Physics of Materials

(0581.3121)

First Semester, 2017–2018
Lectures: Sundays (09:00 to 12:00)
Exercises: (to be scheduled)
Instructor: Dr Oswaldo Diéguez (Office 122 Wolfson Mech. Eng., dieguez@tau.ac.il)
Teaching Assistant: (to be confirmed)

Language

This Course will be taught in English.

Why This Course?

We will learn how the behavior of a material emerges as a consequence of the interactions between its atoms. In particular, atoms have electrons, which play a major role in the structural, electrical, optical, magnetic, and thermal properties of a material. We will understand why copper conducts electricity so well, but diamond does not; why when you see a material that is shiny you can assume that it conducts electricity; and why some materials can be magnetized enough to stick to your refrigerator. For this, we will rely on the most accurate theory for describing phenomena at the nanoscale—quantum mechanics.

Prerequisites

This is a third year undergraduate course for students working towards a materials science and engineering degree. It is expected that you have been exposed to beginning-level university courses in physics, chemistry, and mathematics.

Format of the Course

We meet four times every week, for 50 minutes each time (please do not arrive late). Three of the weekly meetings are for lectures with the instructor, and the fourth is for exercises with the teaching assistant. Attendance is not compulsory, but it is recommended.

Grading

There will be Homework Exercises to be submitted through the Moodle page of the Course.

There will be a final exam. It will be a multiple-choice test, similar to the quizzes, but with more questions.

Your final grade is your Exam grade, if it is higher than your Homework grade; otherwise, your final grade is 50% Homework and 50% Exam.

List of Lectures

This is a list of possible Lectures to be given, depending on the pace at which we are able to advance in the Course:

1. Introduction to the Course
2. The Atomistic Approach
3. A Simple Model: The Heat Capacity of Monoatomic Gases
4. Dulong-Petit Law: Heat Capacity of Monoatomic Solids at High Temperature
5. Ionic Bonding in Crystals
6. Bonding in Materials
7. The Atomic Structure of Materials
8. Wave Diffraction of Crystals
9. X-Ray Diffraction Methods
10. The Elasticity of Materials
11. Atomic Motion
12. Einstein Model of Heat Capacity: Energy Is Quantized
13. Phonons in Crystals
14. Debye Model of Heat Capacity: Atoms Vibrate Collectively
15. Other Thermal Properties of Materials
16. Particle-Wave Duality in Quantum Physics
17. The Quantum Mechanics of the Hydrogen Atom
18. The Quantum View of The Periodic Table
19. The Quantum Origin of Covalent Bonding
20. From Bonds to Bands: the Infinite Atomic Chain
21. From Bonds to Bands: into Two and Three Dimensions
22. Band Gaps: Origin and Consequences
23. The Example of s − p Bonding In Silicon
24. Semiconductors: p − n Junctions
25. Semiconductors: Solar Cells and Transistors
26. The Free Electron Theory of Metals
27. The Nearly-Free Electron Theory of Metals
28. Electrical and Thermal Conductivity In Metals
29. Dielectrics and Ferroelectrics
30. Introduction to Modern Quantitative Electronic Structure Theory
31. Optical Properties of Materials: Phenomenological Theory
32. Optical Properties of Semiconductors
33. Optical Properties of Insulators
34. Optical Properties of Metals
35. Classical Theories of Magnetism and Ordering
36. Magnetism of Ions and Electrons
37. Quantum Mechanics of Interacting Magnetic Moments
38. Superconductivity
39. Current Topics in The Physics of Materials

References

We do not use any particular textbook for this course. The slides I use in class will be available to you through Moodle. If you want to find out more about a particular topic you can consult, for example, the following references.

The level of the course is similar to the level in books such as these:

• Electronic Properties of Materials, by Rolf E. Hummel, Springer (2011).
• Introduction to the Electronic Properties of Materials, by David C. Jiles, CRC (2001).

Advanced textbooks of common use in physics graduate-level courses are:

• Solid State Physics, by Neil W. Ashcroft and N. David Mermin, Brooks Cole (1976).
• Introduction to Solid State Physics, by Charles Kittel, Wiley (2004).
• Condensed Matter Physics, by Michael P. Murder, Wiley (2015).

Books that explain in simple language the main ideas in this subject are:

• The Nature of Solids, by Alan Holden, Dover (2011).
• Electronic Structure of Materials, by Adrian P. Sutton, Clarendon (1993).