Southern Illinois University

Please note As a part of Thushari Jayasekera's ongoing educational project , Physics and FUN with Clicks", this webpage aims at Learning the basics of Solid State Physics and Materials Science with Interactive Simulations. Please note that this is a work in progress... Simulations are being added as time permits.

These notes are tied with a course I teach at SIUC. It is my goal to design these class notes with embedded interactive simulations to reach any interested reader world-wide.

Materials Science is an essential part of everyday life. When Scientists/engineers design a product, the next crucial step is the choose appropriate materials to build it. Conversely, one should understand the propperties of materials to design a product. Properties of materials are determined by their atomic structue. Advanced technologies allow us th engineer materials at the atomic scale, so that the properties of materials can also be engineered for desired properties. This essentially shows the importance of understanding the properties of materials at the atomic level, which we will develop through this class.

Detailed Learning Objectives	Assignments/ Notes
Section I - Crystal Structures ( This section is usually covered in twelve 50-minute lectures)	Lecture Notes
What is Solid State Physics Introduction to Crystalline and Amorphous Structures Why some Materials are Crystalline in Nature? 2-D Crystals and their Symmetries - We will give a detailed explanation to crystallographic terminology with the 2D crystalline structure 3-Dimensional Crystal Structures 7 Lattice Systems and 14 Bravais Lattices Examples - Polonium (simple cubic), Lithium (BCC), Cu (FCC) Lattices with a basis -We will identify few families of crystalline materials such as NaCl, CsCl, Diamond, Zinc Blende, Wurtzite etc. We will vislualize all crystal structures using XCRYSDEN software Planes and Directions Crystallographically equivalent Planes and Directions Packing Fractions Closely Packed Structures Experimental Determination of Crystal Structures- Introduction to Reciprocal Lattice Complex Structure (Quasi Crystals, Alloys, Glasses, Polymers etc.)	Quiz1 Quiz2 Quiz3 HW1 HW2 HW3
Section II - Mechanical Properties ( This section is usually covered in five 50-minute lectures)	Lecture Notes
How does a material respond to an external stress What are elastic properties and how do we characterize them? Continuum Approximation Discrete Atomistic Modes - Normal Modes of Lattice Vibrations and Phonons
EXAM I
Section III - Electronic Properties	Lecture Notes
Physics of Semiconductors	Lecture Notes
Measuring Band Structure	LectureNotes



































FINAL EXAM (Comprehensive) 7.50 am to 9.50 am

DEpartment of physics

THUSHARI Jayasekera - ASSistant Professor

Main Content Area