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1
Chapter 1
Section 1.0 Outline of Statistical Mechanics
EEE 534
Semiconductor Transport
Objective: To treat an ensemble of particles or system in a statistical or probabilistic fashion, in which
we are concerned with the most probable values of the properties of the ensemble without
investigating in detail what the value of that properties may be for a particular particle at any time.
We limit our discussion to an assembly of identical particles that are independent of each other and can
only interact via instantaneous processes that conserve energy and momentum.
Phase space: A six dimensional phase space is defined by the coordinates (x,y,z,kx,ky,kz) where
x,y,z refer to real space and kx,ky,kz refer to momentum space.
Basic Postulate :The apriori probability for a system to be in any quantum state is the same for all
quantum states of the system. This is true only when there are no dynamical restrictions. The apriori
probabilities will be modified by external constraints, such as the number of particles is a constant and
the total energy is constant.

Different types of systems considered:
Distinguishable particles (Fermions when spin is not considered)
Indistinguishable particles that obey Pauli exclusion principle (Fermions)
The role of indistinguishability of elementary particles (Bosons)
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Thus the type of distribution function depends upon
whether the number of particles is constant or not
whether particles are indistinguishable
whether particles are quantum like or not
Section 1.1 The Distribution function and DOS
Definitions:
f(E) is the probability that a state at energy E is occupied by a particle
g(E)dE is the number of available states in the energy range E and E+dE
Number of particles between E and E+dE is given by N(E)dE=f(E)g(E)dE
The average value of any quantity is given by
}
}
}
= >= < dE E g E f E
N
dE E N
dE E N E
) ( ) ( ) (
1
) (
) ( ) (
o
o
o
In general can be a function of the system coordinates q
i
(x,y,z for i=1,2,3) and pi (p
x
,p
y
,p
z
).
For example the Hamiltonian of a system is in general,
)] (
2
[ )] ( 2 [
2
1
2
2
i
i
i
i
i
i
q V
m
p
q mV p
m
H + = + =

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Calculation of the 3D Density of states function
We solve the 3D SWE for free particles confined in a box with dimensions x0,y0,z0.The TISE is then of the
form
) . . . ( .
2 2
2 2
2
2
) , , (
0
) 0 ( 0
2 2
z x x
k z k y k x i r ik
Ae Ae z y x
k
V
m
k
m
+ +
= = +
= + + + V
= = + + + V

The Boundary conditions imposed cause the values of kx, ky and kz to be quantized as there is
confinement.


Thus this results in quantization of energy: Only discrete values of energy are allowed. The
allowed values are :
0
2
, ,
, ,
x
n
k
z y x
z y x
H
=
)
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
(
2 2
2
) , , (
z
z
n
y
y
n
x
x
n
m
z
n
y
n
x
n E + +
H
=

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In momentum space, this Energy can be represented by a sphere, whose radius is given by
2
2

mE
k =
If we draw another sphere E+dE then the volume of the shell between these two spheres will be
dk k dV
2
4H =
The number of quantum states found in this volume of momentum space is
dk k
V
V
dk k
dE E g
2
2 3
2
2 ) 2 (
4
) (
H
=
H
H
=
For free particle, dk
m
k
dE
m
k
E
2 2 2
;
2

= =
E
m V
dE
mE m V
dE E g
2
3
2 2 2 2 2
2
2
2
2
) (
|
.
|

\
|
H
=
H
=

E
m V
E g
2
3
2 2
2
2
) (
|
.
|

\
|
H
=

Including corrections for spin, we see that since only the volume appears, the same DOS would be obtained
for a 3D system of any shape.
Therefore,
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Maxwell Boltzmann
Particles are identifiable
and distinguishable
The number of particles is
constant
The total Energy is constant
Spin is ignored
Fermi Dirac
Particles are indistinguishable
Particles obey Pauli principle
Each state can have only one
particle.
Each particle has one half spin
Bose Einstein
Particles are indistinguishable
Particles do not obey Pauli
principle
Each state can have more than
one particle, like phonons and
photons
Particles have integral spin
E
1
E
2
E
3
.... E
N
Energy levels

N
1
N
2
N
3
N
N
# of particles
N
1
E
1
N
2
E
2
N
3
E
3
. N
N
E
N
Energy in each level
U E N
N N
i
i
i
i
i
=
=

The distribution which has the maximum probability of occurrence is one which can be realized
in a maximum number of statistically independent ways. This is analogous to putting
numbered objects into a set of numbered containers.
Start with two boxes #1, #2.Let us denote Q(N1,N2) as the number of statistically independent
ways of putting N1+N2 objects in two boxes such that one of them contains N1 and the other
N2 objects.

N1 N2
! 2 ! 1
)! 2 1 (
) 2 1 ( ) 2 , 1 (
1
N N
N N
N N N N Q
N
C
+
= + =
Section 1.2 The Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution
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[
=
=
n
i
i
N
N
Nn N N N Q
1
!
) .. ,......... 3 , 2 , 1 (
! 2 ! 1
)! 2 1 (
) 2 1 ( ) 2 , 1 (
1
V V
V V
V V V V Q
V
C
+
= + =
! 2 ! 1 ! 1
!
) 2 , 1 ( * ) 2 , 1 ( ) 2 , 1 , 1 (
V V N
N
V V Q N N Q V V N Q = =
Suppose now that the second container is divided into 2
compartments containing v1 and v2 objects. Thus
N2=v1+v2.
We may think of this as having 3 distinct distributions of N1,V1 and V2 objects. In that case,
Generalizing this expression, we get,
Modeling Degeneracy Now if each of the containers were actually a group of containers, say gi,
then there will be an additional g
i
Ni
ways of distributing these N
i
particles among the g
i
containers. Thus the
total number of ways will be modified according as,

i
N
n
i
i
n
i
i
g
N
N
Nn N N N Q
[
[
=
=
=
1
1
!
) .. ,......... 3 , 2 , 1 (
const U E N
const N N
i
i
i
i
i
= =
= =

We now apply, the other two assumptions, namely


conservation of particles and energy.
Method of Lagrangean multipliers: If one wants to find the
maximum of f under the restriction that some other functions which
remain constant, independent of the choice of 0 = + c + u c + c | o f
. , | o
0 ) ...( .......... 2 )
2 2 2
( 1 )
1 1 1
( =
c
+ c
+
c
u c
+
c
c
+
c
+ c
+
c
u c
+
c
c
+
c
+ c
+
c
u c
+
c
c
dXn
Xn Xn Xn
f
dX
X X X
f
dX
X X X
f
| o | o | o
0 ) ( ], , 1 [ =
c
+ c
+
c
u c
+
c
c
e dXi
Xi Xi Xi
f
n i | o
n equations
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const Xn X X
const Xn X X
= + = +
= u = u
0
0
) ,..... 2 , 1 (
) ,..... 2 , 1 (
Total of (n+2)
equations.

= =
+ =
n
i
i
n
i
i i
N g N N Q
1 1
! ln ln ! ln ln
Now applying the method of Lagrangean
multipliers to lnQ we have,
We have from the definition of Q
Using Stirlings approximation, we have:
Then,
X X X X ~ ln ! ln

= =
+ =
n
i
i i i
n
i
i i
N N N g N N Q
1 1
) ln ( ln ! ln ln

= =

c
c

c
c
+ =
c
c
n
i
i i i
j
n
i
i i
j j
N N N
N
g N
N
Q
N
1 1
) ln ( ln 0 ln
) ln( ln ln ] 1 1 [ln ln
j
j
j j j j
N
g
N g N g = = + =
0 ln
1 1
=
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c

= =
n
i
i i
j
n
i
i
j j
N E
N
N
N
Q
N
| o
T k
E
E
j
j
j
E
j j j
j
j
j
j
j
B
j
j
j
e e e e
g
N
E f
e g N E
g
N
E
N
g
or

+
= = =
= + =
= + +
o
|
o
| o
| o
| o
) (
) ln(
0 ) ln( ,
This particular energy distribution obtained under the
classical assumption of identifiable particles without
considering Pauli principle, is called Maxwell Boltzmann
Distribution., can be expressed in terms of total number
of particles.
T K
E
n
j
j
T K
E
n
j
j
n
j
j
B
j
B
j
e g
N
e
e g e N N

= =


=
= =
1
1 1
o
o
If the energy levels are packed very closely, we can
replace the summation by an integral and so,
dE e E g
N
e dE e E g e dE E N N
T K
E
T K
E
B
B
}
} }

= = =
) (
) ( ) (
o o
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Fermi Dirac Distribution: In this case since the particles are indistinguishable, there is only one way of
distributing them among the two boxes. Therefore, Q(N1,N2)=1. Now along with this there are other
constraints like the conservation of particles and Total energy.
N1 N2
const U E N
const N N
i
i
i
i
i
= = = +
= = = u

Consider now the i


th
energy level with degeneracy g
i.
For this level, the total
#of ways of arranging the particles is:

)! (
!
) 1 )......( 2 )( 1 (
i i
i
i i i i i
N g
g
N g g g g

= +
Now the N
i
particles can have N
i
! Permutations and yet not give rise
to any new arrangement as they are indistinguishable. Therefore we
have to divide the number of possible ways of distributing the
particles by this amount.
[
=

=
n
i
i i i
i
n
N g N
g
N N N N Q So
1
3 2 1
)! ( !
!
) ,....... , , ( ,
Now we proceed in the standard fashion, by applying
Stirlings approximation to lnQ, and then using the
method of Lagrange multipliers to maximize Q.
T K E E
j
j
j
E
j
j
B
E
j
j
B f j
j
j
e
g
N
E f
e
g
N
T K
e
N
g
Solving
/ ) (
) (
) (
1
1
) (
1
1
1
; 1 ) ( ,

+
+
+
= =
+
=
= + =
| o
| o
|
Now we impose the other restrictions like
conservation of particles and total energy of the
system and obtain the other two functions to apply the
Lagrange method.
Section 1.3 The Fermi Dirac Distribution
Now if the energy levels crowd in a continuum, then
T K E E
B f
e
/ ) (
j j
1
g(E)dE
g(E)f(E)dE N(E)dE
g(E)dE g and N(E)dE, N

+
= =
= =
The Fermi energy is a function of
temperature and also depends upon the
DOS of the system
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Bose Einstein Distribution: Consider an array of N
i
particles and (g
i
-1) partitions needed to divide
them into g
i
groups. The number of ways of permuting N
i
particles among g
i
levels equals the number of
ways of permuting objects and partitions. i.e. (N
i
+g
i
-1)!. Now the particles and the partitions are
indistinguishable, the number of ways of permuting them is
[
=

+
=
n
i
i i
i i
BE
g N
g N
Nn N N Q
1
1 1
)! 1 ( !
)! 1 (
) ......... , (
Now we impose the other restrictions like
conservation of particles and total energy of the
system and obtain the other two functions to apply the
Lagrange method.
Now we proceed in the standard fashion, by applying
Stirlings approximation to lnQ, and then using the
method of Lagrange multipliers to maximize Q.
1
1
) (
1
1
1
; 1 ) ( ,
/
) (
) (

= =

=
= =

+
+
o
| o
| o
|
e e
g
N
E f
e
g
N
T K
e
N
g
Solving
T K E
j
j
j
E
j
j
B
E
j
j
B j
j
j
The solution for the case where the total number of
particles is not conserved, but only the energy is
conserved can easily be obtained by setting =0
Section 1.4 The Bose Einstein Distribution
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Applications: Maxwell Boltzmann statistics of an ideal gas
We now discuss the properties of an ideal gas of free particles, for which
E
m V
E g
2
3
2 2
2
2
) ( |
.
|

\
|
H
=

For this particular case,


I
N
dE e E g
N
e
T K
E
B
= =
}


0
) (
o
and the integral is evaluated as a gamma function as,
2
3
2
2
3
2 2
0
2
3
2 2
0
2
3
2 2
0
)
2
(
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
) (
T mK V
N
e
T mK V
du e u
T mK V
I
dE e E
m V
dE e E g I
B
B u B
T K
E
T K
E
B B

H
=
H
|
.
|

\
|
H
= |
.
|

\
|
H
=
|
.
|

\
|
H
= =
}
} }


o
To summarize, the MB distribution function for an ideal
gas is
T K
E
B
B
e
T mK V
N
E f

H
=
2
3
2
)
2
(
2
) (

The distribution of particle density with energy is given by
dE e E
T K
N
dE e E
T K
N
dE E N
dE e
T mK V
N
E
m V
dE E f E g dE E N
T K
E
B
T K
E
B
T K
E
B
B B
B

H
H
=
H
H
=
H
|
.
|

\
|
H
= =
2
3
) (
2
)
4
(
4
) (
)
2
(
2
2
2
) ( ) ( ) (
2
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
2 2

Now the total internal energy of the


system can be got as follows
T NK U
du e u du e u
du e u T K
T K
N
U
dE e E E
T K
N
dE E EN U
B
u u
u
B
B
T K
E
B
B
2
3
;
4
3
)
2
3
(
2
3
2
3
)
2
5
(
) (
) (
2
) (
2
) (
0 0
2
3
0
2
3
0 0
2
3
2
3
2
3
=
H = = = =
H
H
=
H
H
= =

} }
}
} }

T K U
B
2
3
>= <
Thus the average energy of the
particles of the system is given by,
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Applications, contd : Our aim is to derive the equations of state for an ideal Boltzmann gas from the
dynamical properties and from the distribution. For this purpose, we need to convert the energy distribution
function into a velocity distribution, using the relation, ,for free particles and parabolic
dispersion. Now we have,
dv e v
T K
m
N mvdv ve
m
T K
N
dv v N
mvdv dE
T K
mv
B
T K
mv
B
B B
2 2 2
2
2
3
2
2
3
)
2
( 4
2
) (
2
) (
,

H
H =
H
H
=
=
m
k
mv E
2 2
1
2 2
2

= =
This distribution expresses the # of
particles whose velocities lie in the
range v and v+dv.

Since,

We have,
x
T K
v m
B
x x
z y x
T K
v v v m
B
z y x z y x
dv e
T K
m
N dv v N
dv dv dv e
T K
m
N dv dv dv v v v N
B
x
B
z y x
2
) (
2
) (
2
2
1
2 2 2
2
3
)
2
( ) (
)
2
( ) , , (

+ +

H
=
H
=
z y x
dv dv dv dv v = H
2
4
The above derived distributions are equilibrium
distributions : If we apply an external field, they
will change shape.
Applications Fermi Dirac Distribution 3D SYSTEM
The DOS is given by
E
m V
E g
2
3
2 2
2
2
) ( |
.
|

\
|
H
=

The Electron density is then


) (
0 2
1
2
1
2
3
2 2
/ ) (
0 0
2
3
2 2
1
) ( ); (
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
) ( ) ( '
f
B f
u
f f
B
T K E E
e
du
u F F
T mK
n
e
dE
E
m
dE E f E g
V
N
n
q
q q


+
= |
.
|

\
|
H
=
+
|
.
|

\
|
H
= = =
}
} }

The total internal energy of the system is given by,


) (
2
2
1
) (
2
2
1
2
2
) (
2
3
2
3
2 2
) (
0
2
3
2
3
2 2
0 0
/ ) (
2
3
2 2
2
5
f
B
B
u
B
T K E E
F
T mK V
T K U
e
du
u T K
m V
U
e
dE
E E
m V
dE E EN U
f
B f
q
q
|
.
|

\
|
H
=
+
|
.
|

\
|
H
=
+
|
.
|

\
|
H
= =

}
} }

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The average internal energy per particle is then,
) (
) (
2
1
2
3
f
f
F
F
KBT
nV
U
N
U
u
q
q
= = >= <
At low temperatures, the Fermi Dirac Distribution
may be represented as a sphere in Momentum
space in which all or most of the states of energy
less than E
f
are filled , while those greater than
E
f
are empty. The equation of the sphere is
f z y x
E m p p p
* 2 2 2
2 = + +
For energies much greater than
the E
f,
the FD Distribution can be
written as

T K E E
B f
e E f
/ ) (
) (

~
If all the energies of the system are such
that E-E
f
>>K
B
T, the system is called Non
degenerate and the FD system reduces to a
MB system

Applications Fermi Dirac Distribution 2D SYSTEM
The DOS is given by , A being
the area of the 2D container. The total electron number
is given by,
2
) (
H
=
m
A E g
) 1 ( ln
) 1 ( ln ) 1 ( ln
1 1
1
) ( ) (
/
2
2
/
2
/
2
/
2 2
0
/ ) ( 2
0
T K E
B
D
T K E
B
T K E
u B
T K E
u
u
B
E
u
B
T K E E
B f
B f
B f
B f f
B f
e
T mK
n
e
T mK
A e
T mK
A N
e
du e T mK
A
e
du T mK
A N
e
dE m
A dE E f E g N
+
H
=
+
H
= +
H
=
+ H
=
+ H
=
+
H
= =

} }
} }

Sheet electron density


Note on Fermi Energy:
As Temperature increases, . This
means that under high temperature limit, the
Fermi Dirac statistics reduces to Maxwell
Boltzmann.
At lower temperatures, the above will occur in
gases where the masses are large
For dense gas of very light particles (free
electrons in a metal), the Fermi Energy is very
large and the condition, E-Ef>>K
B
T is practically
never satisfied.
In semiconductors, due to peculiar form of the
DOS function, the MB distribution is virtually
always a good approximation to the FD
distribution
) (T E
f
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0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
Fermi Dirac Distribution function of particle density with Energy
Energy (eV)
F
e
r
m
i

D
i
r
a
c

D
i
s
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
o
n

f
u
n
c
t
i
o
n

T1=50 K
T2=100 K
T3=300 K
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
Fermi Dirac Distribution function
Energy (eV)
F
e
r
m
i

D
i
r
a
c

D
i
s
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
o
n

f
u
n
c
t
i
o
n

T1=50 K
T2=100 K
T3=300 K
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution of particle density with Energy
Energy (eV)
#

o
f

p
a
r
t
i
c
l
e
s

T1=50 K
T2=100 K
T3=300 K
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
Maxwell Boltzmann Distribution function
Energy (eV)
M
a
x
w
e
l
l

B
o
l
t
z
m
a
n
n

D
i
s
t
r
i
b
u
t
i
o
n

f
u
n
c
t
i
o
n

T1=50 K
T2=100 K
T3=300 K

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