Finding a Substitute Textbook for Advanced Solid State Course

[argonurbawono]

i am taking advanced solid state course, and my professor use marder textbook, and his lecture notes are just like complete copy of marder's textbook.

i myself find marder's book very confusing, even things which i already understand are presented in complicated way. i feel i cannot absorb anything from it. especially the exercises, which become tutorial assessments, are very very difficult.

is there a good substitute to marder textbook? a book that explain thing in simpler ways, more gradual, detail, and nearly covering as much as marder.

for example i need chapters on band structure calculation technique in marder (OPW, LCAO, LAPW, LMTO) and transport theory (semiclassical).

i want to see a lot of examples. i am a slow learner.

 

[dextercioby]

As far as i know, Ashley & Mermin and Kittel provide (not only) the basics.

Daniel.

 

[ZapperZ]

ASHCROFT and Mermin would be a text to get. It is a more advanced text than Kittel.

If you are also covering semiclassical transport, then get Harrison's Intro to Solid State Physics text. It has, to me, the best coverage of Boltzmann transport equation. Besides, it's a Dover book, so it's cheap!

Zz.

 

[dextercioby]

Kireev's book on Seminconductor physics (i hope it's translated into English) has the best treatmeant on semiclassical transport theory i know of.

Daniel.

 

[jpr0]

For the introductory solid state stuff then I would look at Ashcroft and Mermin.

There is another book which is quite good if you want to know about the Boltzmann equation and semi-classical transport which is "Fundamentals of the theory of metals" by A. A. Abrikosov. I wouldn't recommend it as an introductory book to solid state physics, but for Boltzmann equation transport it's really very good. There isn't a single Russian in our department who doesn't try to steal your copy.

By the way, ZapperZ, what is the plot that you have in your avatar?

 

[ZapperZ]

There is another book which is quite good if you want to know about the Boltzmann equation and semi-classical transport which is "Fundamentals of the theory of metals" by A. A. Abrikosov. I wouldn't recommend it as an introductory book to solid state physics, but for Boltzmann equation transport it's really very good. There isn't a single Russian in our department who doesn't try to steal your copy.

Oooh.. next time I bump into Alex, I will let him know that! He will be thrilled. Unfortunately, he is not in the best of health right now. :(

By the way, ZapperZ, what is the plot that you have in your avatar?

It is a 2D angle-resolved photoemission spectrum on overdoped Bi2212 high-Tc superconductor along the nodal direction of the crytal in momentum space. The horizontal axis is energy, while the vertical axis is the momentum, so you have the E vs k dispersion curve. As of today, it is still the most overdoped Bi2212 that has ever been looked at (Tc~51K) using ARPES. We published this in PRL a few years ago.

Zz.

 

[Dr Transport]

Seegers Semiconductor book is very good to learn from, decent job on classical transport theory. It is a little lacking on the multitude of band structure methods out there, but I have not seen the latest edition.

Yu and Cardona has a couple of chapters on band structure calcs, but it is not for the beginner.

As for a simple intro to band structure calc, I can not remember any text that is easy to read and learn from. Callaway's band structure book isn't too bad, although it is old and I am sure out of print, you need a fair amount of group theory to get into it very far. Check out Slaters' 4-volume series on solids, at the time they were written they would have been the best place to see all the band structure calcuations in one place.

 

[jpr0]

Oooh.. next time I bump into Alex, I will let him know that! He will be thrilled. Unfortunately, he is not in the best of health right now. :(



It is a 2D angle-resolved photoemission spectrum on overdoped Bi2212 high-Tc superconductor along the nodal direction of the crytal in momentum space. The horizontal axis is energy, while the vertical axis is the momentum, so you have the E vs k dispersion curve. As of today, it is still the most overdoped Bi2212 that has ever been looked at (Tc~51K) using ARPES. We published this in PRL a few years ago.

Zz.

I didn't realize you were in the same department! I hope he gets well soon.

 

[ZapperZ]

I didn't realize you were in the same department! I hope he gets well soon.

I'm not, just at the same facility. I used to be in the same division.

Zz.