Condensed Matter 1

Gecondenseerde materie 1

Course manual 2019/2020

Course content

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 Dutch physics 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 Mechanics / structure of matter (5092QUDM6Y) – 2nd year Jan., Feb. & Mar.
- Cond-mat-2 (50922COM6Y) – 3rd year, Feb. & Mar.
- Physics of Energy: sun, water, wind and storage (5092PESW6Y) – 3rd year, Nov. & Dec.

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 (5092STFY6Y) – 2nd year, Apr. & May
- Advanced Quantum Physics (5092ADQP6Y) – 3rd year, Sept. & Oct.
- Atomic Physics (5092ATPH6Y) – 3rd year, Nov. & Dec.

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. Besides 14 lectures and 14 problem-solving classes, a lab-tour within the UvA's IoP will be organized 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

• be able to describe the microscopic structure of a solid, and explain how this arises from its composition and atomic bonding, and how the structure can be determined experimentally
• be able to describe the key quantum properties of electrons in metals and to explain how they are relevant for electronic transport
• be able to explain how the quantum character of electrons and the periodicity of lattice combine to influence the electronic properties of crystalline materials so distinguishing between metals, semiconductors and insulators
• be able to explain how the electronic properties of solids are influenced by external factors such as temperature or electric field
• be able to derive analytical expressions for the band structure of simple crystalline solids
• be able to describe and explain how the free electron model of metals can be applied to semiconductors
• be able to understand and explain the electronic and optical properties of semiconductors, comparing and contrasting to the case of metals and insulators
• be able to understand and describe the connection between the microscopic structure with the macroscopic electronic and optical properties of semiconductor devices, leading to the ability to evaluate and identify suitable application areas for different individual device structures

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar

• 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 all the necessary skills and knowledge to master the course. Following the lectures 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 which 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 one-by-one or also binge-watched, at your leisure. Here is the web-link to use for the 'webcollege catalogue' for GM1:

https://webcolleges.uva.nl/Mediasite/Catalog/Full/acd7cff5d90149af89e35dcaffdcea6221

• problem solving classes (PSCs), in datanose possibly called seminar

Active and serious participation in the PSCs and the problems set is a vital part of the success formula for GM1. The test questions in PE1 and PE2 are just like the PSC questions, and thus getting to know how to recognise the problem being asked and an efficient route to take to get to the answers. '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 her/himself, 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.
• In addition to the above mentioned rules, in the first semester of the first year a student should be present in at least 80% of the seminars. Moreover, participation to midterm tests and obligatory homework is required. If the student does not comply with these obligations, the student is expelled from the resit of this course. Students in the double Bachelor's degree programme Mathematics and Physics are exempted from this requirement. In case of personal circumstances, as described in OER-A Article A-6.4, a different study plan will be made in consultation with the study advisor.

Additional requirements for this course:

none.

Assessment

Examination

PE1 - the first partial exam - covers the material from L1-6 (L7 is a re-cap session) and PSCs1-6 (PSC 7 is a re-cap/Q&A ‘surgery’).

PE2 - this is the second partial exam, and this covers the rest of the material: L8-13 (L14 is a re-cap session), and PSCs 8-13 (PSC 14 is a re-cap session).

PE1-retake - this is a re-take option for PE1, and is held directly after the PE2 partial exam.

Global-retake - this is the re-take of GM1 as a whole, and this always covers the whole of the course material.

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

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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 the same sitting: yes, it is LONG, that is why you should take PE1 seriously). 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.
5. If your PE1-retake <5, or your PE2 <5, or with both of these at a 5 or more but the average of both being <5.5, then unfortunately you have failed GM1. Then the Global-retake, covering the whole course material is held in early February (the 11th) 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. 

Inspection of assessed work

Contact the course coordinator to make an appointment for inspection.

Assignments

PSC exercises

• see PSCs above; WIG (working in groups) being used.

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

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Honours information

-

Additional information

Recommended prior knowledge:

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

Language:
Lectures will be given in English. All three TA’s are Dutch speakers, so explanations in PSCs can also be given in Dutch, as long as all students in the group are OK with that. 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 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 [Czech (Kat), German [Mark]…], if English poses too much of a barrier.

Processed course evaluations

Our thanks to the 56% of stud­ents who responded to the end-of-course questionnaire: we value your opinion highly.
We are very pleased to see a core group of students attending almost all the lectures (63% followed 81-100% of the lectures) and tutorials/problem solving classes (56% attended 81-100% of the PSC’s): we stress active participation is the key to success in PE1 and PE2.

Students rated the course as a whole with a mark above an 8, clearly in the top 20% when referenced to other courses, with 94% of students very satisfied. 92% of students rated the course as instructive and 94% of students were very satisfied with the knowledge and understanding they achieved in keeping with the learning outcomes. With these scores, it is clear we would do the cohort 2019_2020 a disservice if we were to change everything.

As regards course quality GM1_2018_2019 scored at or well above the median of a group of reference courses. The only very slightly negative exceptions are on workload and level, where GM1 is seen scored as very slightly light-weight and very slightly easy. Our feeling is that this could be influenced by the significant 3rd year (and higher) contingent in the student group.

The student feedback from 2018_2019 said that the ratio of exam material to exam time needed attention (=students found they had no time for a final look through before the exam time ran out), and that the exams were on the easy side. In 2019_2020, we take on board a constructive suggestion of a few students from the 2018_2019 class to (a) keep the total amount of exam material in either PE1 or PE2 the same, but (b) to add a further 30 minutes to the length of time for the exam. Thus, this year PE1 is 2.5h, as is PE2.
The PE1-retake will be shorter (1.5h), so the total marathon sitting PE2 + PE1-retake remains 4h.
The student feedback from last time that the exams were on the easy side means this year, we'll toughen them up! 

Contact information

Coordinator

• prof. dr. Mark Golden

Coördinator:           prof.dr. Mark Golden            (m.s.golden@uva.nl)
Other lecturers:    dr. Katarina (Kat) Newell     (k.newell@uva.nl)
PSC TA's:
Group A =                Steef Smit (S. Smit@uva.nl)
Group B =                Jans Henke (J.Henke@uva.nl)
Group C =                Stephan Bron (S.Bron@uva.nl)