor5onality rela5ng the velocity of the
electron within the bulk and the eld strength
and reects the number of scaJering events.
The net conduc5vity of a material is then
given by the product of the number of free
electrons, the electronic charge, and the
electron mobility.

= n e e

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12.8 Electrical Resis6vity of Metals

In metals, the number of free carriers (n) is large, and therefore conduc5vity will be high
and resis5vity is generally low.

= n e e

The resis5vity of a specic metal sample

will be determined by the
temperature, composi5on, and degree
of cold work. This is oben expressed as
MaOhiessens rule.

= t + i + d

12.8 Electrical Resis6vity

As temperature increases, the
magnitude of thermal vibra5ons
increases (entropy) as does the
number of vacancies. These factors
serve to increase the resis5vity of
metals with increasing temperature
(contrasted to the behavior of
semiconductors).


t
0

a is a materials specic constant.

= + aT

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12.8 Electrical Resis6vity

As seen in the previous plot, the
resis5vity of the copper increased with
increasing nickel content (depicted
through the oset traces). In terms of
electrical proper5es, cons5tuents of an
alloy will act as impuri5es, and thus
increase resis5vity in propor5on to
their concentra5on (ci).


i
i
i

Here, A is a constant.

For two-phase alloys, the resis5vity of
the alloy can be expressed by a rule-of-
mixtures.

= Ac (1 c )

Metals are oben alloyed or cold-worked

to enhance mechanical proper5es.
Both approaches are seen to increase
the resis5vity of the material.

Semiconductors
An intrinsic semiconductor is a material exhibi5ng semiconduc5ng proper5es in the
absence of dopants or impuri5es. Extrinsic semiconductors derive their proper5es
from dopants introduced to modiy the band gap. Elemental semiconductors include
Si and Ge; compound semiconductors are typically comprised of combina5ons of
elements from Groups 2B and 6B or 3B and 5B.

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12.10 Intrinsic Semiconduc6on

Semiconductors derive their conduc5vity from both the
mobility of electrons in the conduc5on band and holes
(h+) in the valence band. A hole is understood to be the
vacancy leb behind in the valence band when an
electron is promoted to the conduc5on band. Holes
possess an equal magnitude of charge as an electron,
but of opposite charge. Electrical conduc5on through
holes can be envisioned through the con5nued
reoccupa5on of the hole by other valence electrons.
The net conduc5vity will be given by the sum of
contribu5ons of electron and hole ac5vity.


e
h

where p represents the hole concentra5on and h is the
hole mobility. Hole mobili5es in intrinsic
semiconductors are usually observed to be less than
electron mobili5es.

= ne + pe

12.11 Extrinsic Semiconduc6on

Virtually all semiconductor devices are constructed of
extrinsic semicondutors, purposefully doped to modify
the conduc5vity proper5es. Dopants (impuri5es) are
selected with respect to the number of valence
electrons.

n-type semicondutors are formed through the addi5on of
elements having a greater number of valence electrons
than the matrix, with conduc5vity arising primarily
through electron mobility.

10

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12.11 Extrinsic Semiconduc6on

p-type semicondutors are formed through the addi5on of elements having a lesser
number of valence electrons than the matrix, with conduc5vity arising primarily through
hole mobility.

12.12 The Temperature Dependence of Carrier Concentra6on

In contrast to metals, the conduc5vity of
semiconductors increases with increasing
temperature. While scaJering events are
s5ll ac5ve in determining conduc5vity, the
thermal excita5on of electrons to the
conduc5on band is responsible for the
increase observed for semiconductors.

For intrinsic semiconductors, the
concentra5on of free electrons (and holes)
is extremely low at temperatures below 100
K, and then rolls o at temperatures above
~800 K due to enhanced recombina5on
events.

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12.12 The Temperature Dependence of Carrier Concentra6on

For extrinsic semiconductors, the
concentra5on of free electrons
(and holes) is s5ll low at
temperatures below 100 K, but
the exhibits two ranges of
behavior. At intermediate
temperatures, the concentra5on
is dened by the number of
dopant atoms and exhibits liJle
temperature dependence. At
elevated temperatures, free
carrier concentra5on is again
dominated by the thermally
excited electrons of the matrix
atoms.

12.13 Factors that Eect Carrier Mobility

The concentra5on of dopants directly inuences the concentra5on of charge carriers as
well as the mobility of these species. The reduced mobility at high concentra5ons results
from structural perturba5ons of the host semiconductor.

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12.13 Factors that Eect Carrier Mobility

The mobility of charge carriers associated with dopant atoms are subject to the same
inuence of temperature as intrinsic charge carriers, with reduced mobili5es at higher
temperatures.

Electronic Proper6es of Advanced Materials

Beyond the conduc;on of electrons in a material, electronic proper5es play pivotal
roles in many emerging technologies. Examples are used to highlight the role of
three dierent mechanisms.

Electron-hole pair recombina5on
Piezoelectric actua5on
Conduc5vity in ionic materials

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When a voltage is applied to a semiconductor, the electrons move through the

conduc5on band, which the electron holes move through the valence band in the
opposite direc5on.

2003 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning is a trademark used
herein under license.

When electron-hole pairs recombine, an energy equal to that of the band gap is
given o in the form of a photon (light). The wavelength of the light is propor5onal
to the band gap energy.

Organic Light EmiUng Diodes (OLEDs)

Demands for new ligh5ng sources are increasing
Inorganic materials dominate the photovoltaic and LED market
Organic materials have some advantages over the inorganic materials and
could be used for many applica5ons
Advantages:
Processing (spin coa5ng)
Flexible displays
Tailoring of electronic proper5es by changing mer structure
Disadvantages:
Most base-mer structures are insoluble
Deteriora5on
Normalized Intensity

1.0
0.8

Calc. Emission
Calc. Absorption
Exper. Emission
Exper. Absorption

0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0

Source: Douglas L. Irving, MSE-UF

200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700

Wavelength (nm)

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Poten6al Applica6ons

hJp://www.oled-info.com/oled-light

The piezoelectric eect

When a piezoelectric crystal is mechanically deformed
by the applica5on of an external stress, electric
charges appear on certain of the crystal surfaces; and
when the direc5on of the strain reverses, the polarity
of the electric charge is reversed.

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Conduc6vity in ionic materials

Conduc5vity by ionic mo5on

= Z q D / kBT

D =D0exp (-Q/RT) diusion of ions

Z valence of the ion
Mobility of ions is much less than that of electrons => ionic conduc5vity is low

Applica5ons: touch screens for computers, electrolytes in baJeries and solid oxide fuel
cells, gas sensors (safety, electronic nose, homeland security)

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Electrolytes for fuel cells require high ionic

conduc5vity needed to complete the
electrical circuit.

The ow of electrons and ions is driven by the
free energy change of the net chemical
reac5ons.

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