Solid-State Physics Exercises HS 2023

1) Bravais lattice

Why does a tetragonal base-centered Bravais lattice not occur?

2) Cubic lattice

Give the following quantities for simple cubic, bcc, and fcc lattices of lattice constant
a:

-Volume of the unit cell

-Number of primitive lattice points per unit cell
-Volume of the primitive unit cell
-number of nearest neighbors (so-called coordination number)
-nearest neighbor distance
-Packing density for contacting spherical atoms

3) Lattice constant of Au

Gold has a cubic fcc lattice and a density of 19.3 g/cm3. Calculate the lattice constant,
nearest neighbor distance and radius of a gold atom (assumption: touching spheres).

4) Wigner-Seitz cell

Construct the Wigner-Seitz cell of the orthorhombic base-centered lattice if a1 :a2 :a3
= 4:2:3.

5) Sphere packings

Determine the ratio c/a of an ideal hexagonal close packed sphere packing (hcp). Is
the packing density of a fcc sphere packing larger or smaller than that of a hcp sphere
packing?

6) Structure amplitude

Calculate the structure amplitude S as a function of hkl for the NaCl structure
assuming that the atomic scattering factors f for Na and Cl are each constant but
different.

What would happen if the atoms had identical atomic scattering factors? Which real
substance with NaCl structure corresponds most closely to this assumption?
7) Atomic scattering factor

Calculate the atomic scattering factor f for a homogeneously charged sphere of charge
Z and radius R as a function of Δk . Plot f as a function of the scattering angle sin(Q) if
l = R is assumed.

N.B.: The atomic scattering

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
factor for a given atom is generally given
 by its electron
density distribution n( r ) (resp. the charge density distribution ρ( r ) = e n( r ) ) according
to

€   iΔk €

f (Δk ) = ∫∫∫ )e r d 3r .
n( r

Integrate over the volume of the sphere in appropriately suitable coordinates with n =
const. (n can be calculated from Z and R).
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8) Debye-Waller factor and zero-point oscillation

Compare the atomic scattering factor f(sin( Q) (normalized to 1 for Q = 0º) from task
7 for l = R in a graph with the Debye-Waller factors for T = 4.2 K and T = 300 K if
Li atoms (R = 0.123 nm) with a vibration frequency of 5x1013 Hz are considered.
How large is the effect of zero-point vibration of the atoms in comparison?

9) Reciprocal lattice vectors

   
a) Show that a reciprocal lattice vector Ghkl = h b1 +k b2 + l b3 is always perpendicular
to the lattice planes (hkl).

(b) (optional): Show that the distance dhkl of two lattice planes with Miller's indices
€ € € €
2πN
(hkl) is given by dhkl =    . What does the number N mean here?
hb1 + kb2 + lb3
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10) Reciprocal lattice

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  
Determine the reciprocal lattice vectors b1 , b2 and b3

a) for cubic fcc lattices and cubic bcc lattices,

b) for the hexagonal primitive€lattice.

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 11) Ewald construction

Using Ewald's construction, qualitatively discuss what type of interference patterns

can be expected when monochromatic light is diffracted by a linear point or line
lattice.

12) Brioullin zones in reciprocal lattice

 
For a two-dimensional, single-rectangular lattice with a2 = 2 a1 , construct the first four
Brioullin zones.

13) Laue image € €

Estimate the maximum possible number of interference maxima of a Laue image

when the voltage of the X-ray tube used is 60 kV and the crystal has a simple cubic
lattice with a lattice constant of 0.2 nm (let the X-ray tube produce a continuous
bremsstrahlung spectrum).

14) Binding energy

A B
a) Show that for a potential of the form U(R) = − m
+ n a stable equilibrium
R R
position is reached if and only if n > m.

b) For a pure van der Waals attraction, the potential is often written as
€

[ 12
U(R) = 4ε (σ /R) − (σ /R) .
6
]
What is the binding energy E B and the equilibrium distance R0 ?
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c) Calculate the effect of thermal expansion, ΔR0 (T) /R0 , on a linear chain of atoms
with the potential of subtask b). To do this, assume that the thermal energy k B T <<
€ to move about the equilibrium
E B allows the atoms € position and consider the limits
within which the atom can oscillate. From this, determine the mean position and
compare the result with R0. €
€
€ Note: Use the series expansion 1/(1± ε) ≈ 1  ε + ε 2 + .... to 2nd order, and
n
1+ ε ≈ 1+ ε /n + ... for ε → 0 .

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 15) Madelung constant

Calculate the Madelung constant for an infinite linear ion chain with alternating
singly positively and negatively charged ions with constant spacing.

16) Elastic waves in lattices and in continuous media

∂ 2ξ (x,t) 2
2 ∂ ξ (x,t)
In continuous media, the 1-D wave equation is = v , with speed of
∂t 2 ∂x 2
sound v = E / ρ , elastic modulus E and density ρ . For a linear atomic chain with
atomic distance a, masses m, and spring constants C, we obtained
∂ 2ξ € in the limiting case for continuous media
m 2n = C(ξ n +1 + ξ n−1 − 2ξ n ) . Show that
∂t €
€
λ >> a , this equation of motion transforms into the 1-D wave equation. What is E
expressed by C, m and a?
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17) Linear atomic chain with diatomic basis

Given a NaCl chain with lattice constant a = 0.56 nm (consider whether this is
identical to the Na-Cl atomic distance!).

a) Estimate the spring constant C from the result in Task 16 if E = 40 GPa and the
chain is initially taken to be monatomic with atomic spacing a/2.

b) What is the speed of sound for small frequencies? What is the maximum possible
oscillation frequency? What is the width of the forbidden oscillation range (expressed
in eV with E = ω )?

18) Linear atomic chain with different spring constants

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For a linear chain of identical atoms of mass m, calculate the dispersion relation ω (k) ,
if the atomic distance is d = a/2 and the spring constants C1 and C2 alternate (so that
the unit cell with 2 identical atoms has lattice constant a). Draw ω (k) for C1 /C2 = 1.0,
0.6, 0.3 and 0.1.
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19) Acoustic and optical vibrations in 2D

Sketch longitudinal acoustic and optical (LA and LO) and transverse acoustic and
optical (TA and TO) oscillations for a 2-dimensional NaCl structure of lattice
constant a. Let the wave vector with λ = 4a be in the [1 0] direction.

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 20) Density of states for continuous media

What is the density of states for natural oscillations in a linear continuous medium
(e.g. long homogeneous rod) of length L if the speed of sound is constant? To do this,
first determine the possible k values and consider what determines the upper limits for
k or the vibration frequency ω in a real material.

Compare the result graphically with the density of states for a monatomic chain from
the lecture.
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21) Density of states with 2-atomic basis

In the lecture, the density of states ρ(ω ) for natural oscillations of a diatomic chain
was sketched without calculation. How exactly does ρ(ω ) diverge for k → 0 for the
optical branch? Use the result from the lecture,
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2 C$ 4µ 2 sin 2 (ka /2) ' 1 1 1
ω± = &&1± 1− )) mit = + .
µ% m1m2 ( µ m1 m2

Use appropriate expansions for 1+ x and sin(x).

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22) Inelastic scattering of light by phonons

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In the lecture, an energy-momentum scheme was shown illustrating inelastic
scattering of neutrons by phonons. Draw an analogous, qualitatively correct scheme
for the inelastic scattering of light by phonons. Make sure that the ratio of phonon
frequencies/pulses to the corresponding light frequencies/pulses is physically
reasonable. What condition must a solid body fulfill for its phonons to absorb light
particularly efficiently, and for what wavelengths of light does this typically occur?

23) Number of phonons in a solid body

How many phonons occupy a single lattice vibration of circular frequency ω 0 with i)
ω 0 = 104 s-1 and ii) ω 0 = 1013 s-1 , at T = 0.1 K, 1 K, 10 K, 100 K, 1000 K?

24) Debye's law in 1D and 2D €

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a) Derive an expression for the phonon density of states ρ(ω ) for a 1D chain and a
2D lattice with N identical atoms at given constant sound velocities c and particle
densities N/L or N/L2 for periodic boundary conditions (1D: only longitudinal
oscillations; 2D: only one longitudinal and one transverse oscillation). What is the
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maximum oscillation frequency in each case?
 b) How do the specific heats for the 1D chain and the 2D lattice at low temperatures
depend qualitatively on T (without calculating the prefactors)? Use the expression
from the lecture for the mean energy of a natural oscillation,

ω
Eω = .
exp(ω /k BT) −1

25) Debye temperature of solid argon

€
Determine from the measured data of the specific heat of argon (see Fig 1) the Debye
temperature Θ D resp. the Debye frequency ω D . The density of solid argon is 1.8
g/cm3. What are the speed of sound and the elastic modulus? Why is Θ D
comparatively small compared to other solids?
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26) Einstein model of specific heat €

In the Einstein model of the specific heat of a solid, only one possible oscillation
frequency ω E is assumed. What prefactor ρ 0 must the corresponding density of states
ρ(ω ) = ρ 0δ (ω − ω E ) have? What would be a reasonable estimate for ω E if ω D is
given? Sketch Cv (T) with this estimate, in comparison with the specific heat from
Debye theory (see Fig. 2).
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27) Thermal conductivity of LiF

From the material properties of LiF, determine the thermal conductivity as a function
of temperature for T → 0 and compare the result for a crystal size of 1.06 mm with the
literature values (see Fig. 3).

€ 2D metals
28) 1D and

Determine the electronic densities of states D(E) and corresponding expressions for
the Fermi energy for one- and two-dimensional free electron gases with electron
densities n = N/L and n = N/L2, respectively.
Fig. 1: Measured data of the specific heat of argon
Fig. 2: Specific heat from the Debye theory
Fig. 3: Material properties of LiF
 29) Fermi gases Na,3 He, neutrons

Calculate the Fermi energy (in eV), Fermi temperature, and Fermi velocity of a)
sodium metal ( ρ = 0.97g/cm3 , mmol = 23 g/mol), b) liquid 3He (density
ρ = 82 mg/cm3 , mmol = 3 g/mol), and c) a neutron star with 1.5 solar masses and 15
km diameter (without relativistic effects).
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€ 30) Mean energy, pressure and compressibility of the electron gas.

a) Determine the average energy of the electrons in the free electron gas at
T = 0, expressed by the Fermi energy.

b) Determine the electron pressure in the free electron gas at T = 0, where you can use
that p = −(∂U /∂V ) N (First, convince yourself that this relation from thermodynamics
is satisfied at all for ideal gases at T > 0).

(c) Determine the volume compressibility ε of the free electron gas at T = 0 and
€
expressed by p, where ε = −(1/V )(∂V /∂p) N .

d) Calculate the electron pressure€

and compressibility of Li metal.
( ρ = 0.534g/cm , mmol = 6.94 g/mol), and compare ε with the measured
3
€
compressibility of ε ≈ 9x10–11 Pa–1.

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31) Chemical potential for a 2D electron gas
€
Calculate the chemical potential µ(T) for a two-dimensional gas of electrons with
electron surface density n = N/L2. Sketch µ(T) and compare the limiting case T = 0
with the result for the Fermi limit energy from task 28.

32) Chemical potential at discrete states

A system which can only assume the (non-degenerate) discrete energy states E1 and
E 2 > E1 is occupied by fermions.

a) What is the density of states for this system?

€
€ € b) What is the chemical potential µ for T = 0, if exactly one fermion occupies the
system? What can be said about µ for T = 0 if exactly two fermions occupy the
system?

c) How large is µ(T) for two fermions and T > 0?

 33) Specific heat of copper

Try to determine the electron mass from

the available measured data for copper (see
Table 1, ρ = 8.94g/cm3 , mmol = 63.55
g/mol). By how much does the value
obtained deviate from the literature value
for free electrons?
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34) Drift velocity, Fermi velocity and

residual resistance in copper.

a) What is the drift velocity of the

conduction electrons in copper (density
ρ = 8.94g/cm3 , mmol = 63.55 g/mol, one
conduction electron per atom) when a
current of 10 A is passed through a wire of 1 mm diameter? How large is the Fermi
velocity in comparison?
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b) What is the mean free path in copper at room temperature with a resistivity of
1.7x10–8 Ωm?

c) Copper with 3.3 atomic percent nickel as impurity has a residual resistance of
approx. 4x10–9 Ωm. What is the mean distance of the Ni atoms compared to the mean
free path of the electrons at T = 0?

35) Hall effect

What is the maximum measurable Hall voltage in a 10 cm long, 0.1 mm thin and 1
mm wide copper foil when an applied current of 1 A flows along the longitudinal axis
and the available magnetic field is 5 T? How exactly does this voltage depend on the
geometry of the foil for a given magnetic field and measuring current?

How does the Hall voltage change when the foil is continuously rotated about its 3
axes of symmetry by 90 degrees each with the current and voltage contacts firmly
soldered on?

36) Faraday balance for measuring magnetic susceptibility

What is the dimensionless (volume) Pauli spin susceptibility of copper, χ Pauli = M /H

? A small piece of copper is placed in an inhomogeneous magnetic field with a
constant field gradient dB/dz = 10 T/m and an average magnetic field of B = 2 T. How
large is the force due to the free electrons compared to the weight of the copper?
Reminder: The magnetic field energy density is BH/2, the force€ is the gradient of the
potential energy.
37) Trajectories in the magnetic field

a) What is the classical orbital radius of electrons at the Fermi edge for copper in a
magnetic field of B = 5 T ( ρ = 8.94g/cm3 , mmol = 63.55 g/mol, 1 conduction electron
per atom)? What is the corresponding cyclotron angular frequency?

b) How large may the residual resistance be, so that on average just one complete
€
undisturbed circulation is possible without impacts of impurities?

38) De Haas-van Alphen effect in gold

Estimate the Fermi energy of gold (in eV) based on the oscillation of the Pauli spin
susceptibility in the magnetic field (see Fig. 4; note: the oscillation with the smaller
period corresponds to the largest extreme orbit and can be assumed as the
circumference of a Fermi sphere). Compare the result with the literature value EF =
5.51 eV. Where must the periodicity with the longer period come from?

Fig. 4: Pauli spin susceptibility of gold in a magnetic field

 39) Energy gaps for periodic potentials

We consider as a model a periodic 1D box potential of box width a/2 and depth V0
with box spacing a (simplified Kronig-Penney model).

How large are the energy gaps Eg,n , which separate the energy bands n and n+1?

40) Fermi line and reduced zone scheme in 2D

a) A cubic lattice of lattice constant a in two dimensions consists of atoms, each

contributing 2 electrons. What is the magnitude of the Fermi wave vector kF in units
of π / a ?

b) For this lattice, sketch what each of the reduced and the periodic zone schemes
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look like. Make separate sketches for free electrons and for electrons that are in a
weak periodic potential.

41) Free electrons in the square lattice

We consider in the reciprocal lattice

 of a square latticewith lattice constants a, the
wave vectors, kΓ = 2π /a (0,0) kJ = 2π /a (0.5,0) and kK = 2π /a (0.5,0.5) . Sketch

E( k ) for the lowest two energy bands of free electrons along the line Γ − J − K − Γ .
How
 would an analogous sketch look like for the line Γ* − J − K − Γ* with
€ /a (1,0) ?
kΓ* = 2π € €
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Optional: What changes in a weak periodic potential? €
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 42) Effective mass at cyclotron resonance

The average effective mass m* for the conduction electrons in the semiconductor
InSb is 0.014 me. How large must a magnetic field be for the conduction electrons to
be excited to cyclotron resonance by microwaves with a wavelength of 3 cm?

43) Band overlap in semimetals

Let the overlapping energy bands of a semimetal near E1 (0) or E 2 (k0 ) be given as
follows:
2k 2  2 (k − k 0 ) 2
E1 (k) = E1 (0) − and E 2 (k) = E 2 (k 0 ) + .
2m1* 2m*2
€ €
a) Sketch E(k) for m1* > m*2 and E1 (0) > E 2 (k0 ) for a k0 > 0 for which E1 (k) and
E2 (k) do not intersect.
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b) We assume
€ € that the material would be an insulator or semiconductor if the band
E 2 (k) were not present€at all. What
€ €
can you say about the filling of the band E1 (k)
under this assumption? Sketch how the bands must be filled at T = 0 if both energy
bands are present.

€ € two bands?
c) Which condition must apply to the number of holes or electrons in the

d) From this, calculate where the Fermi energy E F must be for T = 0 by looking at the
densities of states for both bands and relating these to the number of holes or
electrons.

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44) Bloch oscillations

Δ
Let an energy band be given in 1D by the expression E(k) = [1− cos(ka)] .
2
a) Sketch E(k) and calculate the effective masses at k = 0 and k = π/a in multiples of
the electron mass for Δ = 1 eV and a = 0.3 nm.

b) What is the equation of motion for k(t) in€a constant electric field E 0 , and how does
€
the energy of the electrons change as a function of time?
€
c) How does the group velocity change as a function of time, and what type of motion
€
in real space does this correspond to? Compare this result€for E 0 = 1000 V/m with the
mean free path of Cu (l ≈ 3 µm at T = 300 K). What is the condition for l so that the
solution found can be realized at all?