OVERVIEW

The course covers the main topics of Solid State Physics from macroscopic models describing the heat capacity to microscopic models describing the band structure and its influence on phenomena like optical absorption, dielectric properties, magnetism and superconductivity

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Achieving a thorough understanding of the properties of solids at the microscopic level. Students will master the concepts of crystal lattice, lattice dynamics, and electronic band structure. The correlations of crystal lattice and bandstructure with a) , dielectric response and electronic excitations and, b) metallic, semiconductor and insulator behavior will be highlighted. The effects of electronic correlation will be introduced to explain the magnetic properties and excitations, as well as the origin of metallic, semiconductor and insulatorsuperconductivity. Lattice dynamics, excited electronic states behavior and optical properties will be discussed. Experimental as well as theoretical characterization methods will be introduced. The main physical synthesis and functionalization techniques will be discussed.

PREREQUISITES

a course in quantum mechanics

TEACHING METHODS

The course will have frontal lectrues as well as laboratory exercises

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Failure of classical mechanics in the description of condensed matter.
• Properties associated with the discreteness of matter: normal modes and phonons.
• Concept of wavevector, its quantization in on the lattice and phonon density of states.
• The heat capacity of a solid: Einstein and Debye models.
• Chemical bonds, unit cell and symmetry properties.
• Concept of direct and reciprocal space.
• Probing the crystal lattice: scattering of electrons, neutrons and X rays off three and two-dimensional lattices.

The electronic and optical properties:

• Free electron gas in electric and magnetic fields.
• Fermi Dirac statistics and the specific heat of an electron gas.
• The Fermi energy, wavevector and surface of a solid.
• The band structure and the single particle approximation for the valence electrons.
• Dielectric response function, plasmon and surface plasmon.
• Photoemission spectroscopy and work function.
• The tight binding model: valence and conduction bands, metals, semiconductors and insulators. Electrons and holes , and their ffective mass.
• Doping of semiconductor, semiconductor junctions and devices.

Magnetism:

• The various magnetic properties of a solid: para, dia, ferri and ferro-magnetism.
• The magnetism of conduction electrons: Pauli paramagnetism and Landau diamagnetism.
• Magnetic anisotropy, magnetic domains and hysteresis.
• Understanding magnetism: Heisenberg Hamiltonian and Hubbard model for ferromagnetism.

Superconductivity:

• The superconducting state, critical temperature, current and magnetic field
• The mechanism of correlation: Cooper pairs and the formation of the energy gap
• BCS theory and the Bose condensate

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simon Lectures in Solid State Physics which can be downloaded from the Internet.

Ibach Lueth Introduction to Solid State Physics, Springer Verlag, 

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARIO AGOSTINO ROCCA (President)

GIANANGELO BRACCO

GIOVANNI CARRARO (President Substitute)

LESSONS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam in which the student will start introducing a topic of his/her choice.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

the student will present an advanced topic of his/her choice and sit eventually for the examination on the whole programme. The laboratory reports will be weighted 20% and the oral exam 80% for the final mark