Band structure of grapheme or carbon nanotubes.

Electrical, Optical, and Dielectric Materials

This site is created to support a course in the Electrical, Optical, and Dielectric Materials. The goal of this course is for students to be able to understand and apply the basic concepts and mathematical tools of classical and quantum physics underlying the electrical properties of materials and devices.

Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing this class, students (i.e., you) should be able to:

  1. Describe the two statistical approaches used to model carrier populations and explain the contexts for which each model is relevant.
  2. Solve Schrödinger’s equation to find solutions for quantum wells and quantum tunneling.
  3. Use the mathematics of quantum mechanics to find descriptions of the electronic bands of semiconductors and dielectrics.
  4. Draw and mathematically model energy band diagrams in real and reciprocal space for conductors, dielectrics, and semiconductors.
  5. Describe the operation of a variety of semiconductor devices using energy band diagrams.
  6. Analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions for electronic materials properties and device performance.
  7. Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

For the full course syllabus, see this PDF document: MSE 311 F22 Syllabus

This website is private and is provided as an aid for students and may not be shared without explicit permission from me.

Logistics


Schedule

Course Topics & Outline Preparation Discussion Deliverable
Week Date Topic(s) Reading/Viewing (to be completed prior to class) Synchronous Activities Homework/Notes
1 Aug 22 Basics MSE concept review Syllabus, Chapter 1.4.1, 1.5, 1.8 Quiz #1 / Activity #1  
Aug 24 Basics MSE concept review Chapter 1.10.1, 1.10.3, 1.10.4, 1.11, 1.13 Activity #1 cont. / Q&A  
2 Aug 29 Empirical Behavior of Electrons in Solids Chap. 2.1-2.3, Drude Model, Temperature Dependence of Resistivity Quiz #2 / Activity #2 Hmwk #1 (Mon. 8/29)
Aug 31 Empirical Behavior of Electrons in Solids Chap. 2.4-2.5, Resistivity of mixtures, Hall Effect Activity #2 cont. / Q&A  
3 Sep 5 Labor Day (no class) Hmwk #2 (Tues. 9/6)
Sep 7 Empirical Behavior of Electrons in Solids Chap. 2.10 Thin Films Activity #3 / Q&A  
4 Sep 12 Review Chapters 1-2 Activity #3 cont. / Q&A Hmwk #3 (Mon. 9/12)
Sep 14 Exam #1 Chapter 1-2    
5 Sep 19 Basics of Quantum Mechanics Chap. 3.1-3.2, Review of Quantum Physics Development, Photons and Electrons    
Sep 21 Basics of Quantum Mechanics Chap. 3.2-3.4, Schrödinger Eqn., Free Particle, Infinite Potential Well Quiz #3 / Q&A / Project Discussion  
6 Sep 26 Basics of Quantum Mechanics Chap. 3.5, Barriers Quiz #4 / Activity #4 Hmwk #4 (Mon. 9/26)
Sep 28 Modern Theory of Electrons in Solids Chap. 4.5-4.7, Electrons in metals Activity #4 cont. / Q&A Hmwk #5 (Fri. 9/30)
7 Oct 3 Modern Theory of Electrons in Solids Chap. 4.5-4.7, Electrons in metals, Density of States    
Oct 5 Review Chapters 3.1-3.5, 4.5-4.7 Q&A Hmwk #6 (Wed. 10/5)
8 Oct 10 Exam #2 Chapters 3.1-3.5, 4.5-4.7    
Oct 12 Modern Theory of Electrons in Solids Chap. 4.3, 4.11, Bloch Theorem, Kronig Penny Model (5.13 and notes)    
9 Oct 17 Semiconductors Band Structure   Hmwk #7 (Mon. 10/17) with Project Bibliography
Oct 19 Semiconductors Band Structure Activity #5  
10 Oct 24 Semiconductors Chap. 5.1, Intrinsic Semiconductors Quiz #5 / Activity #6  
Oct 26 Semiconductors Chap. 5.2 Extrinsic Semiconductors Activity #6 cont. / Q&A Hmwk #8 (Wed. 10/26)
11 Oct 31 Semiconductors Chap. 5.3 Temperature Dependence No Quiz / Activity #6 Hmwk #9 with Project Atomic Model (Tues. 11/1)
Nov 2 Review Chapters 4-5.3 Activity #6 cont. / Q&A  
12 Nov 7 Exam #3 Chapters 4-5.3    
Nov 9 Semiconductors -- No class --    
13 Nov 14 Semiconductors Chap. 5.4-5.6, Recombination, Lifetime, Diffusion Quiz #6 / Activity #7  
Nov 16 Semiconductor Devices Chap. 5.10, 5.11 Schottky Junctions, Ohmic Contacts Activity #7 cont. / Q&A Hmwk #10 (Wed. 11/16)
-- Nov 21 Thanksgiving Break
Nov 23
14 Nov 28 Semiconductor Devices Chap. 6.1-6.5, pn Junction Quiz #7 / Activity #8 Project Drafts Due Monday by 5 PM
Nov 30 Semiconductor Devices Chap. 6.1-6.5, Bipolar transistor, Junction field effect transistor Activity #8 cont. / Q&A Hmwk #11 (Fri. 12/2)
15 Dec 5 Buffer/Review Chapters 5-6    
Dec 7 Review Chapters 5-6   Project Data Sheets Due Friday by 5 PM
Final Exam: Monday, Dec 12 from 12:00-2:00 PM

Lectures

My lecture recordings are available on YouTube: lecture videos.

These should help to supplement the class discussions, course textbook, activities, and homework problems.


Activities

The activities listed here will be discussed and worked in class.

Homework

Homework should be prepared according to the Homework Guidelines. These templates and examples may be helpful:

The homework assignments are provided below and on Gradescope. Your solutions are to be submitted through the course's Gradescope site: https://www.gradescope.com/courses/411418
  1. Homework #1
  2. Homework #2
  3. Homework #3
  4. Homework #4
  5. Homework #5
  6. Homework #6
  7. Homework #7
  8. Homework #8
  9. Homework #9
  10. Homework #10
  11. Homework #11

Quizzes

When being administered, quizzes will be available here:

Materials Project


Textbooks and Resources

There are lots of good internet and library resources for learning more about the structure of materials. Some are listed below and some require access through the library or campus network.

Textbooks: These books are available as eBooks through the library: Other:

Literature

This is a collection of articles about materials relevant to this course. Some are older references and some are recent publications. Enjoy!