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Quantum Mechanics Course Exercise Band Structure

This document provides a homework assignment on analyzing the electronic structure of periodic potentials using tools on the nanoHUB. Students are asked to plot the dispersion relation for square wells of varying widths and Coulomb potentials of varying radii. They are then to comment on the variation in band curvature with barrier width, band gaps with well width, differences between square and Coulomb potentials, and the free electron limit for both types of wells.

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69 views

Quantum Mechanics Course Exercise Band Structure

This document provides a homework assignment on analyzing the electronic structure of periodic potentials using tools on the nanoHUB. Students are asked to plot the dispersion relation for square wells of varying widths and Coulomb potentials of varying radii. They are then to comment on the variation in band curvature with barrier width, band gaps with well width, differences between square and Coulomb potentials, and the free electron limit for both types of wells.

Uploaded by

jlbalb
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Homework Assignment on the Electronic Structure

Dragica Vasileska and Gerhard Klimeck


(ASU, Purdue)

It is well known that free electrons exhibit the free electron mass m0 and that electrons in
a crystal with periodic potential are described with effective mass meff that is derived
from the dispersion relation. In other words the curvature of the bands is inversely
proportional to the effective mass of the carriers moving in that potential. It is also well
known that periodicity of the potential opens gaps in the dispersion relation at the
Brillouin zone edges. Using the Periodic potential tool installed on the nanoHUB plot the
dispersion relation for square wells in the reduced zone description and for Coulomb
potentials in the expanded zone description. For the square potential well use (a) W=8 A,
a=1 A, (b) W=7.5 A and a=0.5 A, (c) W=7.1 A and a=0.1 A. For the Coulomb potential
use: (a) W=8 A, a=2 A, (b) W=8 A, a=3 A, (c) W=8 A, a=4 A. Comment on:

(a) The variation of the curvature of the bands with decreasing the width of the
barrier.
(b) The variations of the band-gaps with the width of the wells that determines the
cross-talk between neighboring wells.
(c) The variation in the dispersion relation for square vs. Coulomb potential.
(d) Discuss the free-electron limit for the both types of wells.

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