Duration
20h Th, 10h Pr
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Functionals (or "smart") materials are those materials that, due to their specific properties (dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, magneto-electric, electro-optic, ...) are playing an active role in devices such as memories, sensors, actuators, transducors and are in the heart of technological applications. The course will focus on the family of ABO_3 oxide with a perovskite structure and start with a review of the extremely various properties exhibited by these compounds nevertheless sharing the same structure. It will introduce first-principles (DFT), semi-empirical (effective Hamiltonians) and phenomenological techniques allowing the theoretical description of functional materials. It will then discuss the microscopic origin of various coupling properties as well as their temperature dependence. The course will describe applications in the fields of electronics and sensing. It will also mention the influence of finite size effects in nanostructures and the computational design of artificial materials with optimized properties.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The goal of this course is to provide to the student a microscopic understanding of the origin of coupling properties in functional materials.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Physics of materials (course PHYS0936)
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
not appropriate
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
The oral course will content 10 modules of 2 hours and will be completed by 5 modules during which the student will play a more active role (exercises, computer simulations, reading of articles).
Recommended or required readings
Notes will be distributed to the students.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam after a written preparation
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Contacts
Philippe GHOSEZ Institut de Physique B5 (3/11) Phone: 04/366.36.11 E-mail : Philippe.Ghosez@ulg.ac.be Assistant Alain MERCY Institut de Physique B5 (3/09) Phone : 04/366.37.62 E-mail : alain.mercy@ulg.ac.be