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2005/06 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

PHYS3391 Structure and Dynamics of Solids

10 creditsClass Size: 60

Module manager: Professor R Cywinski
Email: r.cywinski@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2005/06

This module is not approved as an Elective

Objectives

At the end of this module you should be able to:
- Identify classes of solids and describe the bonding mechanisms that hold the solids together;
- Apply the rules of basic crystallography to describe and determine the structures of materials;
- Calculate structure factors for X-ray and neutron Bragg diffraction from crystalline solids;
- Utilise extended and reduced Brillouin Zone schemes to describe wave phenomena in reciprocal space;
- Calculate phonon dispersion relations for simple monatomic and diatomic solids;
- Describe experimental methods of probing the structures and dynamics of solids;
- Discuss and evaluate the effects of the periodic lattice on electrons within a solid.

Skills outcomes
Ability to solve crystal structures and relate structural properties and functionality.Ability to solve crystal structures and relate structural properties and functionality.


Syllabus

Van der Vaals, ionic, covalent and metallic bonding in solids. The Madelung potential. Classes of solids. Basic crystal structures. The lattice, the cell and the basis. Crystal planes and Miller indices. Construction of the reciprocal lattice. Bragg diffraction and Laue diffraction from periodic and aperiodic structures. Structure factors for common crystal structures. Advanced X-ray and neutron sources and X-ray and neutron diffraction. Powder diffraction and crystal structure determination. Brillouin zones. Lattice dynamics and wave propagation in linear monatomic and diatomic lattices. Dispersion relations optic and acoustic modes. Quantisation of lattice vibrations and phonons. Umklapp and normal processes. Measuring phonon dispersions in real materials. Neutron Triple Axis Spectrometry. Density of phonon states. Electrons in a periodic lattice. The empty lattice and dispersion. Beyond the free electron model. Bloch waves and Bloch's theorem. Energy gaps at the zone boundary. Electrons in 2d and 3d Brillouin zones.

Teaching methods

Lectures: 22 x 1 hour.

Private study

Reading, examples, consolidation: 78 hours.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

3 x exercise sheets.

Methods of assessment

1 x 2 hour examination at the end of the semester: 100%.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 19/04/2005

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