PHYS 525 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Survey of Fundamental Device Physics
Tuesdays, Thursdays, 1 - 1:50 pm, Loomis 262
Instructor: Russ Giannetta
Teaching assistant/grader and office hours: Zihan Wang, Wed 4-6 PM, zihanw8@illinois.edu
Course description
This course will introduce students to the underlying physical principles employed by various devices. As in Physics 524, we will introduce students to a broader spectrum of device principles than they will encounter in their Physics 523 projects. There will be two 50 minute classes each week. The list of topics–which is not intended to be exhaustive–will evolve, according to the interests of the class and instructors. Material will be clustered into units of varying duration, as indicated on the Topics page. The lists of suggested readings and references are advisory; a large amount of material of excellent quality is now available on the worldwide web, particularly on the sites of university courses addressing the topics of each unit. There are no formal prerequisites other than prior completion of a rigorous undergraduate major (or minor) in physics, astronomy, or a related field.
Learning objectives
As a result of completing this course, students will be able to
- Understand the physical principles and mathematical foundations governing the behavior of some of the devices, tools, and techniques that might be relevant to execution of technical projects.
- Understand the origins of the advantages and limitations of particular laboratory techniques that are imposed by fundamental physical principles.
- Learn to consider the tradeoffs–balancing advantages and disadvantages–associated with technology downselects.
Meeting Times
Two 50-minute class sessions per week (Tuesday, Thursday 1 - 1:50 pm).
Office Hours: Wednesdays 4-6pm, Loomis 262
Grader: Zihan Wang
Credit and grading
Students must register for this course in the spring semester for a total of 2 credit hours. Grading is by letter.
Homework
Homework assignments and due dates will be posted on the course schedule page. There will be a homework assignment of 3-4 problems approximately every 1 1/2 weeks, depending on the topic. Assignments should be scanned, converted to pdf and uploaded to the course website. A link for the upload will be provided on the course homepage. Each homework grade will reduced by 20% for each day late. Homework scores will be posted in the course gradebook, available through a link on the course homepage.
Exams - There will be a final exam. The time will be announced on the schedule page when it becomes available.
Academic Integrity
All activities in this course, including documentation submitted for petition for an excused absence, are subject to the Academic Integrity rules as described in Article 1, Part 4, Academic Integrity, of the Student Code.
But what about the use of an A.I. tool like ChatGPT to generate written material that you submit as your own work, or to generate code that you use in programming your devices or analyzing your data? We'll consider that to be akin to plagiarism, in which you submit as your own work material that you did not actually create yourself. It is cheating, and is absolutely forbidden.