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PHYS965 Advanced Solid State Physics

Spring Semester 1999

 

Last updated: 02/14/1999

Instructor?   Olof Echt, tel: 2-3548. email: olof.echt@unh.edu, office hours: Mo/We/Fr 8:30 - 10:30 am
When & where?   Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 11:10 am – 12:00, in DeMeritt 304
First day of class?   January 20

Click here for a list of important dates (quizzes, tests, colloquia, due dates)

 

Topics

First half of semester

Review of Introductory Solid State Physics
Crystal structure, reciprocal lattice, crystal binding, phonons, quantized free electron gas, energy bands, Fermi surfaces, basic properties of semiconductor crystals.

Physics of semiconductors, optical properties of solids, superconductivity.

Required textbook: none. A variety of useful textbooks are on Reserve, see below.

Second half of semester

Current topics in condensed matter physics: low dimensional systems & artificial structures
Quantum wells, superlattices, quantum Hall effect, quantized resistance, atomic clusters, fullerenes, nanotubes.

Literature: books and research articles

 

Expectations & Grading:

  1. Homework will assigned and discussed in class, but will not be graded.
  2. The material reviewed during the first two weeks will be subject to a quiz (10 points).
  3. The material discussed during the remainder of the first half semester will be subject to one quiz (10 points) and one test (20 points).
  4. The final exam (25 points) will cover the material discussed after spring break.
  5. Students will be expected to attend all departmental colloquia and seminars which are related to condensed matter physics. Click here for topics and dates. Seven days after each of these talks, a one-page summary is due (five talks, 2 points each).
  6. One term paper, about 2000 to 3000 words, (20 points). Describe a major discovery in condensed matter physics which is accredited to essentially one scientist: A biography of the discoverer, the context of the discovery (what was known in the field at the time of the discovery? Was the discovery accidental?), the actual discovery, its impact on science and society. Your paper (typewritten, with graphs, bibliography, etc.) should be based on at least one of each of the following sources: a historical account; two original research papers co-authored by the discoverer, one of which may be an account of the discovery in the author’s own words; a comprehensive review article of the topic.
  7. (Second half of semester) For a given topic suggested by the instructor, identify literature which will form the basis for a one-hour discussion in class. Prepare an introductory oral presentation, and then lead a class discussion (5 points).

 

Books on Reserve:

Ashcroft N.W. & Mermin N.D. Solid State Physics
Burns G. Solid State Physics
Burns G. High-Temperature Superconductivity: An Introduction
Chelikowsky J.R. & Franciosi A. Electronic Materials: A New Era in Materials Science
Davies J.H. The Physics of Low Dimensional Semiconductors
Hoddeson L. Out of the Crystal Maze
Ibach H. & Lüth H. Solid State Physics
Imry Y. Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics
Kittel C. Introduction to Solid State Physics
Kresin V.Z. & Wolf S.A. Fundamentals of Superconductivity
Madelung O. Introduction to Solid State Theory
Myers H.P. Introductory Solid State Physics
Reed M.A. & Kirk W.P. Nanostructure Physics and Fabrication
Sapoval B. & Hermann C. Physics of Semiconductors
Seeger K. Semiconductor Physics
Segre E. From X-rays to Quarks : Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries
Silsbee R.H. & Dräger J. Simulations for Solid State Physics