Condensed Matter 1

Gecondenseerde materie 1

Owner	Bachelor Natuur- en Sterrenkunde (joint degree)
Coordinator	prof. dr. Mark Golden
Part of	Double bachelor Mathematics and Physics, year 2Bachelor Physics and Astronomy (Joint Degree), year 2Bachelor Science, Technology & Innovation, specialisation High-tech designer materials, year 2Bachelor Bèta-gamma, major Natuurkunde, year 3

Course manual 2025/2026

Course content

Please see the Canvas page "Before starting GM1...." for the most up to date version of the course manual.
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The world around us is dominated by solids. Correspondingly, condensed matter physics is the largest sub-discipline in the global physics research scene, and one in which The Netherlands plays a prominent role. This lecture course (GM1) introduces the most important concepts that underpin modern (quantum) condensed matter and materials physics.

GM1 (or CondMat1) - as the course is abbreviated - acts as a good basis / or inspiration for the following courses:

• Quantum Concepts – 2nd year
• Emergence - 2nd year
• Physics of Sustainable Energy - 2nd year

Concepts and ideas used in GM1/CM1 will return and some of the ‘missing’ theory background will be filled-in in these courses:

• Statistical physics - 2nd year
• Quantum Physics 2 – 2nd year
• Advanced Quantum Physics – 3rd year
• Atomic Physics– 3rd year
• Workshop Physics and Astronomy – 3rd year

Condensed matter physics is an essential part of the MSc tracks AMEP, Theoretical Physics, Science for Energy and Sustainability (SfES), and is helpful for GRAPPA. Beta-Gamma's are very welcome and have done this course with both pleasure and success in the past. ST&I BSc students are also welcome.

GM1 addresses the topics of bonding, crystal structure, free electrons in metals, the impact of periodic lattice potential on electronic wavefunction and energy levels, the properties and description of semiconductors and semiconductor devices like LEDs or solar cells.

The basic structure is 14 lectures and 14 problem-solving classes, plus a lab-tour within the UvA's IoP, the aim of the latter being to give you a taste of how experimental research into solid state materials is really done in practice.

If you would like to:

• understand how the theoretical physics describing the quantum properties of electrons in lattices leads to such a broad variety in the physical properties of materials (metals, insulators, semiconductors)
• understand how the physics behind the electronic and optical properties of solids can be exploited in the devices which underpin unmissable elements of modern society such as the semiconductor transistor, photovoltaics and optoelectronic devices such as LEDs

then this is the course for you.

Study materials

Literature

• J.R. Hook and H.E. Hall, 'Solid state physics', Second Edition, Wiley, ISBN 0-471-92805-4.

Other

• As appropriate, additional study material will be placed on Canvas.

Objectives

• Describe the microscopic structure of a solid; explain how this arises from its composition and bonding; explain how the structure can be determined experimentally.
• Describe the key quantum properties of electrons in metals; explain how they are relevant for electronic transport.
• Explain how the combination of the quantum character of electrons and the periodicity of lattice leads to metals, semiconductors and insulators.
• Explain how the electronic properties of solids are influenced by external factors such as temperature or electric field.
• Derive analytical expressions for the band structure of simple crystalline solids.
• Describe and explain how the (nearly) free electron model of metals is modified when the lattice potential is strong to yield the tight binding approximation.
• Explain how the electronic and optical properties of semiconductors are connected, comparing and contrasting to the case of metals and insulators.
• Describe the connection between the microscopic structure of semiconductor devices with their macroscopic electronic and optical properties; evaluate and identify.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Self-study
• Fieldwork/excursion

Lecture, in a plenary setting (abbreviated as L)

The lectures are intended to awake interest, providing both context and a first meeting point with the material. They are not intended to be exhaustive or 'enough' on their own for a student to pick up the necessary skills and knowledge to master the course. Following the lectures (real-time and/or via the films =‘webcolleges’) and using the lecture sheets/notes, plus working with the book, with any additional material on Bb, and - crucially - active participation in the problem-solving classes are essential for success.

GM1 contains lots of concepts that are new to the 2nd year students for whom the course is designed. The lectures try to help the students become able to internalise these concepts and - after thought and work from the students' side -  the core framework of condensed matter physics at this level should crystallize in the course of this lecture series. The lectures are - naturally - a place at which the astute student can pick up the emphasis and relative importance of the (many) new concepts, factual knowledge and procedures that are offered in class.

Lectures are FILMED and can be watched / re-watched at your leisure. The weblink for the filmed lectures will be published once the instructor has the link:

https://webcolleges.uva.nl/.....

Problem solving classes (PSCs)

Active and serious participation in the PSCs and the problems set is a vital part of the success formula for GM1.

A large proportion of the PSC questions are taken from or resemble very closely old PE1 and PE2 exam questions.

Thus getting to know how to recognise the problem being asked and an efficient route to take to get to the answers is an important skill. 'Doing it' is by the far the best way to pick up essential skills such as the application of knowledge, analysis of new problems, the evaluation of the relative impact of different factors, analysis of the merits and weaknesses of different models for different materials and creating connections between macroscopic and macroscopic properties. Working in groups is encouraged, but we emphasize that each individual student should be doing the exercises themselves, using the rest of the group to discuss the material and to help overcome the inevitable blockages that crop up on the way to successful completion of the exercises. Just looking over someone else's shoulder, reading their answers to a problem and saying 'oh yeah…….' does not generally do the trick, so please DIY.

 

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (TER-B):

• Each student is expected to participate actively in each component of the programme that he/she signed up for. A student that does not attend the first two seminars of a course, will be administratively removed from the seminar group. A request for reregistration for the seminars can be applied to the programme coordinator.
• If a student cannot attend an obligatory component of a programme's component due to circumstances beyond his control, he must report in writing to the relevant teacher as soon as possible. The teacher, if necessary after consulting the study adviser, may decide to issue the student a replacing assignment.
• It is not allowed to miss obligatory commponents of the programme if there is no case of circumstances beyond one's control.
• In case of participating qualitatively or quantitatively insufficiently, the examiner can expel a student from further participation in the programme's component or a part of that component. Conditions for sufficient participation are set down in advance in the course manual.

Additional requirements for this course:

none.

Assessment

Item and weight	Details
Final grade
1 (100%) Deeltoets 1

Examining GM1

At the end of the first half (L1-L7), PE1 is set: the first partial exam. PE1 will be 2.5h in duration (for regular time students). PE1 cover the material from L1-6 and PSC's 1-6, up to and including the nearly free electron model.

At the end of the 2nd half (L8-L14), comes PE2. This is the second partial exam, and this covers the material in the 2nd half of the course. This means the material from L8-13 and PSC8-13.  PE2 will be 2.5h in duration (for regular time students).

PE1-retake - this is a re-take option for PE1, as an added 'service' to students. We hold this directly after the PE2 partial exam. PE1-retake will be 1.5h in duration (for regular time students).

Global retake - this is the re-take of GM1 as a whole, and this always covers the whole of the course material. The Global retake will be 2.5h in duration (for regular time students).

GM1 exam rules and calculations (all marks mentioned are out of 10 [ten]):

• • Please read this carefully. In order to spread the load for you as students, and to offer a maximum of fair opportunities to show us you master the material, we have a carefully crafted exam system. You’ll save yourself time and pain if you understand the rules, now – not after the exams.
  • To be able to count, each and every partial exam (i.e. PE1, PE1-retake, and PE2) need to score greater than or equal to 5 (without rounding, so a 4.95=fail).
  • If your PE1 (held end September) score is 5 or above, then PE2 (held end October) is all you then need to sit: if your PE2 score is 5 or above, and the average of your PE1 and PE2 scores is equal to or greater than 5.5: success.
  • If your PE1 was <5, then your next option is to take PE1-retake and PE2. Both these exams are at the end of October (in this first online-only year for GM1 not in the same sitting). This combination of PE1-retake +PE2 covers the whole course material. As both PE1-retake and PE2 are partial exams, you need to score at least a five in both (i.e. a 4.95 for one or both = fail), and then the average of both still has to be at least a 5.5, then: success.
  • If your PE1-retake <5, or your PE2 <5, or both of these are at a 5 or more but the average of both is <5.5, then unfortunately you have failed GM1. Then the Global retake, covering the whole course material is held in early January (the 4th) is the only option in this academic year. If your Global retake score is greater than or equal to 5.5 (rounding to a six), then: success.

The Course Manual .pdf on Canvas contains a useful flow diagramme explaining this more simply. 

Breakdown of final GM1 mark:

• 100% of the total mark is from the sum of PE1 (50%) and PE2 (50%), or equivalent combinations involving retake-PE1 (retakePE1 50% PE2 50%) or the GlobalRetake (100%).
   As an example, if you score an 8.5 for PE1 and a 7.5 for PE2 then 100% of your total GM1 mark is an 8.

Please note:

Succeeding in both PE1 + PE2 is the shortest route to success in GM1, spreading the learning over two time-points: so please take PE1 very seriously, and ditto for PE2.

Inspection of assessed work

Contact the course coordinator to make an appointment for inspection.

We will offer inspection periods take a look at your completed exam questions and how they were marked (usually two different 1h ‘time-windows’) for each PE. In case that doesn’t work out, please contact Mark Golden (M.S.Golden@uva.nl)

Assignments

PSC exercises

• see PSCs above; students are encouraged to form a learning team (~4 students in total) to help both overcoming blocks when approaching problems, and to boost (social) cohesion within GM1. Students should DO the PSC problems THEMSELVES.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Honours information

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Additional information

Recommended prior knowledge:

It’s useful if you have had these courses or similar from elsewhere:

Quantumfysica-1, Elektriciteit en magnetisme, Trillingen & golven, thermische fysica.

However, given sufficient motivation and willingness to work hard, we have seen students enjoy and succeed at GM1 without these, so we do not make them a entry requirement.

Language:

Lectures will be given in English. All three TA’s have excellent English (one of the three is a Dutch speaker, the other two are Spanish and Greek native speakers). All examination papers will be in English, and all exam questions are proof-read by a native English speaker. Try your best to answer exam questions in English. If you blank out or are in time trouble (for example), use Dutch if you want. Legible hand-writing is MUCH more important that whether you use English or Dutch.

During lectures questions can also be asked in Dutch (of course), or another language the lecturer is fluent in [German in Mark’s case], if English poses too much of a barrier. 

Processed student feedback

See also the module ‘last year’s course evaluation’ in the Canvas site.

Firstly, my sincere thanks to the large number of students who took the time to respond. I really appreciate that. This was GM1’s personal best response: 85% of the students who took the partial exams: great!

I see a slight mismatch  between the time investment required (upper bound of 19.5h per week in GM1-manual) and the time the students are investing (9-16h) and looking at the very high exam success, I see that there is room to make GM1 a little more challenging in 2025-2026, or at least to tighten-up the exams a bit. This matches the 4.0/5 for academic challenge (one of only three scores not shaded green for ‘very satisfied’ in the overview of results).

Of the big DataNose number (102), the core students actually doing GM1 were 84. Of these, ca 40-50 were regulars in the lectures: THANKS to you lot: it is nice to see real faces, to get questions and gauge the 'temperature'.

On the plus side:
- The cohort found the lecture course very instructive (4.5/5) and clearly designed (4.2/5 & 4.5/5), scoring higher that the grey block.
- the lab tour was very much appreciated (N=38 agree/firmly agree that it was a useful addition, 13 were neutral, no-one negative)
From the hand-written comments:
- enthusiasm with which the course was given – instructor and TA’s 
- good or even great (blush) lectures with clean and structured sheets, well organised lectures, good examples & metaphors, sense of humour. More than N=1: lectures were ‘fun’.
- significance/impact of the subject was made clear
- challenging and interesting
- insightful connection QM and physical properties; connection to real world and real-world issues appreciated
- derivation on the chalkboard was nice
- lab tour nice for understanding the subject in practise; lab tour ++++++, lab tour awesome

- I did my best to provide feedback (via the PE's; rapid provision of QandA for the PSCs; close PSC proximity to PE Q's), and was pleased to see this edged into the green zone 4.0/5 & 4.2/5 compared to the previous year (2023_2024).

- as noted above, workload was on the low side and level (one of three non-greens) shows space to be increased in the future. This I have noted. Study material scored 4.0 /5.

- my student activating teaching score (4.0/5) was also one of three non-greens. I’ll discuss with colleagues and the TA team how we can improve further here.

- I’m very happy to see the learning outcomes scored very highly:
* knowledge and understanding scored (in the white bit above the grey box): 4.5/5
* link structure & properties (N=61 agree/firmly agree, score 4.3/5)
* applying fundamental concepts to solid state physics (N=60 agree/firmly agree, score 4.2)
* identify and discuss key concepts in solid state physics (N=59 agree/firmly agree, score 4.3/5)
- the PE1 and PE2 were found to be clear in terms of expectations (4.8 and 4.6/5) and appropriate in terms of content and learning outcomes (4.4 and 4.3 out of 5 for the two tests)

- the score for how instructive the PSCs were has gone up from last year’s 3.1/5 to 4.1/5: so thanks to Marie/Crystal; Ferran and Levi for upping the game
- looking at the detailed scores per TA: instructions were at the >=4/5; supervision all 4 and better; organisation was also very close to or at 4/5;l some TA’s could have demonstrated why the assignments were useful even better than they did (scores 3.5-4/5).

- clear structure form the modules (a suggestion from EvaSys 2023_2024 that I took on, so you can see your feedback helps)

Stuff to improve / constructive suggestions:
- partial exams too recognisable from the database: less Q recycling; more thought-provoking Q’s: _I’ll make work of this_
- it was clear the exams were on the too easy side. From the handwritten contents it is clear they are too predictable. _This signal is clear and I will change things on this_
- take care not to overuse metaphors in the Lectures
- try to make sure no PE is in REC C1.03 (awful, sloping, small tables)

Feedback via the Onderwijscommissie (other than is in the above):

!!!Get the grading done in time (PE2 was a bad one last year)!!! _Mea culpa: I will make sure this gets done within the deadline this time round_.

Final words =->
thanks again for the valuable feedback and for warming so nicely to the subject of Condensed Matter Physics. Please remember later in your studies that CondMat physics needs the interaction between theory and experiment, and consider that the latter is vital for applications as well as moving the dial on new fundamental discoveries.

 

Contact information

Coordinator

• prof. dr. Mark Golden

Mark Golden: lecturer and coordinator, m.s.golden@uva.nl (06 12 17 1673)

TA team:
Marie Tardieux (group A)  
TBA (group B)         
TBA (group C)