Materials Physics

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of the physics of matter in the solid state. Students will also learn a broad range of topics usually associated with solid state and related experimental techniques including: crystal structure and band theory, density functional theory, a survey of properties of metals and semiconductors, phonons, electron-phonon interaction and superconductivity. Ultimately, this is a course where you will see the physics you have learned in many of your past courses come together. Students will also see demonstrations of instrumentation use in the imaging and characterization of solid state materials including atomic force microscopes, X-ray diffractometer, and various electron microscopes.