FY542: Experimental physics and semiconductors

Knowledge of the topics in FT504, FT506, FY544

Academic preconditions. Students taking the course are expected to:

• Have some knowledge of mechanics, electromagnetism, and basic quantum mechanics,
• Be able to apply basic calculus mathematics and the computer based tool MATLAB.

• skills to set up theoretical models to describe physical phenomena
• competences to design physical experiments that aim to test the validity of theoretical models
• theoretical knowledge on the properties of semiconductors and devices
• competences to design and perform physical experiments and make data analysis and reporting this 
• research-based knowledge on experimental methods in physics.

Applications:

Understanding the physics of semiconductors is vital for the progress in developing energy efficient electronic devices like computer chips and light emitting diodes (LED) as well as for the development of improved solar cells.

• Describe the design and construction of experiments in the course.
• Describe the underlying theory of experiments in the course.
• Perform derivations of theoretical models of relevance for the experiments.
• Perform experiments in the laboratory and assess the suitability of own results with respect to data analysis.
• Understand the physics of semiconductors including the application of quantum mechanics, doping and Fermi-Dirac statistics to explain the mechanisms behind semiconductor devices. 
• Apply the theory to make quantitative calculations of the conductance and the performance of diodes, light emitting diodes (LED), the bipolar transistor and solar cells.
• Perform a quantitative analysis of experimental data including the use of computational and statistical methods where this is relevant.
• Derive conclusions from the analysis of the data.
• Describe the experiments and results in the form of a written report.

1. Sound waves in ducts
2. The magneto-optical effect: Faraday rotation
3. Semiconductor devices:

• Doped semiconductors
• Diode and the light emitting diode (LED)
• Bipolar transistor
• The solar cell

The experiments are performed in groups of 2-3 students. As introduction to the experiments, the central concepts, methods and theory is introduced and the student develops the formulas which validity shall be examined in the experiments.

Activities i the study phase:

• Answer the theoretical problems  
  
• Preparation for the construction of the experiments.
• Analysis of experimental data
• Writing of reports
• Preparation for the oral exam