Physics of Materials

(0581.3121)

First Semester, 2018/19

Instructor: Dr Oswaldo Diéguez, dieguez@tau.ac.il

Teaching Assistant: Ravit Dvir, ravitdvir@mail.tau.ac.il

Language

This Course will be taught in English.

Content

The main theme of this Course is how the behavior of a material emerges from the interactions between its atoms. Atoms have electrons, which play a major role in the structural, electrical, optical, magnetic, and thermal properties of a material. For an accurate description of these electrons we will rely on the theory of quantum mechanics. This is the expected content of the Lectures:

1. Everything is Made of Atoms. We introduce this Course and its main theme through examples of classical models that work: the ideal gas law and the Dulong-Petit law.
2. Review of the Quantum Mechanics of Atoms. We review quantum mechanics, focusing first on the the hydrogen atom, and then on the structure of The Periodic Table.
3. Bonding in Materials. We analyze the main prototypes of bonding in materials: ionic, van der Waals, metallic, and covalent.
4. The Atomic Structure of Materials. We review the different phases in which materials can be found, and we focus our analysis in the description of crystals.
5. Diffraction. We discuss the physical principles of the technique that unveiled the atomic structure of crystals.
6. Crystal Vibrations. We introduce the physics of thermal atomic vibrations in materials, and we apply it to the study of the heat capacity of solids.
7. Free Electron Metals. We show how several properties of metals can be understood if we consider that some of their electrons behave like a very special gas.
8. Energy Bands. We explain the effect that the periodicity of crystals has on the electronic levels, which are grouped into bands.
9. Semiconductors. We learn the fundamentals of semiconductor devices, including intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, p–n junctions, and solar cells.
10. Dielectrics. We summarize the basics of how dielectrics react to electric fields; we discuss the case of piezoelectrics and ferroelectrics.
11. Magnetic Properties of Materials. We review how magnetic fields affect electrons and nuclei in materials, leading to macroscopic magnetic properties.
12. Optical Properties of Materials. We review how light affects electrons and nuclei in materials, leading to macroscopic optical properties.

Prerequisites

This is a third year undergraduate course designed for a materials science and engineering degree. It is expected that you have been exposed to beginning-level university courses in general physics, general chemistry, quantum mechanics, and mathematics. The courses that the Faculty of Engineering demands as prerequisites are obviously mandatory.

Format of the Course

There are three 50-minute Lecture Classes per week (with 10 minute breaks). There will be weekly Homework, available in the Moodle webpage of the Course after the Lectures.

During one Exercises Class (50 minutes) per week we go over the solutions to the Homework.

The meeting times are given in the webpage of the Faculty of Engineering.

Grading

Your Final grade is the highest of these two numbers: (1) Your Final Exam Grade, and (2) 33% of your Homework Grade plus 67% of your Final Exam Grade.

Homework and Final Exam questions are multiple-choice. Your Homework Grade is the average of your best 10 out of the 12 Homework sets (to compensate for one or two times in which unforeseen circumstances might prevent you from submitting Homework).

Etiquette

The assistance to class is not mandatory.

If you decide to come to class, please be respectful to others (for example, please do not eat in class, please arrive on time, and please do not use your cell phone in class).

References

We do not use any particular textbook for this course. 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).

If you are looking for a more advance treatment of some topics, you can try:

• 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).