Syllabus

(4 hours)
Foundations of material characterization and data analysis: Introduction, Importance of materials characterization techniques, Probes for characterization, Measurements & error analysis: Uncertainty of measurements, Types of errors, Experimental uncertainty of single measurement and repeated measurements, Standard deviation, Propagation of error, Significant figures, Data analysis

(5 hours)
Diffraction techniques: X-ray production, Fundamentals of diffraction, Bragg’s law, Reciprocal lattice, Miller indices, Atomic form factor, Geometric structure factor, Geometry and components of an X-ray diffractometer, X-ray detector, Lattice parameters, crystallite size and strain, Diffraction of electrons and neutrons

(8 hours)
Microscopic and imaging techniques: Introduction to microscopy, Optical microscopy, Magnification, Numerical aperture, Resolution, Contrast, Vacuum systems, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Electron emission, Electromagnetic lenses, Acceleration voltage, Sample preparation, Sample-electron interaction, Secondary electron, Backscattered electron, Detector, SEM imaging, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Different contrasts, Selected area diffraction, Scanning probe microscopy techniques: Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), Tunneling current, Probe tip, Working environments, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Various forces, Operational modes, Force modulation, Image artifacts, Ultrasonic microscopy, X-ray tomography

(6 hours)
Spectroscopic techniques: UV-visible spectroscopy, Molecular vibrations, Modes of vibration, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and vibrational spectroscopy, Photoluminescence spectroscopy, Energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), Rutherford back scattering (RBS)

(4 hours)
Thermal analysis techniques: Thermal events, Enthalpy change, Instrumentation, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential thermal analysis (DTA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and applications, Thermal conductivity, Thermal expansion, Specific heat capacity

(9 hours)
Electrical characterizations: Probe station, Probe types, Contactless probes, Two terminal method, Four point probe, Coaxial cables, , Metal-semiconductor contacts, Hall effect, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), Surface recombination velocity, Carrier recombination lifetime, Photoconductance decay (PCD), Photoluminescence decay (PLD), Charge trapping in MOS, High and low frequency dielectric materials characterization, Capacitance-voltage measurement, Interface state density, Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), Low temperature electrical conductivity, Magnetoresistance, Kerr effect (Magento-optic), Semiconductor parameter analyzer, Impedance analyzer, Network analyzer

To lay a foundation for the understanding of the principles and operations of different experimental techniques for the characterization of wide variety of materials

To provide the theoretical and practical ideas to analyse, interpret the experimental data and the representation of the same

Realization of the strength and weakness of the different experimental techniques for characterization of different materials

To impart knowledge on properties of semiconductor materials and devices

At the end of course, students will be able to understand working principles of equipment used for characterization

Know the advantage and disadvantages of characterization systems

Analyze data and errors to evaluate the quality of materials and devices

C. Suryanarayana, M. Grant Norton, X-Ray Diffraction: A Practical Approach, Springer , (2014)

Y. Leng, Materials Characterization: Introduction to Microscopic and Spectroscopic Methods, Wiley-VCH , (2013)

, D. K. Schroder, Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization, Wiley–Blackwell , (1998)

M. E. Brown, Introduction to Thermal Analysis: Techniques and Applications, Springer , (2007)

M. Sayer, A. Mansingh, Measurement, Instrumentation and Experiment Design in Physics and Engineering, Prentice Hall India , (1999)