Flashcards on Fundamentals of Materials Science and Solid-State Physics
Fundamentals of Materials Science and Solid-State Physics
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Solid State Physics
16 cards
Card 1
Question: What is a vacancy (Schottky) defect in a crystal lattice?
Answer: A type of point defect where atoms are missing from their lattice sites (vacancies).
Card 2
Question: What is an interstitial defect in a crystal lattice?
Answer: A point defect where extra atoms occupy positions between the regular lattice sites (interstitials).
Card 3
Question: What is a dislocation defect?
Answer: A line defect in which the rotational symmetry of the crystal is violated.
Card 4
Question: What three features are typically shown in band diagrams of solids?
Answer: Valence band, conduction band, and the band gap.
Card 5
Question: How do band diagrams differ between insulators, semiconductors, and conductors (metals)?
Answer: They differ by the size of the band gap: insulators have a large band gap, semiconductors have a moderate band gap, and metals have no band gap.
Card 6
Question: What does it mean that metals have no band gap?
Answer: There is no energy gap between occupied and unoccupied states; conduction and valence states overlap, allowing free electron flow.
Card 7
Question: Define electrical conductivity.
Answer: A material's ability to carry an electric current.
Card 8
Question: Define electrical resistance.
Answer: A measure of a material's opposition to the flow of electric current.
Card 9
Question: How are molecules of insulators classified by arrangement of bound charges?
Answer: As neutral (non-polar) molecules.
Card 10
Question: What is thermoelectric potential?
Answer: The electric voltage generated across a material when there is a temperature difference between its two ends.