MATSCI 323 is a 3 unit lecture course. We meet twice weekly for 80 minute lectures over the ten weeks of the quarter, giving 16 lectures, a midterm review, and two exams. The table below maps the modules onto the lecture sequence. The exact week-by-week schedule, homework assignments, and in-class materials are distributed through Canvas.
Modules and lectures¶
| Module | Topics | Lectures |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Surfaces and vacuum | Course overview; unique properties of surfaces; vacuum technology | 2 |
| 2. X-ray and optical metrology | XRD of thin films; XRR and grazing-incidence scattering; ellipsometry and optical spectroscopies | 3 |
| 3. Ion beams and mass spectrometry | Ion-solid interactions and RBS; sputtering, SIMS, and atom probe tomography | 2 |
| 4. Electron spectroscopies | Electron-solid interactions and XPS; quantification, AES, and depth profiling | 2 |
| Midterm review | Modules 1 to 4 | 1 |
| 5. SEM, EBSD, and FIB | SEM and EDS; EBSD and focused ion beam methods | 2 |
| 6. Electron diffraction and STEM | LEED and RHEED; STEM imaging and analytical STEM, including EELS | 2 |
| 7. Scanning probe microscopy | AFM as quantitative metrology; functional modes and STM | 2 |
| Synthesis | Comparing and choosing techniques | 1 |
Grading¶
Grading is based on three components:
Homework (35%). One problem set per module, seven sets at 5% each. Several assignments include a computational component in Python, run through Google Colab so that no local software installation is required.
Midterm (30%). Covers modules 1 through 4, where the quantitative machinery of the course lives.
Final project (35%). Described below. The project is the culminating assessment of the course; there is no separate final exam, and project presentations are delivered during the final-exam period.
Final project¶
Each student individually prepares two deliverables on a characterization technique not directly covered in this course:
A technique page, roughly three pages including figures and citations, written in the style of this course website. The page should cover the physics behind the measurement, the analytical environment and instrumentation, the sensitivity and detection limits, the types of samples that can be studied, representative example data, and a closing assessment of the technique’s strengths and limitations.
A five minute presentation summarizing the technique for the class, delivered during the final sessions of the quarter.
A curated list of suggested techniques is given in the technique list appendix. Deep dives into an advanced aspect of a covered technique are also welcome, for example electron ptychography, cryogenic FIB and electron microscopy, or in situ and operando measurements; propose these directly. Strong technique pages may be published, with the author’s permission, as student-contributed appendices to this site.
Prerequisites and background¶
The course assumes graduate-level familiarity with materials science fundamentals: crystallography and diffraction at the level of an introductory X-ray diffraction course, basic quantum mechanics, and comfort with vectors and calculus. Where a module needs more specialized background, the relevant module page develops it.