2011-2012 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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being developed for oxide thin films,
including uncooled IR focal plane arrays
and integrated fuel cells for portable
equipment. Long-range applications
of high-temperature superconductors
include efficient power transmission and
highly sensitive magnetic field sensors.
Thin film synthesis and processing
in this program include evaporation,
sputtering, electrodeposition, and
plasma and laser processing. For
analyzing materials structures and
properties, faculty and students employ
electron microscopy, scanning probe
microscopy, cathodoluminescence
and electron beam–induced current
imaging, photoluminescence, dielectric
and anelastic relaxation techniques,
ultrasonic methods, magnetotransport
measurements, and X-ray diffraction
techniques. Faculty members have
research collaborations with Lucent,
Exxon, IBM, and other New York area
research and manufacturing centers,
as well as major international research
centers. Scientists and engineers from
these institutions also serve as adjunct
faculty members at Columbia. The
National Synchrotron Light Source at
Brookhaven National Laboratory is used
for high-resolution X-ray diffraction and
absorption measurements.
Entering students typically have
undergraduate degrees in materials
science, metallurgy, physics, chemistry,
or other science and engineering
disciplines. First-year graduate courses
provide a common base of knowledge
and technical skills for more advanced
courses and for research. In addition
to course work, students usually
begin an association with a research
group, individual laboratory work, and
participation in graduate seminars during
their first year.
Graduate Specialty in
Solid-State Science and
Engineering
Solid-state science and engineering
is an interdepartmental graduate
specialty that provides coverage of an
important area of modern technology
that no single department can provide. It
encompasses the study of the full range
of properties of solid materials, with
special emphasis on electrical, magnetic,
optical, and thermal properties. The
science of solids is concerned with
understanding these properties in
terms of the atomic and electronic
structure of the materials in question.
Insulators (dielectrics), semiconductors,
ceramics, and metallic materials are all
studied from this viewpoint. Quantum
and statistical mechanics are key
background subjects. The engineering
aspects deal with the design of materials
to achieve desired properties and the
assembling of materials into systems to
produce devices of interest to modern
technology, e.g., for computers and for
energy production and utilization.
Areas of Research
The graduate specialty in solid-state
science and engineering includes
research programs in the nonlinear
optics of surfaces (Professor Heinz,
Electrical Engineering/Physics);
semiconductor nanocrystals (Professor
Brus, Chemistry/Chemical Engineering);
optics of semiconductors, including
at high pressure (Professor Herman,
Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics); chemical physics of
surfaces and photoemission (Professor
Osgood, Electrical Engineering/Applied
Physics and Applied Mathematics);
molecular beam epitaxy leading to
semi-conductor devices (Professor
Wang, Electrical Engineering/Applied
Physics and Applied Mathematics);
and inelastic light scattering in
low-dimensional electron gases
within semiconductors (Professor
Pinczuk, Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics/Physics); large-area
electronics and thin-film transistors
(Professor Im, Henry Krumb School
of Mines/Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics); structural analysis and
high Tc superconductors (Professor
Chan, Henry Krumb School of
Mines/Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics); X-ray microdiffraction
and stresses (Professor Noyan, Henry
Krumb School of Mines/Applied
Physics and Applied Mathematics);
electronic and magnetic metal thin
films (Professor Barmak, Applied
Physics and Applied Mathematics);
magnetic properties of thin films
(Professor Bailey, Applied Physics
and Applied Mathematics); the
structure of nanomaterials (Professor
Billinge, Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics); electronic structure
calculations of materials (Professor
Marianetti, Applied Physics and
Applied Mathematics); and optical
nanostructures (Professor Wong,
Mechanical Engineering).
Program of Study
The applicant for the graduate specialty
must be admitted to one of the
participating programs: applied physics
and applied mathematics, or electrical
engineering. A strong undergraduate
background in physics or chemistry and
in mathematics is important.
The doctoral student must meet the
formal requirements for the Eng.Sc.D. or
Ph.D. degree set by the department in
which he or she is registered. However,
the bulk of the program for the specialty
will be arranged in consultation with
a member of the interdepartmental
Committee on Materials Science and
Engineering/ Solid-State Science and
Engineering. At the end of the first year
of graduate study, doctoral candidates
are required to take a comprehensive
written examination concentrating on
solid-state science and engineering.
The following are regarded as core
courses of the specialty:
APPH E4100: Quantum physics of matter
APPH E4112: Laser physics
APPH-MSAE E6081-E6082: Solid state physics,
I and II
CHEM G4230: Statistical thermodynamics
or
CHAP E4120: Statistical mechanics
ELEN E4301: Intro to semiconductor devices
ELEN E4944: Principles of device microfabrication
ELEN E6331-E6332: Principles of semiconductor
physics
ELEN E6403: Classical electromagnetic theory
or
PHYS G6092: Electromagnetic theory, I
MSAE E4206: Electronic and magnetic properties
of solids
MSAE E4207: Lattice vibrations and crystal
defects
MSAE E6220: Crystal physics
MSAE E6240: Impurities and defects in
semiconductor materials
MSAE E6241: Theory of solids
PHYS G6018: Physics of the solid state
PHYS G6037: Quantum mechanics
Courses in Materials
Science and Engineering
For related courses, see also Applied
Physics and Applied Mathematics,
Chemical Engineering and Applied
engineering 2011–2012