PHY3023 : Advanced Materials and Solid-State Physics
- Offered for Year: 2020/21
- Module Leader(s): Dr Toby Hallam
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
Aims
To further develop the understanding of material concepts and to understand advanced concepts such as band theory.
Outline Of Syllabus
1. Crystalline Materials
• Structure
• Reciprocal space
• Diffraction
• Brillouin zone
2. Free Electrons
• Drude model
• Sommerfeld model
3. Nearly free electrons
• Bloch waves
• Central Equation
• Kronig Penney
• Band gap
4. Semiconductors
• Bands
• Holes
• Dopants and carriers
• Simple devices
5. Modern materials
• Graphene
• Carbon nanotubes
• Organic metals and semiconductors
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Tutorial sessions to cover solutions to practical problems |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Final Exam |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 30 | 0:30 | 15:00 | Revision for final exam |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 12 | 0:10 | 2:00 | Office hours |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 2 | 7:30 | 15:00 | Preparation, writing up of assessed assignments. |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 44:00 | 44:00 | Reviewing lecture notes, reviewing recap, general reading |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures provide core material and guidance for further reading, problem solving practice is provided through tutorials.
Office hours (two per week) provide an opportunity for more direct contact between individual students and the lecturer: a typical student might spend a total of one or two hours over the course of the module, either individually or as part of a group.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 1 | A | 80 | N/A |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 1 | M | 20 | 2 assignments - 10% each. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The examination provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate their understanding of the lecture course material. Two written assignments of equal weight allow the students to develop their problem solving techniques, to practice the methods learnt in the module, to assess their progress and to receive feedback; this assessment has a secondary formative purpose as well as a primary summative purpose.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PHY3023's Timetable