Reviews of the English edition
Presented here are some reviews of the english edition
Semicond. Sci. Technol. 11 No 10 (October 1996) 1471-1471.
Fundamentals of Semiconductors: Physics and Materials Properties, by P Y Yu and M Cardona This book has evolved from lecture courses for postgraduate students and gives an excellent tutorial introduction to the basic physics of asemiconductors. Physical models are used to explain the various phenomena and mathematical derivation is kept to a minimum. The liberal use of high quality diagrams greatly enhances the presentation and readability. As might be expected from these authors, the coverage of optical properties is particularly strong and contains valuable discussion of the various spectroscopic techniques. The coverage of band structure, lattice dynamics and defects is also good and includes a very readable account of group theoretical methods. Applications to device physics are, however, deliberately excluded.
The treatment of transport and hot-carrier effects is rather sketchy. For example, impact ionization, Monte Carlo methods and Landauer formulae are not mentioned. It is also perhaps surprising that heavy doping and impurity band effects are excluded. The book, however, already extends to 617 pages and omissions are inevitable in a subject as large as this. The authors have tried to be topical wherever possible; for example, an interesting account of the quantum Hall effect is included and semiconducting aspects of the new high temperature superconducting materials are mentioned. There is also a useful section on quantum confinement effects. The interest of the book is increased by the inclusion of a number of short historical reviews by eminent authorities.
Postgraduate students or researchers wanting a readable but non-superficial introduction, with many references and suggestions for further reading, should find this book very satisfying. The skilled use of intuitive physical argument by these authors is a very effective and efficient way of teaching the subject. The book is highly recommended.
D C Herbert
Contemporary Physics, 1997, volume 38, number 3, pages 247-248.
Fundamentals of Semiconductors: Physics and Materials Properties
By P. Y. Yu and M. CARDONA
1996, DM7800 (hbk), pp. xiv+617. Springer, ISBN 3 540 58307 6. Scope: textbook. Level: postgraduate.
Some time ago I was asked to review a proposal for a new text on solid state physics. When I looked at my shelf, and saw more than a dozen books (Kittel, Ashcroft and Merrnin, Madelung, Harrison, Seitz, Mott and Jones, Peierls, Elliott and Gibson, Jones and March, Ziman, Blakemore,.....), I found it hard to justify a new book without a new and distinctive angle, such as is achieved with the recent and admirable text by Chaikin and Lubensky. This last book could not have been written before about 1990, and is the first of a new type of text (based on deep theoretical notions of broken symmetry, topological defects, etc) which handles the newer soft-solids in the same framework as the more established crystalline solids. It is interesting to undertake a similar review for bulk semiconductor physics. In the latter arena, there are only three general texts by R. A. Smith (2nd Ed, 1978), K. Seeger (5th Ed, 1991) and D. Ferry (1991). There are many other more specialised texts, including J. C. Phillips' (1973) on bonds and band in semiconductors, M. L. Cohen and J. R. Chelikowsky's (1988) on electronic structure and optical properties, B. K. Ridley's (2nd Ed. 1988) on quantum processes in semiconductors, and several by Sze on device aspects of semiconductor physics. The present book claims to fill a void. In practice, it offers a complementary cut across well-worked material, with welcome, new and distinctive features. When the shape of Seeger's first edition was set in 1973, the balance of then contemporary transport and optical studies was reflected in the 7: 3 chapter ratio on these topic areas. The relative breadth of optical investigations has increased, and the present book reflects both this, and the authors' own interests. in a chapter ratio of 1:3. Both books contain sections on basic electronic structure, defect studies, and modern topics. This book is thus the optical physicist's version of Seeger. (Smith is now dated, and Ferry approaches the whole subject from transport theory.) With the exception of the 9th (final) chapter on the effects of quantum confinement on electrons and phonons (which occupy the majority of semiconductive physicists these days). Fundamentals of Semiconductors reflects its 20 year gestation. The large majority of references in the initial chapters on electronic band structures, vibrational properties and the electron-phonon interaction and electronic properties of defects predate 1980. The authors are brave in their attempt to encapsulate the main aspects of group theory, as applied to semiconductor energy bands, into thirty pages. For someone brought up on the rigours of texts wholly devoted to the subject, it was highly condensed. Without an appropriate course instructor, it would be very hard going. Similar introductions are given to electrodynamics and Feynman diagrams. This text is very well produced for graduate level teaching with many extended problems incorporating authors' guidance at the end of each chapter. The distinctive features of the book are the two chapters on optical properties, the first covering dielectric functions, excitations, lattice and free-carrier absorption and modulation spectroscopies, and the second covering emission and light scattering spectroscopies, and a separate chapter on photoelectron spectroscopy. The authors confine themselves to linear optical properties throughout. Here the two authors encapsulate, with authority and clarity, the subject areas in which most of their own research has been done. There is nothing quite like it in the genre of graduate texts. Those embarking on research into the optical properties of semiconductors will benefit from working through these chapters and the problems set at the end. The final chapter on the effect of quantum confinement on electrons and phonons stays close to the introductory work on low dimensional semiconductors, without approaching ballistic motion, Bloch oscillations, or other contemporary topics. There is an appendix in which nine pioneers of semiconductors reminisce. Given that semiconductors have moved from curiosities in the 1930s to the basis of 10% of world trade (in electronics and communications) in 2000, there is a curious detachment from the applications which have been the drivers of so much research and the rationale for most of its funding. A student physicist who masters this text will have a solid introduction to the optical properties of semiconductors from which to launch a subsequent career in semiconductors.
M. J. KELLY (University of Surrey)
Physics Today, November 1997, pages 76-77.
Fundamentals of Semiconductors: Physics and Materials Properties
By P. Y. Yu and M. CARDONA
Those who have taught graduate courses in semiconductor physics have often had to struggle with the appropriate selection of topics, what with the proliferation of new physics, new structure fabrications and new device applications. The authors of Fundamentals of Semiconductors, Peter Y. Yu and Manuel Cardona, have wrestled with the very same problem in courses they have taught, and they have come up with a concise and yet satisfactory list of topics. The most striking feature of their book is its modern outlook: a long chapter on both the electron and phonon properties in heterostructures, a survey of growth techniques and a discussion of the influence of defects on electronic properties. All of the basic knowledge needed to appreciate the fundamentals of semiconductors is covered: electrons and phonons and their interaction, transport and optical properties.
Fortunately for the readers, the authors follow the bias of their expertise and give us an authoritative introduction to light-scattering and photoemission. They did not use all of their research expertise, however; they left out, for example, much of high-pressure physics. Not all in instructors will be satisfied with their selection of topics. For those who want more transport than optical properties, there is Semiconductor Physics: An Introduction by Karlheinz Seeger (Springer, sixth edition, 1997). For those who prefer a more device-related exposition, there is Fundamentals of Semiconductor Theory and Device Physics by Shyh Wang (Prentice Hall, 1989). For those who feel nonlinear optics is more than just Raman scattering, there is an opportunity to write a book as the semiconductor counterpart to Principles of Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy by Shaul Mukamel (Oxford U. P., 1995).
I would advise the student not to worry too much; Yu and Cardona's book provides a wonderful foundation. A student who wishes to learn about semiconductors and who has a basic preparation in quantum mechanics and electromagmetism should enjoy and benefit from this introduction to semiconductors. Of conrse, a first course in solid-state physics would be helpful, but I have a feeling that it is not absolutely necessary.
The most wonderful feature of the book is its efficient style of exposition. It brings the reader to the point where the knowledge is used the way the practitioners would use it. The treatment of Raman scatterings by phonons covers all basic aspects: theory, experimental techniques and actual spectra. It brings the reader in one step to readiness to use Raman scattering. I applaud the introduction of Feynman diagrams as a qualitative tool for understanding of the scattering processes and wish only that the diagrams included the electron and hole lines to represent the details of the associated electron excitation processes. The discussion of group theory is not just a quick remedial course for the uninitiated but is also effective for showing students who have had a group theory course how it works in practice.
A nice touch is the appendix: "Pioneers of Semiconductor Physics Remember . . .," which offers the insights from a constellation of key contributors to semiconductor physics, who discuss topics they know deeply. These should inspire students and enlighten practitioners. The book is handsomely produced; its juxtaposition of red and black colors is pleasing to the eye and adds to the clarity of presentation.
As the duly of a reviewer includes fault-finding, I could risk being thought churlish to mention some minor oversights, such as the description of quantum wells as structures containing a layer of less than 1 nm in thickness or the omission of one or two key references. One criticism that I will make without apology is the cartoon of a "semi-conductor, which is hardly Dilbertian.
In sum, if you are a student who wants to add semiconductor physics to your armory or are an instructor or a researcher who wants to look up some basic points, this is an excellent book with which to start.
Lu. J. SHAM
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California