Entry requirements

120 credits with courses in Quantum Mechanics, Atom and Molecular Physics and Solid State Physics.

Learning outcomes

The course will prepare for fundamental and applied research within surface physics and related fields, such as material science, material chemistry and nanoscience.

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

• give the atomic structure of crystalline low-index surfaces, calculate surface energies for simple surfaces and understand the connection between the surface energy and the shape of particles and reconstructions of surfaces
• give the connection between real space and reciprocal space, how this gives rise to diffraction patterns and know the different notations used to assign overlayers and reconstructions
• describe the principles behind the most important spectroscopic and microscopic methods used in surface science, which information that is attained from these techniques and how various methods can be combined
• describe the characteristics for different kinds of adsorption with respect to binding energy, binding distance, surface coordination and electronic structure
• describe basic kinetic models for the adsorption process, which factors that govern the sticking probability and understand this in terms of potential energy curves
• describe fundamental catalytic reactions and understand simple kinetic models that describe these reactions
• describe different ways to grow films, the three principal growth modes and how the growth mode is connected to the surface energy of the materials
• (if practicals are given) undertake basic surface science experiments and describe the results

Content

Surface structure, stability and reactivity. Surface crystallography. Reconstructions and relaxation. Surface electronic structure. Experimental methods for surface electronic structure. Adsorption of atoms and molecules. Different types of bonding. Kinematics and dynamics of surface processes. Reactions on surfaces. Heterogeneous catalysis. Epitaxial growth. Layer-by-layer growth and island formation. Properties of interfaces. Adhesion and segregations. Research presentations are also given, e.g. on magnetic overlayers, clusters, bio surfaces, nano-porous materials.

Practicals/demonstrations: x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM).

Instruction

Lectures, exercises, group discussions and demonstrations (or practicals).

Assessment

Written examination at the end of the course.

If practicals are given, the students also need to have passed these.

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.