Band Dispersion and Career Mobility

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the relationship between the dispersion relation (E-k relation) and carrier mobility in metals and semi-metals, with specific attention to cases like graphene and black phosphorus. Participants explore theoretical frameworks, practical challenges in estimating mobility, and computational methods for analyzing phonon interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that the electron mobility can be expressed as μ = eτ/m*, where τ is the scattering time and m* is the effective mass, suggesting a relationship between effective mass and band dispersion.
  • Others question how the mobility concept applies to massless charge carriers, such as in graphene, and discuss the implications of different dispersion relations (quadratic vs. linear).
  • One participant inquires about methods to estimate electron mobility, noting challenges in deriving effective mass from band structure data and estimating scattering time for specific materials.
  • Another participant emphasizes that estimating mobility depends on the scattering mechanism, mentioning impurity scattering and phonon scattering as relevant factors.
  • Concerns are raised about computational difficulties in calculating phonon spectra and electron-phonon coupling constants, particularly in the context of black phosphorus nanotubes.
  • Participants discuss the time-consuming nature of using certain computational codes for phonon calculations and seek recommendations for more convenient software options.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the applicability of the mobility equation to various materials and the challenges involved in estimating scattering times. There is no consensus on a single method for estimating electron mobility or on the best computational approaches for phonon analysis.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on specific scattering mechanisms and the complexity of calculating phonon interactions, which may vary significantly across different materials.

arvind
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how the dispersion relation(i.e. E-k relation) affects carrier mobility in metals or semi-metals?
 
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arvind said:
how the dispersion relation(i.e. E-k relation) affects carrier mobility in metals or semi-metals?

I'm not sure if you have done any search on your own. You would have discovered the answer yourself.

For example, the electron mobility can be written, in the simplest form, as

[tex]\mu = e\tau/m^*[/tex]

where μ is the mobility, τ is the scattering time, e is the charge, and m* is the effective mass. Now, look up the relationship between the effective mass and the band dispersion, and you have your answer.

Zz.
 
what if the charge carriers are massless as in case of graphene which is a single atom thick sheet?
 
arvind said:
what if the charge carriers are massless as in case of graphene which is a single atom thick sheet?

In general, the velocity of a wavepacket describing the motion of a particle is given as ##\partial E/\partial k##. You can now figure out what happens for a quadratic and a linear dispersion relation.
The book by Ashcroft and Mermin discusses all this in detail.
 
ZapperZ said:
I'm not sure if you have done any search on your own. You would have discovered the answer yourself.

For example, the electron mobility can be written, in the simplest form, as

[tex]\mu = e\tau/m^*[/tex]

where μ is the mobility, τ is the scattering time, e is the charge, and m* is the effective mass. Now, look up the relationship between the effective mass and the band dispersion, and you have your answer.

Zz.

Is there a simple and convenient way to estimate the electron mobility ?
I can derive the [itex]m^*[/itex] from band structure data ( through curve-fitting and then take a derivative with respect to k-point),but I know little information for the scattering time ;how to estimate [itex]\tau[/itex] for the systems (for example, BN sheet,or phosphorus) ?
There is also another formula ,i.e.,
[tex]\upsilon_{d}=μE[/tex]
it seems not cowork with those data using first princple softwares.
 
Douasing said:
Is there a simple and convenient way to estimate the electron mobility ?

Not really, it depends on the scattering mechanism, e.g. impurity scattering or scattering from phonons. The latter should be most relevant in very pure samples. To quantify it ab initio, you would have to calculate the phonon spectrum and electron phonon coupling constants.
 
DrDu said:
Not really, it depends on the scattering mechanism, e.g. impurity scattering or scattering from phonons. The latter should be most relevant in very pure samples. To quantify it ab initio, you would have to calculate the phonon spectrum and electron phonon coupling constants.
Thank you for your suggestions.
But I find some vitual frequency when use phononpy and vasp to calculate the phonon of black phosphorus nanotubes (about 32 atoms for armchair PNT with n=8,see the figure below).On the other hand,it is very time consuming when use Elk-code (about 5 days for 4 atoms,which use DFPT method).
Are there any convienient phonon softwares or programs for nanotubes ?

upload_2014-9-22_14-24-26.png
 

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