Starting from a broad overview of heat transport based on the Boltzmann Transport Equation, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of heat transport in bulk and nanomaterials based on a kinetic-collective model (KCM). This has become key to understanding the field of thermal transport in semiconductors, and represents an important stride. The book describes how heat transport becomes hydrodynamic at the nanoscale, propagating very much like a viscous fluid and manifesting vorticity and friction-like behavior. It introduces a generalization of Fourier’s law including a hydrodynamic term based on collective behavior in the phonon ensemble. This approach makes it possible to describe in a unifying way recent experiments that had to resort to unphysical assumptions in order to uphold the validity of Fourier’s law, demonstrating that hydrodynamic heat transport is a pervasive type of behavior in semiconductors at reduced scales.

This review volume is based primarily on the balance equation approach developed since 1984. It provides a simple and analytical description about hot electron transport, particularly, in semiconductors with higher carrier density where the carrier-carrier collision is much stronger than the single particle scattering. The steady state and time-dependent hot electron transport, thermal noise, hot phonon effect, the memory effect, and other related subjects of charge carriers under strong electric fields are reviewed. The application of Zubarev's nonequilibrium statistical operator to hot electron transport and its equivalence to the balance equation method are also presented. For semiconductors with very low carrier density, the problem can be regarded as a single carrier transport which will be treated non-perturbatively by the nonequilibrium Green's function technique and the path integral theory. The last part of this book consists of a chapter on the dynamic conductivity and the shot noise suppression of a double-carrier resonant tunneling system.

This book develops the subject from the basic principles of quantum mechanics. The emphasis is on a single statement of the ideas underlying the various approximations that have to be used and care is taken to separate sound arguments from conjecture. This book is written for the student of theoretical physics who wants to work in the field of solids and for the experimenter with a knowledge of quantum theory who is not content to take other people's arguments for granted. The treatment covers the electron theory of metals as well as the dynamics of crystals, including the author's work on the thermal conductivity of crystals which has been previously published in English.

This is a classic text of its time in condensed matter physics.

Ten years ago, D.M. Rowe introduced the bestselling CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics to wide acclaim. Since then, increasing environmental concerns, desire for long-life electrical power sources, and continued progress in miniaturization of electronics has led to a substantial increase in research activity involving thermoelectrics. Reflecting the latest trends and developments, the Thermoelectrics Handbook: Macro to Nano is an extension of the earlier work and covers the entire range of thermoelectrics disciplines. Serving as a convenient reference as well as a thorough introduction to thermoelectrics, this book includes contributions from 99 leading authorities from around the world. Its coverage spans from general principles and theoretical concepts to material preparation and measurements; thermoelectric materials; thermoelements, modules, and devices; and thermoelectric systems and applications. Reflecting the enormous impact of nanotechnology on the field-as the thermoelectric properties of nanostructured materials far surpass the performance of conventional materials-each section progresses systematically from macro-scale to micro/nano-scale topics. In addition, the book contains an appendix listing major manufacturers and suppliers of thermoelectric modules. There is no longer any need to spend hours plodding through the journal literature for information. The Thermoelectrics Handbook: Macro to Nano offers a timely, comprehensive treatment of all areas of thermoelectrics in a single, unified reference.

The 4th edition of this highly successful textbook features copious material for a complete upper-level undergraduate or graduate course, guiding readers to the point where they can choose a specialized topic and begin supervised research. The textbook provides an integrated approach beginning from the essential principles of solid-state and semiconductor physics to their use in various classic and modern semiconductor devices for applications in electronics and photonics. The text highlights many practical aspects of semiconductors: alloys, strain, heterostructures, nanostructures, amorphous semiconductors, and noise, which are essential aspects of modern semiconductor research but often omitted in other textbooks. This textbook also covers advanced topics, such as Bragg mirrors, resonators, polarized and magnetic semiconductors, nanowires, quantum dots, multi-junction solar cells, thin film transistors, and transparent conductive oxides. The 4th edition includes many updates and chapters on 2D materials and aspects of topology. The text derives explicit formulas for many results to facilitate a better understanding of the topics. Having evolved from a highly regarded two-semester course on the topic, The Physics of Semiconductors requires little or no prior knowledge of solid-state physics. More than 2100 references guide the reader to historic and current literature including original papers, review articles and topical books, providing a go-to point of reference for experienced researchers as well.

There have been few books devoted to the study of phonons, a major area of condensed matter physics. The Physics of Phonons is a comprehensive theoretical discussion of the most important topics, including some topics not previously presented in book form. Although primarily theoretical in approach, the author refers to experimental results wherever possible, ensuring an ideal book for both experimental and theoretical researchers. The author begins with an introduction to crystal symmetry and continues with a discussion of lattice dynamics in the harmonic approximation, including the traditional phenomenological approach and the more recent ab initio approach, detailed for the first time in this book. A discussion of anharmonicity is followed by the theory of lattice thermal conductivity, presented at a level far beyond that available in any other book. The chapter on phonon interactions is likewise more comprehensive than any similar discussion elsewhere. The sections on phonons in superlattices, impure and mixed crystals, quasicrystals, phonon spectroscopy, Kapitza resistance, and quantum evaporation also contain material appearing in book form for the first time. The book is complemented by numerous diagrams that aid understanding and is comprehensively referenced for further study. With its unprecedented wide coverage of the field, The Physics of Phonons will be indispensable to all postgraduates, advanced undergraduates, and researchers working on condensed matter physics.