Semicond. Sci. Technol. 11 No 10 (October 1996) 1471-1471)
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