Physics 5335 (Semiconductor Physics) Web Page, Fall, 2008
1:00-2:20pm, Tuesday & Thursday, Science Room 103, Revised 8/29/08
Attention! This page & related pages are under construction!!
Course Syllabus. Learning Outcomes.
  Fall, 2008 TTU Academic Calendar. Final Exam Schedule.
Memo from the TTU Administration: Rules about Dropping & Grades.
 Announcements   Lectures  Exams
Instructor & Contact Information
Dr. Charles W. Myles, Professor of Physics. Office: Sc. Rm 18. Phone: 742-3768. Office Hours: 10am-noon + 3pm - 4pm MWF, & by appointment.  E-mail: Charley.Myles@ttu.edu. An email distribution list will be developed. It is vital that I have your correct email address, that you tell me if it changes, & that you check your email DAILY!! Here is an important email announcement!!

Text Books
Primary: Semiconductor Physics and Applications, by M. Balkanski & R.F. Wallis (Oxford U. Press, 2000).  Book webpage.
This book is REQUIRED!! Major portions of the course will use this book. Topics will be discussed in approximately the same order as the book table of contents, however, material from many sources other than this book will be used. Webpage with results (~1,000 hits!) from a Google search. The book is available at bookstores & on-line, in hardbound or paperback. New & used versions are possible. A search finds prices from $132 - $275!! I urge you to shop & find the best price for you.  Given the book cost, don't you think it would be worthwhile to actually READ IT??? 
Supplements: 1. Fundamentals of Semiconductor Physics, by P.Y. Yu & M. Cardona (Springer-Verlag).
2. Semiconductor Physics, by K. Seeger (Springer-Verlag).
    Having these is optional. Portions of the course will use some of the information in them.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Attend as many classes as possible, come to class prepared, do the homework. 
READ the material BEFORE I lecture over it. Keep up as we go along!    

Physics Level, Pre-Requisites, Objective & Topics
Physics Level/Pre-Requisites: The course is designed for MS & PhD students in semiconductor research (including Engineering students, who are welcome!). A knowledge of elementary quantum mechanics & elementary statistical physics is assumed. Some knowledge of elementary solid state physics would be helpful, but isn't essential. It would be helpful (but it isn't vital) to have had (at least) a senior level solid state course similar to our Physics 4309. This is a GRADUATE course!! The text is at a level somewhere between some undergraduate & some graduate texts. 

Objective: To introduce students to semiconductor MATERIALS physics. (Microscopic properties!) This is NOT a semiconductor device course! If you want a device course, this isn’t it!! (PHYS 5336 IS a device course. Take it!). However, near semester’s end, a few device applications will be discussed. This course is complementary to, but NOT a replacement for PHYS 5304, Solid State Physics. 

Topics: The basics of semiconductor materials physics will be surveyed. As a survey, topics must be covered rapidly. Silicon, as well as other materials will be discussed.  A goal is to cover, as an overview, selected topics in Chs. 1-10 of the text. Detailed coverage will be announced as we go. The syllabus is Here. Course details, including discussions of Homework, Exams, Semester Project & the grading scheme, are found there. PLEASE READ IT! 
Attendance: I don't take roll & have no specific attendance policy. However, isn't it obvious that (unless you're a genius!) class attendance is REQUIRED to get a good grade? (or to LEARN SOMETHING!)? Also, since this is a very small class, it will be apparent if you are not there!

Announcements & Calendar Items are on the Announcements Page, linked below. Also below are links to Pages where Lectures & Exams (+ solutions) will be posted. 

Announcements & Calendar Items
Announcement Page:  Will have announcements/calendar items.
Usually updated shortly after each class.  Please check it at least 2 or 3 times a week!
Lectures, Exams, Homework, Semester Project
COPYRIGHT: Lectures & Exams are copyrighted & owned by C.W. Myles!  No reproduction or use of them other than by students in this course  is allowed!
Click Here to find out how to reduce the # of pages when printing a Power Point file! Click Here to find out how to get Power Point & Word  for free or almost free!

Lecture Page: Will have Lectures (Power Point). 
    Note: The lectures are under construction. A GOAL is to have them posted before we discuss a topic in class, but I can't promise this! 
     If I succeed in this, it might be helpful to download Lectures BEFORE I cover the material in class. You can print them, several slides/page.
     Rather than try to take notes on everything in class, you can follow along on the printed Lectures, making extra notes.

Exam Page: Will have the exam (Word) & solutions (.jpg).
   There will be one exam near midterm. This will have an in class portion with several qualitative questions aimed at evaluating the students’ grasp of the physics & identification of the most
     relevant physical processes. Also, it will have a take home portion with problems to assesss progress in using relevant mathematical tools.

Homework Page: Will have homework assignments (Word) & solutions (.jpg). 
     Problems will be assigned & graded on a regular basis. Doing problems is the most effective means of learning physics, which is impossible otherwise!!! Homework is due at 5pm
      on the due date. To keep up, do assignments as soon as material is covered. If you wait to the last day, you likely will run into trouble! 
No late homework will be accepted!!!!

You are strongly encouraged to form groups to work on homework & study together! This is how physicists work in real situations! NO CONSULTATION with people who had this course previously is allowed! NO use of problem solutions posted in previous years is allowed! This is on the honor system! It will do you no good to merely copy old solutions! Copying solutions will NOT teach you physics! 

Semester Project 
Library Research Paper + Presentation: On an advanced topic or application of semiconductor physics that we don't have time for in class. Paper is due near the end
     of the semester. Oral presentations on the same subject will take place then. Paper should be 5 to 10 typed pages & written in the style of a scientific paper, with all (several)
     sources properly cited. The presentation should be about  0.5 hour long. It can be (but isn’t required to be!) done in Power Point.
You should have the topic picked by mid-semester!!!  
Topics must be approved by me before you begin.

Miscellaneous Topics
1. Dr. Myles: Do you want to know more about him (education, experience, research, personal, etc.)? See his Homepage & Research Page. 
    A page about his Future Teaching is Here.
2. Physics Contributions of 20th Century Women! Did you ever wonder why there aren't more women physicists?
    Actually, a number of women made very important contributions to many areas of physics in the 1900's.
    Here is a website which discusses this in detail! 
3. Semiconductor Physics Pioneers Web Pages: 
     I. Nobel Prize in Physics, 1956 for the invention of the transistor!
        a. John Bardeen, Bardeen Tribute
        b. Walter Brattain, Brattain Tribute 
        c. William Shockley, Shockley Tribute, Shockley Wierdness
4. Click Here for a link to semiconductor physics java applets.
     These are interactive animations which can teach you some basics about semiconductor physics. 
5. Click Here for a link to the "Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics" (no kidding!).
6. Physics News:  a. Physics Central (for the public). b. Focus News (advanced level) from the APS.
8. Click Here to see the Top 10 most influential people of the last 1000 years. 4 of them made contributions to physics!  
       (Borrowed from Dr. Tom Gibson!).
9. Click Here to see that Physics can be Fun!

WY Physics Logo The WORLD YEAR OF PHYSICS 2005 marked 100 years since Albert Einstein published 3 pioneering papers (Relativity, Brownian Motion, Photoelectric Effect), which changed physics forever & are considered the beginning of "modern" physics! The United Nations, the US Congress, & the governments & scientific societies of many countries endorsed it. For more information, click the image on the left.

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