A good book to learn about phonon dispersion relation

[otaKu]

So I see them in the books labelled as accoustic and optical phonons but I don't seem to find a comprehensive treatment of the matter for a beginner who doesn't know a thing about the dispersion curves. I'd prefer not to dwell too much into the mechanical treatment if possible since I just need a basic understanding instead of an extensive one. Is there a book or a web resource maybe which can help a beginner in getting the hang of these processes. Also, it'd be helpful if the resource also discusses the correlation of these dispersion curves with optical phenomena. Thank you in advance for your inputs.

 

[HeavyMetal]

Check into Charles Kittel's "Introduction to Solid State Physics." You can find a pdf online somewhere for free.

 

[otaKu]

I have that book but it seems a bit hard to me at the moment. Also I wanted to look for something which is oriented more to the optical side as well.

 

[HeavyMetal]

I learned from that book alone, so I cannot point you anywhere else. However, I would highly recommend reading through all of chapter 4 before moving on. Its only 10 pages + problems, and is needed to understand the more advanced material that you're looking for. In fact, every figure in that chapter is meant to give you a better idea of what is actually occurring.

 

[otaKu]

Okay. Thanks for the input. Guess I'll face it over again. The last time I read it was a few months ago and I was entirely new to solid state physics at that time. Maybe this time I'll find the book more helpful and fun.

 

[HeavyMetal]

Just read it slowly and soak in all of the details. Kittell is very terse...my professor used to call it "condensed knowledge." Let me know if you need any help.

 

[otaKu]

Sure thing. Thanks!