Electronic and Vibrational Properties of Bulk Diamond

The group IV elements in the periodic table, such as carbon in the diamond structure (referred to as diamond in this chapter), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and grey tin (Sn), have half filled valence n-shells with the electronic configuration (ns2p2) where n ranges from 2 to 5. These s and p states hybridize and form tetrahedral sp3 directed bonds. The solids formed by these elements can crystallize in the so-called “diamond structure”,1 among which are Si and Ge, well known for being extremely useful semiconducting materials for device applications.