OPTI 434

Electrical and Optical Properties of Materials (3 units). Properties of semiconducting materials as related to crystal structure, interatomic bonding and defect structures. For students with advanced standing in engineering.

Home Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Cross-listed: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Instructor:
Kelly S. Potter, Ph.D.
Office: ECE 404, 626-0525
Email: kspotter@ece.arizona.edu

Objective:
To classify optical properties and electrical properties of materials according to material type, structure and physical properties.

Topics covered:
Band structure and its relation to electrical and optical properties of materials, metals, insulators, thin films, semiconductors, gain and cavities, lasers, non-linear and electro-optic properties. Emphasis is also placed on polarization processes and wave propagation.

Required Reading:

  • Simmons and Potter (2000). Optical Materials. Academic Press
  • Class Notes
Recommended Reading:
  • Born, M. and Wolf, E. (1980). Principles of Optics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
  • Hecht, E. (1990). Optics.
Grading:
Homework - 25%
Midterm No 1 – 25%
Midterm No. 2 – 25%
Final Exam – 25%
Late Homework Policy:
Full credit will be given for homework that is turned in on the day it is due. Late homework will receive partial credit. No credit will be given for homework received after the homework solutions are reviewed in class.

Missed Exam Policy:
Make-up exams will only be offered in cases where the student has an approved, documented absence (see university policy). In addition, the student must inform the professor of the absence and the reason for it no later than the day of the exam (email and phone message are acceptable).

Policy on Cheating:
Working on assigned homeworks in group settings is permitted and may, in fact, be beneficial in that students may have the opportunity to increase their depth of understanding of course topics through interactions with their peers. However, all work on exams must be a student’s own. Per University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity, “The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.” Cheating on exams will not be tolerated, sanctions will be applied per the guidelines addressed in the Student Code of Conduct.

Course Outline:
Chapter 1: Introduction to Waves and Wave Propagation
  • Waves
  • Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • Wave Propagation
  • Dispersion and Material Polarizability
  • Kramers-Kronig relations
  • Phonons
  • Measurement Techniques
Chapter2: Conductors
  • Drude Model
  • Band Structure
  • Coloration
  • Measurement Techniques
Exam #1

Chapter 3: Insulators
  • Harmonic Oscillator
  • Refractive Index and Dispersion
  • Reflection and Transmission
  • Attenuation
  • Scattering
  • Measurement Techniques
Chapter 4: Special Topics

Exam #2

Chapter 5: Semiconductors
  • Free-electron Models
  • Band Structure
  • Impurities
  • Optical Response
  • Measurement Techniques
Chapter 6: Lasers
  • Review of Laser operation
  • Spontaneous Emission, basic cavity design, population inversion
  • Examples of Lasers
Final Exam