Christiaan Huygens
They strongly
disagreed with
Isaac Newton each other!
Light Einstein & Planck
1905 Einstein Related the wave & particle
properties of light when he looked at the
Photoelectric Effect.
Planck Solved the black body radiation
problem by making the (first ever!) quantum
hypothesis: Light is quantized into quanta
(photons) of energy
E = h. Wave-Particle duality.
(particles) (waves)
Light is emitted in multiples of a certain minimum
energy unit. The size of the unit the photon.
Explains how an electron can be emitted if light
is shined on a metal
The energy of the light is not spread but propagates
like particles .
Photons
When dealing with events on the atomic scale, it is often
best to regard light as composed of quasi- particles:
PHOTONS
Photons are Quanta of light
Electromagnetic radiation is quantized
& occurs in finite "bundles" of energy
Photons
The energy of a single photon in terms of its
frequency , or wavelength is,
Eph = h = (hc)/
Maxwell Electromagnetic Waves
Light as an Electromagnetic Wave
Light as an electromagnetic wave is characterized by a
combination of a time-varying electric field (E) & a
time-varying magnetic field (H) propagating through space.
Maxwells Equations give the result that E & H satisfy
the same wave equation:
22
, H
H)
1
2(E,
2
2
(E,
, H)
H
c t
Longer
Wavelengths
Visible Light
Light that can be detected by the human eye has
wavelengths in the range ~ 450nm to 650nm
& is called visible light:
3.1eV 1.8eV
The human eye can detect light of many different colors.
Each color is detected with different efficiency.
Spectral Response of Human Eyes
Efficiency, 100%
I B G Y O R
If the Photon Energy is Evis > Egap
Photons will be absorbed
If the Photon Energy is Evis < Egap
Photons will transmitted
If the Photon Energy is in the range of Egap
those with higher energy than Egap will be absorbed.
We see the color of the light being transmitted.
If all colors are transmitted the light is White
Why is Glass Transparent?
Glass is an insulator (with a huge band gap). Its is difficult
for electrons to jump across a big energy gap: Egap >> 5eV
Egap >> E(visible light) ~ 2.7- 1.6eV
All colored photons are transmitted, with no absorption, hence the
light is transmitted & the material is transparent.
Define transmission & absorption by
Lamberts Law: I = Ioexp(-x)
Io = incident beam intensity, I = transmitted beam intensity
x = distance of light penetration into material from a surface
total linear absorption coefficient (m-1)
takes into account the loss of intensity from scattering
centers & absorption centers. approaches zero for a
pure insulator.
What happens during the photon
absorption process?
Photons interact with the lattice
Photons interact with defects
Photons interact with
valence electrons
Photons interact with ..
Absorption Processes in Semiconductors
Absorption coefficient (, cm-1)
Vis
Wavelength (m)
UV IR
Important region:
Eg ~ Evis
Conduction Band, EC
Egap h = Ephoton
Valence Band, EV
Valence Band Conduction Band Absorption
(Band to Band Absorption)
This process obviously requires that the minimum energy of a
photon to initiate an electron transition must satisfy
EC - EV = h = Egap
Conduction Band, EC
Egap h = Ephoton
Valence Band, EV
Valence Band Conduction Band Absorption
(Band to Band Absorption)
This process obviously requires that the minimum energy of a
photon to initiate an electron transition must satisfy
EC - EV = h = Egap
Conduction Band, EC
Valence Band, EV
After the Absorption Then What?
2 Primary Absorption Types
Direct Absorption & Indirect Absorption
All absorption processes must satisfy:
Conservation of Total Energy
Conservation of Momentum or Wavevector
The production of electron-hole pairs is very
important for electronics devices especially
photovoltaic & photodetector devices.
The conduction electrons produced by the absorbed
light can be converted into a current in these devices.
Direct Band Gap Absorption
A Direct Vertical Transition!
E
Conservation of Energy
h = EC(min) - Ev (max) = Egap
K (wave number)
h
The Photon Conservation of
Momentum Momentum
is Negligible Kvmax + qphoton = kc
Indirect Band Gap Absorption
K (wave number) h
Another Viewpoint
Light wave travelling in a more dense medium strikes a less dense medium. Depending on
the incidence angle with respect to c, which is determined by the ratio of the refractive
indices, the wave may be trans mitted (refracted) or reflected. (a) i < c (b) i = c (c) i
> c and total internal reflection (TIR).