PHYSICS 671 Solid State Physics FALL 2010

WHEN and WHERE: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:00-10:50, 318 Willamette

INSTRUCTOR: David Cohen. Office: 178 Willamette.

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday: 1:30-2:30; Thursday: 11:00-12:00.
GRADER: Same as above.

COURSE OUTLINE:
Week(s) Topic Book Chapter(s)

1 Classification of Lattices, Crystal Symmetry 1

2,3 The Reciprocal Lattice, X-ray Diffraction 2
3,4 The Free Electron Theory of Metals 6
5 Electrons in a Periodic Potential, Bloch’’s Theorem 7
MIDTERM
6,7 Band Structure 7,9
8,9 Lattice Vibrations, Phonons 4,5

10 Other Selected Topics

COURSE WORK: WEIGHTING:

Problem Sets 25%

Midterm Exam 30%

Final Exam 45%

PRIMARY TEXT: C. Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 8th Edition (Wiley, 2005):

OTHER TEXTS: There is no single good textbook for all the topics we will be covering this Fall.
Therefore, you must consult additional reading material. I recommend the following highly (All of these
books are on 24 hour reserve in the library):
Ashcroft and Mermin, Solid State Physics (Saunders College, Philadelphia, 1976) This is the textbook I
usually have used to teach solid state physics, and I will base many of my lectures on its treatment of the
material. It is at a somewhat higher level than Kittel.
J.M. Ziman, Principles of the Theory of Solids, 2nd Edition (Cambridge, 1972): An excellent treatment of
underlying theoretical principles. I will utilize this book quite often for lecture material. Unfortunately,
it is too limited in breadth to be used as our primary text.
G. Weinreich, Solids: Elementary Theory for Advanced Students (Wiley, 1965): A concise treatment of
the most fundamental underpinnings of the theory of crystalline solids in a fairly rigorous manner.
W.A. Harrison, Solid State Theory (McGraw Hill, 1970): Good introduction to Group Theory and band
structure. Somewhat too much emphasis on pseudopotential theory.
M.P. Marder, Condensed Matter Physics (Wiley, 2000): The most recent comprehensive solid state
physics textbook at the graduate level. It will be useful to consult to better understand some of the newer
developments in this subject.