Assume conduction electrons in a semiconductor behave as an ideal gas. (This is not true for conduction electrons in a metal.)
(a) Taking mass m = 9 × 10-31 kg and temperature T = 300 K, determine the de Broglie wavelength of a semiconductor's conduction electrons.
(b) Given that the spacing between atoms in a semiconductor's atomic lattice is on the order of 0.3 nm, would you expect room-temperature conduction electrons to travel in straight lines or diffract when traveling through this lattice? Explain.