Physics 152B/232 : Course Description

Subject Matter and Course Materials
The subject matter of Physics 152B/232 is electronic materials.  We will consider the broad classification of solids in terms of phases of matter : metals, semiconductors and insulators, magnets, and superconductors.  Along the way we will discuss various probes such as transport, thermodynamics, and optical properties, which may be used to characterize these phases.

This is the first time I will be teaching this course, so I will be developing a set of lecture notes as we go along. The course text is Steven Simon's "Solid State Basics" (Oxford).

Course Web Site
Lecture notes and reading assignments, important announcements, homework assignments and solutions will all be available through the course web site. Please check it before each lecture to see if there have been any recent updates.  If you find any errors in the notes or problem sets, I would greatly appreciate it if you would alert me via email.

On the course home page, I have included a number of links to potentially useful websites.

Problem Sets
I will try to assign one problem set per week, due at the beginning of the following Tuesday's class. Problem sets will not be printed out for you, but rather will be available through the course website. You are encouraged to discuss the problem sets with your fellow students. I suggest that you initially try to do the problems by yourselves, so that you can more accurately identify your confusions and honestly assess your weaknesses. Then, before you write up your assignment, get together with some of your fellow students to talk over the problems and hammer out the details. Solutions to problem sets will be posted on the course website. Hopefully the solutions and your graded assignments will be made available in a timely manner, but invariably there are lags from time to time.

Exams
There will be one in-class midterm (date TBA) and one final exam.  The final is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, from 8 am to 11 am, in room MH 5623.

Discussion/Problem Sessions
There is a discussion/problem session for this class, Wednesdays from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm in room MH 5623.

Office hours
My office hours are scheduled for ... 

Course grade
The magic formula: 35% problem sets, 15% midterm, 40% comprehensive final, 10% intangibles (e.g. personal hygiene, taste in music, sense of humor [= laughing at my jokes], etc.).