last update 09 Dec
2005
Welcome to Physics 427/576 Autumn 2005
Semiconductor Nanostructures:
Physics, Fabrication and Devices
Prof. Marjorie Olmstead
|
|
Class
Meets WF 1:30 - 2:50 in Physics Astronomy B439
|
Course Announcements
- 12/9 Catalyst
has been programmed to send out reminders at 1 am Saturday for filling
out surveys. You can also access them below.
- 12/9 Prof.
Olmstead will not be on campus Monday, December 12 -- you may leave
work in her mailbox in the main office.
- 12/7 Please
fill out all the peer evaluations (see links below)
by Monday. Also, all assignments should be turned in either
electronically or on paper by noon on Tuesday, December 13.
- Older announcements.
Office Hours and Contact Information
- You may send Course Related Email to: ph122mo@u.washington.edu either directly
or by anonymous
email.
- Prof. Marjorie Olmstead
olmstd@u.washington.edu
Office: PAB B433 685-3031
- Office Hours:
PAB B433
(may spill
over into adjacent lounge or B439).
- Tuesday 11:00 - 12:15
and by appointment
Course Links
General Information
- Course Coverage
- This course gives an
introduction to both physics and practicalities underlying
semiconductor nanostrucuture
devices, including both their principles of operation and the way in
which they are fabricated. For details, see Syllabus.
- Audience
- This course is aimed at advanced undergraduates
and graduate students in physics and related departments.
Graduate students in the Nanotechnology Ph.D. Program from any of the
10 participating departments are welcome.
- Recommended Pre-requisites
- Students should have a general
understanding of modern physics concepts such as wave functions, energy
levels, dielectric constant and 1D quantum wells, at the level of a
junior-level course in either modern physics (e.g., Phys 315 or 324),
physical or quantum chemistry (e.g., Chem. 455), or electronic
materials (e.g., MSE 351, Chem 364/MSE 371.
- Students with more advanced
entering knowledge should sign up for the graduate course (576), and
will be expected to pursue their assignments in greater depth.
- Course Structure
- Class will meet twice weekly. Classes will combine lecture
presentations
with class discussions (based on both presentations and assigned
readings).
Student presentations will cover part of the material. Each
presenter
will
suggest related readings.
- Text
- There is no good textbook for this material: it is still too
new.
Reading assignments will come from books, reviews, general interest
articles and research papers. Students are highly encouraged to
suggest reading materials that they have found helpful.
- Required Work
- Occasional Homework Sets (4-5 during quarter)
- Class Participation (including evaluation of other
students' presentations)
- The remaining course
requirements include four types of assignments:
- In class presentation (see Assignments page)
- Short Report on seminar presentation (see Assignments
page)
- Short Report on current literature (see Assignments page)
- Short Report on established phenomenon or technique (e.g.
from
reviews or
books) (see Assignments
page)
- This course
involves four basic topic areas:
- physics underlying semiconductor nanostructures
- fabrication of semiconductor nanostructures
- characterization of semiconductor nanostructures
- applications of semiconductor nanostructures
- Each
assignment is to be on a different topic area. It is up to the
student to decide
how to distribute these. Students registered for Physics
427 need do only 2 short reports, while students registered for Physics
576 should do all 3. Undergraduates thus only cover three topic
areas in their assignments. Reports may be on topics
close to your personal research area, but the papers or seminars you
write about may not be by members of your own research group (either
now or in the past).
- Grade Calculations
- Physics 576, as a special topics
graduate course, is Credit/Non-Credit by default. To receive
credit, students must receive at least 2/3 of the points.
- Physics 427 is a graded special topics
undergraduate course.
- Timing
- Assignments must be turned in to Prof.
Olmstead by 5
pm
the day
on which they are due.
- If you have special circumstances beyond your
control (getting
very sick, family emergency, conference presentation, etc.)
that prevent you from meeting deadlines, you must contact Prof.
Olmstead
BEFOREHAND to discuss whether or not accommodations are
appropriate.
If you are sick, this contact should be by phone or email (PLEASE keep
your germs out of class and out of Prof. Olmstead's office!).
Circumstances which you should have been able to control (e.g. bad time
management), or late notification of Prof. Olmstead (e.g., when you get
back from the conference and not before you leave) will likely result
in your grade being lowered.
Links to Physics Career/Major Information
A
two-page summary
that gives overall trends and salaries for physicists and related
scientists.
- Women in Physics and Astronomy, 2005 (pdf
file)
Data
on current and historic trends in the representation of women in
physics and astronomy, including comparative data on women in related
fields. Discusses the academic "pipeline" and the point at which women
are leaving physics. Data on US minority women and on women in physics
in other countries are also presented. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation.
- Physics
Bachelors with Master's Degrees (pdf
file)
This report describes physics
bachelors who
earned
their degrees from 1991 through 1993, subsequently earned master's
degrees
in a variety of fields, and were working in 1999. Master's
degree fields, reasons for attending graduate school, and preparedness
for graduate school are all discussed. Also documented are employment
fields,
salaries, knowledge and skills used on the job, and evaluation of
undergraduate
physics education.
- The Early Careers of Physics Bachelors
(pdf
file)
An examination of the
employment patterns of
people
with no degrees other than physics bachelor's degrees, five to eight
years
after graduation. The report includes common job activities and skills
used on the job. It also describes these physics bachelors' evaluations
of how well physics education prepared them for careers.
- Initial Employment Report of 2001 and 2002
Physics and Astronomy Degree Recipients (pdf
file)
This
report
describes the initial employment and educational paths pursued by
physics and astronomy degree recipients at the bachelor's, master's,
and PhD levels. The report includes starting salaries, primary work
activities, ratings of professional challenge and other aspects of
initial employment. The report also describes the fields of study and
types of support for physics degree recipients who continued their
education.
- Physics and Astronomy Senior Report: Class of 2001 (pdf
file)
- A window onto the backgrounds, experiences, and future plans
of physics and astronomy majors at the point of graduation.
- 2002 Academic Workforce
Report
(pdf
file)
These tables and figures
document the
number of vacancies, retirements, recruitments, and new hires at US
academic physics departments. Also included is a table showing the
increase in the percentage of the physics faculty who are temporary and
non-tenure track. Updated statistics about women faculty in physics are
also presented. For minority faculty data and the complete 2000 report,
please see links below.
Old Announcements
- 11/21 Don't
forget to run your choice of paper topics past Prof. Olmstead before
you get started. Remember to spread your papers among physics,
fabrication, characterization and application of nanostructures.
Remember also to turn in your 3-page summary of your in-class
presentation.
- 11/21 I have
decided not to assign any more homework -- your presentations and
reports will each be worth a slightly higher percentage of your grade
than was originally proposed.
- 10/27 A
sample
of the survey to be filled out after each student presentation may be
found here.
Links to the surveys for each presentation are below in Course Links. You
should fill each one out by the Monday afternoon following the
presentation. If Catalyst is working correctly, you should
receive an email at 2 pm on the day of each presentation with a link to
the relevant survey, as well.
- 10/27 Reminder: Please send Prof.
Olmstead an email with information to be put on the Class Notes home
page about readings, etc., in time for it to be posted and for your
fellow students to read the material ahead of time.
- 10/27
Solutions to the first two HW assignments are now posted on the Homework page.
- 10/14 The
second HW assignment will be due next Friday, 10/21. Please look
at it before class on Wednesday so that I can answer any questions you
might have.
- 10/4 A page
to
compile homework assignments has been created here.
- 9/30 Please
check for readings, etc. on the Class Notes and Readings page.
Lecture notes will be posted by around noon on the day of class.
The first HW assignment is Exercises 2 and 3 from the chapter by
Johnson. Due in class next Friday.
- 9/27 Course
notes and handouts are available through a password-protected web page.
The login information will be given out in class on 9/28.
- 9/19 The
assignments page has been updated to describe the course requirements.
- 8/22 This
course is aimed at senior undergraduates and graduate students in
physics and other participating departments in the Nanotechnology Ph.D.
Program. It counts as one of the three "nanotechnology relevant"
courses required for the NT Ph.D. Degree.