Overview
This book discusses the electrical, optical, magnetic and thermal properties of materials. Intended for engineers, particularly materials and electrical engineers, it stresses concepts rather than mathematical formalism. The presentation of the fundamentals underlying semiconductor devices, magnetic materials, lasers, alloys, and so forth, is clear and direct rather than encyclopaedic. The material covered is restricted to essential topics that can be presented in a 15-week, one-semester course. Many applications to practical every-day devices are presented. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and includes sections on device fabrication, optical computing, and thermoelectric properties. The text is divided into five self-contained parts; the first covers the fundamentals of electron theory and introduces the fundamental concepts of the quantum theory of solids - at least to the extent needed for understanding materials science. The remaining parts discuss, in turn, the electrical, optical, magnetic, and thermal properties of materials; each of these can be read independently of the others.