PHYSICS 4750 Physics of
Modern Materials
Syllabus
Fall 2013
Instructor: P. M. Shand. Office: 203 Begeman Hall
(PHY);
Telephone: 273-2930; e-mail: paul.shand@uni.edu;
web site: http://faculty.cns.uni.edu/~shand
Class Times: Lecture/Discussion Sessions: Mondays and
Wednesdays, 2:00Ð3:50 p.m. in PHY 014
Office
Hours: MWTR, 11:00Ð11:50
a.m. in PHY 203. You may also make an appointment to see me or just
show up at
my office and see whether I am available.
Textbook: L.
Solymar and D. Walsh, Electrical
Properties of Materials, 8th edition (Oxford University
Press,
New York, 2010)
Prerequisites: PHYSICS 4100 (Modern Physics), PHYSICS
4110 (Modern
Physics Laboratory)
Online
Course Information: E-Learning
or http://faculty.cns.uni.edu/~shand/pmm.htm
Academic Learning Center:
You are encouraged to utilize the Academic
Learning
CenterÕs free assistance with writing, math, science, reading, and
learning
strategies. UNIÕs Academic Learning Center is located in 008 ITTC.
Visit the
website at http://www.uni.edu/unialc/
or telephone 319-273-2361 for more
information.
Disabilities:
The
Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides protection from illegal
discrimination
for qualified individuals with disabilities. Students requesting
instructional
accommodations due to disabilities must arrange for such accommodations
through
the Office of Disability Services. The Office is located at 103 Student
Health
Center. Its telephone number is 273-2676.
Weather Emergencies: In the event of a weather emergency (tornado or
high
winds), the campus warning sirens will sound and a warning message will
be
broadcast inside Begeman Hall and inside Lang Hall.
If we are in class, we will immediately
move to an inside hallway (away from outside windows).
The hallway on a ground floor is the
best location, though any hallway (on any level) is better than a
classroom in
an emergency, if time is short. Do not
leave the building during such an emergency. Wind-borne debris can
seriously injure you.
Course
Description:
Physics of Modern Materials is
a course dedicated to the study of the physical properties of
materials, with
special emphasis on the electronic properties. A significant fraction
of the
course will be devoted to the physics of semiconductors and
semiconductor
devices. The reason is that the information and communication
technology
industry, which contributes significantly to the economic growth of the
United
States, is largely based on microprocessors and other hardware
fabricated from
silicon Ð a semiconductor. In addition, magnetic and superconducting
properties will be discussed, along with applications Ð both present
and
future. The driving and animating force of the course is the
illumination of
the principles of materials physics that underlie the operation of
modern
devices. Thus, the emphasis will be on the physics and not the
intricate
details of device technology. There will also be a small number of
laboratory
activities throughout the semester. Upon successfully completing this
course, a
student will have a basic understanding of band theory and its
application to
semiconducting materials and devices. The student should also be
conversant
with fundamental properties of optoelectronic, magnetic, and
superconducting
materials and their exploitation in various modern devices.
Attendance
and Assignments:
Attendance and participation are required at all class meetings
and
are your responsibility. It should be noted that studentsÕ records of
attendance and participation will be used in determining their final
grade in
borderline cases. Assignments must be submitted in class on the due
date.
Submission after this time will not be
accepted. Work that is missed or late due to absence may be made up
or
turned in late, as the case may be, if the absence is for good cause,
e.g.,
illness, emergency, or varsity activity. But, the student must explain
the
cause to the instructor and make the necessary arrangements. This
should be
done in advance if possible and certainly as soon as possible. A score
of zero
will be given to students who cheat in any way on work submitted for
grading.
The University may also impose severe penalties for cheating (see
2012-2014
UNI Catalog of Programs and Courses).
Homework: Homework will be assigned at
approximately weekly
intervals. The assignments will usually consist of end-of-chapter
problems from
the textbook. All the answers are
provided at the back of the textbook, so the emphasis in the grading
will be on
the solutions to the problems. Your
solutions must be presented in a clear, logical fashion with all
necessary
steps shown. Simply writing down
the answer with little or no explanation will result in a score of
zero.
Discussion of homework with others is encouraged, but the written
answers and
solutions submitted for grading should be your own
work. Homework assignments will usually be due one week after
the assignment is given. Solutions to the homework assignments will be
placed
on reserve in the Library (after the due date). The solutions will be
available
on-line on E-Learning.
First
Homework Assignment: Chapter 3, Exercise 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.11,
3.13;
Chapter 4, Exercise 4.4. Due: Wednesday,
9/4/13
Laboratory
Activities: There
will be a small number of experiments to be performed during
the semester. The experiments will be scheduled as close as possible to
the
time when the related course material is being discussed in the
lectures. Each
student must prepare a report on each experiment, due one week after
the
experiment is conducted. Laboratory reports should be written
using a
format similar to those used for articles in professional physics
journals. A
report should contain the following items: (1) An Introduction,
in which the purpose of the experiment, background
information, and theory are presented; (2) an Experimental
Details section,
in which the experimental procedure is briefly described; (3) a Results section, in which experimental
results (tables, graphs, sample calculations) are presented (with
associated
uncertainties); (4) An Error Analysis
section, in which experimental uncertainties are estimated; (5) a Discussion section, in which the
experimental results are interpreted and discussed; and (6) a Conclusions section, which is a brief
summary of the main conclusions drawn from the activity. The main
experimental
results (values) you obtained should be restated in the Conclusions
section.
Examinations: There will be two
examinations
during the semester and one final examination. (The final examination
will be a
non-comprehensive third examination.) There will be at least one
problem on
each chapter. A problem may have a qualitative part, i.e., you will be
required
to write a brief discussion. Each problem will have a quantitative part
involving calculations. The quantitative parts will be similar in scope
and
level of difficulty to the homework problems. If the date of an
examination has
to be changed, the instructor will notify students at least a week in
advance
of the original date.
Grading
Scheme: Performance in the
various
categories of work will count toward your final grade as follows: