PHYS4450 Solid State Physics (Winter 2013)
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PHYS4450 Solid State Physics (Winter 2013)
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Lecture Notes
  • Chapter 0 -- Front Matter (Assessments & TAs)
  • Course outline and book list (including e-books)
  • Important Dates and Guidelines for Self-Study and Presentation part of assessment
  • Chapter 1 -- Overview
  • Chapter II - Part 1 - Crystal Structure I [Lattices, Bravis lattcies, description, primitive vectors, primitive unit cells, Wigner-Seitz cells, conventional unit cells, lattice vectors, simple lattices in 2D and 3D]
  • Chapter II - Part 2 - Crystal Structure I [Cubic lattices, Directions in crystals, Lattice planes, Miler indices, direction normal to a set of planes, distance between adjacent planes]
  • Chapter II (Appendix A) -- Illustrating why 5-fold symmetry is missing in Bravais lattices
  • Chapter II (Appendix B) -- A remark on quasicrystals
  • Chapter III -- Crystal Structures II (decorating lattice points by atoms)
  • Chapter IV -- The Reciprocal Lattice and Brillouin Zone
  • Chapter IV (Appendix A) -- Brillouin Zones
  • Chapter IV (Appendix B) -- Expanding a periodic function using plane waves as an application of reciprocal lattice
  • Chapter V (Part 1) -- Elastic Scattering of Waves in Solids (Basic idea of scattering theory, X-ray diffraction, Laue Condition and Bragg condition)
  • Chapter V (Part 2) -- Examples (SC, FCC, BCC), Ewald construction and ideas on meeting the Laue condition (thus X-ray diffraction methods)
  • Extension I -- Developments to watch in determining crystal structures
  • Chapter VI (Part 1) -- Lattice Vibrations (Phonons) [What is the problem? Born-Oppenheimer/Adiabatic approximation, Review on normal modes]
  • Chapter VI (Part 2) -- Lattice Vibrations (Phonons) [1D monatomic infinite chain (dispersion relation) and what does periodicity do? Finite chain plus periodic boundary conditions (mimic an infinite chain), counting the number of modes]
  • Chapter VI (Part 3) -- Lattice Vibrations [Linear diatomic chain, acoustic branch and optical branch, transverse and longitudinal motions]
  • Chapter VI (Part 4) -- Lattice Vibrations [higher dimenions, counting of branches and modes, ideas on phonons, get ready for counting the density of modes]
  • Chapter VI (Appendix A) -- Quantum Mechanics of a Harmonic Oscillator (short review)
  • Chapter VI (Appendix B) -- Statistical Physics of a collection of independent harmonic oscillators (see PHYS4260)
  • Chapter VI (Appendix C) -- Physical Picture of collective excitations (ground state as vacuum, excited states as a few excitations)
  • Chapter VI (Appendix D) -- Physical Momentum of lattice vibrations
  • Chapter VI (Appendix E) -- General Formalism via the Dynamical Matrix
  • Chapter VI (Appendix F) -- Goldstone mode and Universal behavior
  • Optional Appendix A - A 4-page summary from how to treat discrete chain and a continuous chain quantum mechanically
  • Optional Appendix B -- A 27-page drivations on quantizing a discrete chain and a continuous chain
  • Chapter VII (Part 1) - Thermal Properties of Solids (mostly due to phonons) [Heat capacity of solids, Statistical Physics of phonons (harmonic oscillators), Einstein model]
  • Chapter VII (Part 2) -- The density of states or density of normal modes
  • Chapter VII (Part 3) -- The Debye model (statistical mechanics calculations, the physical picture, a hand-waving argument)
  • Chapter VII (Supplementary) -- A clearer table on data of molar heat capacity of elements at room temperature
  • Chapter VII (Appendices) -- Anharmonic Effects (Thermal expansion and Thermal Conduction in insulators)
  • Chapter VII (Supplementary) - Tables of Data (expansion coefficient, sound speed, thermal conductivity)
  • Extension II -- Phonons (Developments to watch)
  • Chapter XIII (Part 1) -- Free electron model of metals (Periodic BC, density of states, 3D case - Fermi energy, Fermi wavevector, Fermi surface, Fermi-Dirac distribution]
  • Chapter XIII (Part 2) -- Free electron model of metals [Electronic heat capacity, Basic transport quantities, Drude model of conductivity (and optical properties)]
  • Chapter XIII (Appendix) -- Free electron model of metals [Stat Mech calculation of low-temperature heat capacity of an ideal Fermi gas]
  • Chapter IX -- General Discussions on Electronic States in Solids
  • Chapter X (Part 1) -- Energy Band Theory [General Formalism - Plane wave expansion or turning the energy band problem into a huge matrix problem, the nearly free electron model]
  • Chapter X (Part 1) -- Energy Band Theory [Tight Binding Model - Extension the LCAO formalism in molecular physics to solids]
  • Chapter X (Supplement 1) -- Turning a Schrodinger Equation problem into a matrix problem
  • Chapter X (Supplement 2) -- An alternative derivation of the Central Equation in band structure problem using plane waves as the basis set
  • Chapter X (Supplement 3) -- 2x2 matrices cover much physics
  • Chapter X (Supplementary Pages) -- Band Theory and Nearly free energy model (19 March 2013)
  • Chapter X (Extension) -- Graphene Band Structure and Massless Ferimon
  • Chapter X (Extension) -- ABC of Relativistic QM
  • Chapter X (Extension) -- Photonic Band Gap Materials
  • Electronic Bands -- Extension
  • Chapter XI -- After getting the energy bands
  • Chapter XII -- Electron Dynamics [Velocity of an electron in a Bloch state, Full bands do not conduct, Semi-classical equation of motion, Dynamical effective mass]
  • Chapter XII (Supplementary Notes) -- Perturbation
  • Chapter XIII (Part 1) -- Semiconductor Physics (Band Structures, Filled Bands do not conduct, Missing electrons, Concept of Holes, Fermi energy at mid-gap and semiconductor statistics]
  • Chapter XIII (Part 2) -- Semiconductor Physics [Doping, Impurities, conductivity and mobility, Some optical properties, exciton]
  • Chapter XIV -- More on Transport Properties (metals)
  • Chapter XV -- Magnetism I (non-ferromagnetism)
  • Chapter XV -- Magnetism I (supplementary data sheets)
  • Chapter XVI -- Ferromagnetism
  • Final Remarks -- A list of Further Reading


  • Problem Sets and Sample Questions for Weekly Exercise Classes
  • Week 1 Exercise Class and Week 1 Announcement
  • Problem Set 1 (due 1 Feb 2013) and Sample Questions SQ1,2,3 for Week 2 Exercise Class
  • Sample Questions SQ4,5,6 for Week 3 Exercise Class
  • Lab Visit for Week 4 Exercise Class (Announcement)
  • Problem Set 2 (due 20 Feb 2013)
  • Sample Questions SQ7,8 for Week 5 Exercise Class
  • Problem Set 3 (due 8 March 2013)
  • Sample Questions SQ9,10,11 for Week 6 Exercise Class
  • Sample Questions SQ12,13,14 for Week 7 Exercise Class
  • Sample Questions SQ15,16 for Week 8 Exercise Class
  • Problem Set 4 (due 26 March 2013)
  • Sample Questions SQ17,18,19 for Week 10 Exercise Class
  • Sample Questions SQ20,21,22 for Week 11 Exercise Class
  • Problem Set 5 (due 14 April 2013)
  • Sample Questions SQ23,24 for Week 12 Exercise Class
  • Sample Questions SQ25,26,27 for Week 13 Exercise Class
  • Problem Set 6 (due 30 April 2013)


  • Solutions


    Exercise Class/Solutions to Sample Questions


    Others
  • Week 2 Class Work - Lattice planes and Miller indices in direct lattice, reciprocal lattice and G
  • Supplement I (Free electron model of metals) -- Chapter on Ideal Fermi Gas from Statistical Mechanics Course