Undergraduate - UnitPHS3042 - Fundamentals of condensed matter physics

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Science
Organisational Unit	School of Physics
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Alexis Bishop

Synopsis

This unit provides part of a major in experimental physics. It consists of four 6-lecture sub-units and laboratory work. Key areas are:

Condensed Matter Physics: the concept of reciprocal space, the basic theory for the behaviour of electrons and phonons in solid crystalline materials, band theory, phonons, electronic properties of semiconductors, superconductivity, superfluidity, low dimensional materials, quasi-periodic and amorphous solids.
Scattering and Spectroscopy: principles of magnetic resonance, Mossbauer, IR and Raman, XPS and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, fundamentals of diffraction theory, diffraction from crystals and amorphous materials, scattering of neutrons, x-rays and synchrotron radiation.
Laboratory work: experimental laboratory work on relevant topics.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Recall fundamental concepts from the sub-unit of Scattering Theory, which include light and matter waves, scattering of photons, neutrons and electrons, scattering potential and scattering integral, First Born approximation, the Fourier transform, Thomson scattering, scattering from atoms, molecules, crystals, amorphous materials, liquids and gases, form and structure factors, Bragg diffraction and Ewald sphere construction, crystallography, and small-angle scattering;

Recall fundamental concepts from the sub-unit of Spectroscopy, which include interactions of photons and particles with matter, absorption and scattering cross-sections, elastic and inelastic scattering, principles and applications of each of the following: electron spin resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance, Mossbauer spectroscopy, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy;

Recall fundamental concepts from the sub-unit of Condensed Matter Physics, which include crystal structures, reciprocal lattice, quasicrystals, phonons and phonon dispersion , Einstein and Debye models of specific heat, energy bands and electron dispersion, superfluidity and superconductivity, derivation of critical temperature, two-fluid model for superfluid He-4, macroscopic wave function, vorticity, Quantization of circulation, Meissner effect, London equations, superconducting gap, Cooper pairs, Type I and Type II superconductors, flux quantization, systems with reduced dimensions, derivation of 0-D,1-D,2-D density of states, conduction in 1-D, properties of graphene and carbon nanotubes, amorphous and glassy materials, and structural characterization by scattering;

Solve new problems in physics related to the core concepts of the unit by drawing on the theoretical underpinnings that illustrate the physics;

Perform measurements and analysis on experiments that demonstrate the theoretical physics described in this and other Physics units;

Produce experimental reports that present results, analyse and discuss the implications and outcomes of experimental work.

Assessment

Examination (3 hours): 46%
Laboratory work: 34%
Assignments: 20%
Students must achieve a pass mark in the practical component to achieve an overall pass grade.