Lattice scattering

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Lattice scattering is the scattering of ions by interaction with atoms in a lattice.{{cite book

|author=Bube, Richard H.

|title=Electrons in Solids: an introductory survey

|date=3 September 1992

|pages=176–177|publisher=Academic Press 1992

|isbn= 0-12-138553-1}} This effect can be qualitatively understood as phonons colliding with charge carriers.

In the current quantum mechanical picture of conductivity the ease with which electrons traverse a crystal lattice is dependent on the near perfectly regular spacing of ions in that lattice. Only when a lattice contains perfectly regular spacing can the ion-lattice interaction (scattering) lead to almost transparent behavior of the lattice.{{cite book

|author=Kip, Arthur F.

|title=Fundamentals of Electricity and Magnetism

|year=2003

|pages=211–213|publisher=McGraw-Hill

|isbn=0758184255}}

In the quantum understanding, an electron is viewed as a wave traveling through a medium. When the wavelength of the electrons is larger than the crystal spacing, the electrons will propagate freely throughout the metal without collision.