– INTRODUCTION (4 hours): Chemical Bonds in solids, crystal structure of solids, basic crystal structures, determination of crystal structure, reciprocal lattice.
– LATTICE DYNAMICS (8 hours): Lattice vibrations in one dimension, monoatomic and diatomic chains, dispersion relations and curves, phonon density of states, normal modes of vibrations and phonons, lattice dynamics in three-dimensions, experimental methods for the determination of phonon dispersions. Problems.
– THERMAL PROPERTIES OF THE LATTICE (6 hours): Specific heat — Einstein and Debye models, anharmonic effects and thermal expansion, lattice thermal conductivity. Problems.
– ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF METALS—CLASSICAL APPROACH (12 hours): Drude classical model of electrical conductivity, relaxation time and mean free path, electrical conductivity and mobility, Hall effect for measuring carrier concentration and type, electron scattering centers and their effect on electrical conductivity and resistivity (Matthiessen’s rule), Wiedemann-Franz law. Problems.
– ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS—QUANTUM APPROACH (6 hours): The Sommerfeld-Bethe model and its differences from the nearly free electron and tight-binding approximations, the dispersion relation E(k) for a free electron and for an electron in a periodic, time-independent potential, calculation of the density of states, the Fermi energy, the electronic specific heat in metals, band structure of selected metals. Problems.
– SEMICONDUCTORS (8 hours): Direct and indirect bandgap semiconductors, dopants (donors and acceptors), degenerate semiconductors, effective mass of carriers, temperature effects on bandgap and carrier concentration, the position of the Fermi level within the band gap (its variation with temperature and the effective masses of the carriers), carrier concentration in intrinsic semiconductors and law of mass action, variation of carrier concentration as a function of temperature in doped semiconductors, carrier scattering in semiconductors and mobility temperature dependence, band structure of selected semiconductors. Amorphous semiconductors. Problems.
– DIELECTRIC AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SOLIDS (8 hours): Introduction to light-matter interaction, refractive index and dielectric function, optical properties of various types of materials, classical light-solid interaction (Lorentz model), multiple resonances, the concept of local field in dielectrics, interaction of light with free electrons in metals (Drude model), infrared interaction with phonons, Lyddane-Sachs-Teller relation and Reststrahlen band, polaritons, other dielectric phenomena (impurities, piezoelectricity, dielectric breakdown). Problems.