Entry requirements

120 credits in science/engineering including Solid State Physics I. Micro and Nanotechnology I. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• explain and discuss how light is absorbed in a semiconductor and the fundamental excitations that occur,
• explain the band structure of semiconductor materials, excitons, plasmones and phonons, as well as their influence on optical spectra and transport processes,
• conduct analyses of electronic and optical properties of semiconductors as well as understand the relationship between chemical composition, dimensionality, electron structure and optical properties,
• calculate energy levels in low-dimensional materials, as well as energies of excitation transitions in different materials,
• explain how dispersion relationships affect optical properties, phonons and plasmons, as well as explain their frequency and size dependent properties,
• explain how optical properties find applications in optical and electronic devices such as sensors, light sources, photovoltaics and photocatalysts.

Content

Fundamental physical electronic and optical properties and processes in semiconductor materials: band structure, excitons, as wella as the influence of temperature, structure, chemical composition (defects and doping), external forces and external fields. Absorption in semiconductors. Optical transitions and recombination processes. Inelastic light scattering. Optical properties of phonons and plasmones. Properties of free charge carriers and excitons in low-dimensional systems. 1D, 2D and 3D quantum constraints (quantum confinements). Electronic effects and charge transport.

Instruction

Lectures and independent work in the form of a case study.

Assessment

Written exam (4 credits) and written presentation of the independent work (1 credit).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.