NST507 Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Proprties of Materials
Spring 2017

Most recent announcement: Feb17

Announcements

Watch this space for the latest updates (If the characters do not show properly, please try viewing this page with Unicode (UTF-8) encoding). Last updated:

February 17, 2017 In the first lecture, there will be first meeting. The lecture notes will be published soon, see Course Schedule section.

Back to top

Lecture Information

This course will introduce the topic of electrons in solids. Specifically, it will describe how electrons interact with each other, electromagnetic radiation and the crystal lattice to give the material its inherent electrical, optical and magnetic properties. Semiconductors, metals, insulators, polymers and superconductors will be discussed. The course brings together a range of different topics including crystallography, microstructure and calculus to explain the important electronic, optical and magnetic properties of modern materials. It is strongly suggested that students have taken courses covering differential equations and complex numbers. While students will not need detailed knowledge of the solution methods for differential equations, most of the course concerns solutions to the Schrödinger equation.

Important announcements will be posted to the Announcements section of this web page, so please check this page frequently. You are responsible for all such announcements, as well as announcements made in lecture.

Back to top

Course Overview

NST507 is intended to introduce students both a quantitative and a qualitative understanding of electronic materials. It is aimed to describe the fundamentals underpinning electron behavior in solids to understand electrical, optical, magnetic, and thermal properties of materials and their applications.

Upon completion of this course the students will be able to understand/explain/apply;

• Introduction to quantum mechanics

• Fundamentals of electron theory - behavior or electrons in solids. The electron; Problems with classical description; Wave-particle duality; De Broglie theorem; Bohr model for hydrogen; Born postulate; Schrödinger’s equation; Solving the wave equation; Particle in a 1-D box & quantum tunneling; Electrons in a periodic potential; Bloch waves; Fermi-Dirac/Bose-Einstein/Boltzmann statistics; Density of states, population density; Effective mass.

• Band theory of solids to describe semiconducting, superconducting, dielectric, optical, and magnetic properties of materials. Energy (E) versus wavevector (k) dispersion plots, energy bands; Brillouin zones.

• Electrical properties of materials. Classical conductivity; Quantum description of conductivity; Effect of alloying in metals; Intrinsic & extrinsic semiconductor properties; Fermi level & Hall effect in semiconductors; Devices (Diode, Zener diode, Bipolar transistor; FETs, MOSFETS, Ohmic/Schottky junctions); Conductive polymers; Ionic conductors; Superconductors.

• Optical properties of materials. Dielectric properties; Ferroelectrics & piezoelectrics; Snell’s law; Maxwell equations; Complex dielectric constant; Transmittance, reflectivity & conductivity; Classical & quantum approach to optical properties; Phonons; I.R. & Raman spectroscopy, luminescence, fluorescence; Devices (LASERs, LEDs & optical data storage).

• Magnetic properties of materials. Types of magnetism (Ferro-, para-, ferri-, dia- and antiferro-); Susceptibility; Quantum description of magnetism; Magnet design.

Back to top

Text Book

Lecture material will be based on them. It is strongly advised that student should read textbooks rather than only content with the lecture material supplied from the lecturer.

Back to top

Online Resourcess

The following resources are available online. Please inform me about the usefullness of the materials. Check this place for updates.

Back to top

Grading Criteria

• Midterms & Final Exams: There will be one midterm and one final exam, will count 25% each and 50% of your grade, respectively.

• Homeworks/Assignments (or Term Project): 25%.

Back to top

Policies

Back to top

Tentative Course Outline

• NST507 Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Proprties of Materials

Back to top

Tentative Course Schedule & Lecture Notes

The following schedule is tentative; it may be updated later in the semester, so check back here frequently.

Back to top

References (other than text books)

• http://www.phys.virginia.edu/

• http://electron6.phys.utk.edu/

• http://comsics.usm.my/

• http://web.pdx.edu/

• http://www.classe.cornell.edu/

• http://www.physics.smu.edu/

• http://www2.nuu.edu.tw/

• http://sm2l.snu.ac.kr

Back to top