Material Properties
Lecture (4)
Dr. Marwa Mostafa
Conductive Materials
• On the Basis of Quality of Resistivity, the
conducting materials may be classified as:
• 1. Low resistivity (or high conductivity)
materials such as Au, Ag, Cu, Al, brass, bronze
etc.
• 2. High resistivity (or low conductivity)
materials such as W, Pt, C, Ni.
Characteristics of Low Resistivity
Materials
1- Low coefficient of temperature resistance α
2- High resistance to corrosion
3- Good solder-ability
4- High mechanical strength
5- Good ductility
Characteristics of High Resistivity
Materials
1. Lower coefficient of temperature
resistance α
2. Ability to withstand higher temperature
without oxidation.
3. High melting point
4. High mechanical strength
Superconductivity
• The resistivity in superconductors becomes
immeasurably small or virtually zero below a
critical temperature, Tc.
• A high magnetic field or a high current density
may eliminate superconductivity.
• In Type I superconductors, the annihilation of
the superconducting state by a magnetic field.
• that is, the transition between superconducting
and normal states, occurs sharply.
• The critical field strength Hc, above which
superconductivity ceases, is relatively low.
• The destruction of the superconducting state in
Type II superconductors occurs instead, more
gradually, i.e., in a range between Hcl and Hc2.
Semiconductors
• Semiconductors such as silicon or germanium
are neither good conductors nor good insulators
• that extremely small amounts of certain
impurity elements, which are called dopants,
remarkably change the electrical behavior of
semiconductors.
• Silicon, the major species of semiconducting
materials, is today the single most researched
element.
• Silicon is inexpensive; Si forms a natural,
insulating oxide; its heat conduction is
reasonable; it is nontoxic; and it is stable against
environmental influences.
• There are two electron bands, the lower of
which, at 0 K, is completely filled with valence
electrons.
• This band is appropriately called the valence band.
It is separated by a small gap (1.1 eV for Si) from
the conduction band, which, at 0 K, contains no
electrons.
• Quantum mechanics stipulates that electrons are
not allowed to reside in the gap between these
bands (called the forbidden band).
• Since the filled valence band possesses no allowed
empty energy states in which the electrons can be
thermally excited, and since the conduction band
contains no electrons at all.
• Once the temperature is raised, some electrons
may be thermally excited across the band gap
and thus populate the conduction band.
• Actually, the number of electrons in the
conduction band, n, increases exponentially with
temperature, T, but also but also depends, of
course, on the size of the gap energy, Eg,
according to:
𝑛 = 4.84𝑥1015 𝑇 3/2 𝑒 −𝐸𝑔 /2𝑘𝑇
Fermi Energy Level
• The Fermi energy level EF, corresponds to the highest filled energy
level at 0 K. When the temperature goes up above 0 K, some lower
energy electrons at energy E (E < EF) move up to higher energy
levels E > EF.
• This motion of electrons under an applied electric field occurs only
when the electrons are located in partially filled energy bands.
Fermi energy level of a metal can be determined by:
2/3
3𝑛
𝐸𝑓 =
2𝜌𝐸
where n is number of free electrons per unit volume of a metal, and ρE
is an energy density constant whose value is 6.82 × 1027/m3(eV)3.
• Report4 : Thermal characteristic of materials
• Report 5 : Thermocouple
