PH40085: Nanoscience
 Academic Year: | 2019/0 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Physics |
| Credits: | 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 120 |
| Level: | Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary:
| EX-TH 100%* |
| Assessment Detail: |
*Assessment updated due to Covid-19 disruptions |
| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | Before taking this module you must take PH30030 OR take PH30043. |
| Description:
| Aims: The aims of this unit are to outline properties of materials at the nanoscale, to describe methods for the fabrication, visualisation and probing of nanostructures, to introduce topical low-dimensional nanomaterials and novel physical concepts related to them, and to give some examples of their possible applications. Learning Outcomes: After taking this unit the student should be able to: * demonstrate a thorough understanding of the impact of the nanoscale on the electronic structure, charge-transport and magnetic properties of materials; * explain the physical properties of low dimensional (two, one- and zero-dimensional) systems; * describe principles of probing at the nanoscale and give examples of physical phenomena that can be accessed; * explain representative properties and novel concepts in topical low-dimensional materials, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, transition metal dichalcogenides, and silicene. Skills: Numeracy T/F A, Problem Solving T/F A. Content: Nanotechnology - what is it? (1 hour): Advantages, prospective applications and potential impact. Impact of the nanoscale on physical properties (1 hour): Scaling laws. Atomic clusters. Magnetic properties of nanoparticles. Quasi-1D systems (4 hours): Electronic structure of 2D, quasi-1D and 1D systems. Subbands and transverse modes. Electrical transport in quasi-1D conductors. Conductance quantisation. Büttiker-Landauer formalism. 0D systems (3 hours): Electronic structure of 0-D systems. Electrical transport in 0-D. Coulomb blockade. Single-electron transistor. Molecular systems (2 hours): Molecular orbitals. Mechanisms of charge transport for weak and strong coupling. Probing and manipulation at the nanoscale - The Lab on a Tip (4 hours): 1. Principles of Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM): Imaging & spectroscopy, manipulation of atoms and molecules. Relationship to electronic structure. Spin-related phenomena. Inelastic tunnelling. 2. Principles of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM): Forces at the nanoscale and AFM modes. Application in material/life sciences. (e.g. chemical, electrical, magnetic properties, self-assembly). Atomically-resolved imaging and probing (e.g. conformation of molecules on surfaces; interaction of two-dimensional materials with substrates). Quantum phenomena at the atomic scale (1 hour): Electron scattering & confinement: Quantum Corrals; Quantum Interference. Molecular "graphene": designer Fermions. Low-dimensional nanomaterials (6 hours): 1. Carbon-based nanomaterials: Bonding and carbon allotropes. Graphene (Dirac cones and linear energy bands; From graphene to graphite; Klein tunnelling; Pseudospin; Engineering electronic properties: graphene in an external potential). Confinement effects: graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes. 2. Other (non-carbon) 2D nanomaterials: Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (types, transition from bulk to monolayer, basic properties). Silicene: a graphene-like monolayer of silicon. Comparison with graphene. |
| Programme availability: |
PH40085 is Compulsory on the following programmes:Programmes in Natural Sciences
PH40085 is Optional on the following programmes:Department of Mathematical Sciences
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Notes:
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