Conservation of Energy and Momentum of the Free Electrons in Materials at Room Temperature Undergoing Drift

Abstract

Conservation of energy and momentum due to constant total energy and momentum of the free electrons in materials is illustrated with examples of Si [100] and GaAs [100].  Fused silica forms the example of the insulator material.  There is loss in energy of the free electrons while drifting through materials in a particular direction.  This loss does not allow for accurate determination of electron effective masses based on conservation of energy or momentum.   For this, one has to rely on theoretical technique of density functional theory or the experimental technique of electron cyclotron resonance.