Physics of Semiconductors (3 units). Equivalent to PHYS 561. Elementary excitations in solids, phonons, electrons and holes, dielectric formalism of optical response, many-body effects in a Coulomb system. P, Basic knowledge of quantum mechanics; PHYS 460; OPTI 507 recommended but not formally required.

Class Homepage
http://www.optics.arizona.edu/binder/OPTI561

Instructor:
Professor Rolf Binder
College of Optical Sciences, Room 632
621–2892 or e-mail: binder@optics.arizona.edu

Office Hours:
Wednesday 4:15 PM to 5:00 PM, Friday 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM, after class, and by appointment.

Course Description:
This course addresses basic properties of crystalline solids. The chief focus is on those properties which are relevant for the understanding of current topics in nonlinear semiconductor optics. However, the importance of these concepts, which include various kinds of elementary excitations, such as excitons and plasmons, is not restricted to semiconductor optics. Certain traditional aspects of solid state physics, like the theory of superconductivity, are not part of this course. A central topic of the course will be the linear and nonlinear optical response of semiconductors.

This course will mainly deal with theoretical physics and will include the application of advanced quantum mechanical concepts (second quantization and commutator algebra) to the physics of semiconductors. However, very advanced concepts such as the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism are not part of this course.

Literature:

Class Notes available for purchase at the University of Arizona Bookstores. [Required]

Haug, H. and Koch, S.W. (1994). Quantum Theory of the Optical and Electronic Properties of Semiconductors, (3rd or 4th ed.). Singapore: World Scientifc. [Strongly recommended. Approximately 60-80% will be taken from this text.]

Peyghambarian, N., Koch, S.W., and Mysyrowicz, A. (1993). Introduction to Semiconductor Optics . New Jersey: Prentice Hall. [Not required. This book is a very good introduction to semiconductor optics. As for the contents, it is similar to the Haug/Koch book but but contains more of an overview of physical effects rather than formal proofs and derivations.]

Haken, H. (1976). Quantum Field Theory of Solids : An Introduction. . North- Holland, Amsterdam. [Not required. Very good introduction to quantum field theory.]

A. Fetter, A. and Walecka, J. (1971). Quantum Theory of Many-Particle Systems . New York: McGraw Hill. [Not required. Formal and rigorous introduction to and application of quantum field theory.]

Ashcroft, N.W. and Mermin, N.D. (1976).Solid State Physics . New York: Rinehart and Winston. [Not required. Comprehensive presentation of many classical" aspects of the physical properties of solids.]

Kittel, C. (1986). Introduction to Solid State Physics . New York: Wiley and Sons. [Not required. Similar to Ashcroft/Mermin.]

Yu, P.Y. and Cardona, M. (1996). Fundamentals of Semiconductors . Berlin: Springer. [Not Required. Comprehensive text on semiconductors.]

Chow, W.W., Koch, S.W. and Sargent III, M. (1994). Semiconductor-Laser Physics, (1st or 2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer. [Not required. This book contains more details about the Luttinger Hamiltonian for bulk semiconductors and semiconductor quantum wells than the Haug/Koch book.]

Klingshirn, C. (1995). Semiconductor Optics . Berlin: Springer. [Not Required. Comprehensive text on semiconductor optics, mainly from an experimental point of view.]

Chuang, S.L. (1995). Physics of Optoelectronic Devices. New York: Wiley. [Not required. Comprehensive text on application-oriented semiconductor theory.]

Schafer, W. and Wegener, M. (2002). Semiconductor Optics and Transport Phenomena. Berlin: Springer. [Not required. A very good and comprehensive text on semiconductor optics.]

Hamaguchi, C. (2001). Basic Semiconductor Physics. New York: Springer. [Not required.]

1. Basic concepts in solid state physics (crystal structure, electronic bandstructure, tight-binding approach, k^.p theory and Luttinger Hamiltonian).
    
2. Introduction to many-particle theory (second quantization, commutator algebra, equations of motion in the Heisenberg picture).
    
3. Ideal quantum gases (Fermi distribution functions).
    
4. The interacting electron gas (jellium model, Hartree-Fock factorization, ground state properties, exchange interaction, pair-correlation functions).
    
5. Review of basic concepts of linear optical response (classical oscillator and two-level systems).
    
6. Linear and nonlinear optical response of semiconductors (linear optical bandedge spectra including excitonic effects, absorption and gain, Pauli blocking, semiconductor Bloch equations)
    
7. Semiconductor quantum wells (envelope function approach, k^.p theory and Luttinger Hamiltonian for quantum wells).
    
8. Screening and plasmons.
    
9. Possible additional topics (time permitting): phenomenological treatment of scattering and relaxation, electron-electron scattering, phonons.