Materials Structure and Electronic Properties

Catalog description

Course is intended for first year graduate students in MSE, or graduate students in other fields, needing a solid foundation in structural and electronic properties for advanced study/research in materials. Atomic and molecular structure of crystalline, molecular, semicrystalline, and amorphous materials including: crystallography and symmetry; reciprocal lattice; order and disorder; point defects. Diffraction techniques for structural characterization: Bragg's Law, structure factors; thin film and size broadening; Debye scattering; symmetry breaking. Use of tensors to describe macroscopic physical properties and connections between symmetry and properties. Electrical properties of materials including: mechanisms of conduction; band structure and correlation with crystallography; modification of electrical properties in materials; charge transport across interfaces and semiconductor junctions; interaction of materials with light; fundamental semiconductor electronic devices (e.g. diodes, MOSFETS).