- #1
es
- 70
- 0
I come across the attached diagram in electrical engineering books quite often and, not being a physics text, they often fail to explain it. I tried to do my homework by spending a couple of hours on google trying to figure out the answer to my question myself, but all I can find online are summaries lacking any real meat or explanations practically identical to my text's.
Some help with my diagram:
I am copying a "diagram of a cross section of the total energy surface" of an SI atom. The red lines are total energy. The +4 on the x-axis is supposed to be the nucleaus of the SI atom plus 10 inner electrons. I left out the 3s2 layer purposely to keep the diagram cleaner.
My questions are:
I get the y-axis but what is the x-axis susposed to be? Is it the radius of the orbital circumference, the diameter of the orbital circumference, or something else entirely? My guess is the later because I cannot figure out how either can pass through zero on the x-axis for an outer shell. I guess what I really want to know is, how was the cut made through the total energy surface? Are all the electrons in the same surface, but occuping different points on that surface. Or do they actually have a unique surface? I think the "unique energy level" criteria (Pauli Exclusion Principle) could be satisfied either way. I dunno, perhaps my real problem is with visualizing the energy surface...
This diagram is supposed to provide "deep insight" into the operation of semiconductor devices so I really would like to understand it.
Thanks for your time,
es
Some help with my diagram:
I am copying a "diagram of a cross section of the total energy surface" of an SI atom. The red lines are total energy. The +4 on the x-axis is supposed to be the nucleaus of the SI atom plus 10 inner electrons. I left out the 3s2 layer purposely to keep the diagram cleaner.
My questions are:
I get the y-axis but what is the x-axis susposed to be? Is it the radius of the orbital circumference, the diameter of the orbital circumference, or something else entirely? My guess is the later because I cannot figure out how either can pass through zero on the x-axis for an outer shell. I guess what I really want to know is, how was the cut made through the total energy surface? Are all the electrons in the same surface, but occuping different points on that surface. Or do they actually have a unique surface? I think the "unique energy level" criteria (Pauli Exclusion Principle) could be satisfied either way. I dunno, perhaps my real problem is with visualizing the energy surface...
This diagram is supposed to provide "deep insight" into the operation of semiconductor devices so I really would like to understand it.
Thanks for your time,
es