F3200 Physics of materials and thin films

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
3/1/0. 3 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Pavel Souček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. Mgr. Petr Vašina, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Bc. Peter Burda (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. Mgr. Petr Vašina, Ph.D.
Department of Plasma Physics and Technology – Physics Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: prof. Mgr. Petr Vašina, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Plasma Physics and Technology – Physics Section – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Tue 8:00–9:50 F3,03015, Tue 10:00–11:50 F3,03015
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course aims to provide students with a basic knowledge of the physics of materials and thin films. It is an extensive discipline; besides the physical description, the student will also get to know selected parts of chemistry and material engineering. The student will be led to understand the relationship between the elemental composition, the internal ordering and structure of materials and their resulting properties. The student will get acquainted with fundamental physical quantities that characterise a material together with modern techniques for measuring these quantities. These techniques will also be introduced practically. The physical description of reality will mainly use classical physics, and the phenomena requiring the knowledge of quantum mechanics for their explanation will be mentioned only marginally. The student will be acquainted with the necessary procedures of producing engineering materials from raw materials that are available in nature. The student will also be acquainted with the preparation, characterisation and practical use of thin films.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to answer the following questions: Why are ceramics so brittle and metals so ductile? Why do some materials conduct electrical current and others are good insulators? Why is steel much harder and stronger than iron? How is it possible that human bone is light and strong at the same time? What to make a shuttle's heat shield from. Why did the Liberty ships broke so often in the northern Atlantic? How to arrange atoms in metals to occupy the smallest possible volume and will this affect the resulting mechanical properties? What causes tungsten fiber to burst in a bulb over time? Are there equilibrium conditions for the simultaneous coexistence of solid, liquid and gaseous phases? Why did the glassmakers add ashes to the sand in ancient Egypt? Why doesn't stainless steel rust? Why to change the surface properties of materials? How is it possible to prepare a metallic or ceramic material of only a few nanometers in thickness?
Syllabus
  • 1. Atoms and periodic table of elements. Band structure of solids, conductivity.
  • 2. Atomic bonding. Metallic, covalent and ion bonds – metals, polymers and ceramics. Strength of bond, melting temperature, thermal expansion. Elastic deformation and elastic modulus. Heat capacity. Composition, bonding and structure determine final properties. Ceramics and glasses. Determination of elemental composition (EDX, RBS) and chemical bonding (XPS, FTIR, Raman) of materials.
  • 3. Arrangement. Three basic types of structures of metals and ceramics. XRD – identification of crystalline phases.
  • 4. Imperfections. Solid solution, point defects, dislocations. Plastic deformation and shear planes. Material strengthening mechanisms.
  • 5. Phase diagrams with one and two components. Phase transitions. Eutectic phase diagram. Thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations. Gibbs free energy. Nucleation in volume and at wall.
  • 6. Mechanical properties. Stress versus strain. Modulus, yield strength, tensile strength, ductility, toughness. Fracture toughness. Critical flaw. Hardness, nanoindentation.
  • 7. Thin films – examples. Five steps to get coating. Electrochemistry, galvanic coating, galvanic cell. Physical vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering.
Literature
  • D. Depla et al Reactive sputter depositon, Springer Series in Material Science 109 2008
Teaching methods
The course is based on lectures that provide a detailed overview of the subject. The block of two laboratory exercises is organized at the end of semester.
Assessment methods
individual talk
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/autumn2023/F3200