The Advanced Materials course comprises two modules: Advanced Functional Materials and Nanostructured Materials. Objective of the integrated course is that of giving examples of new classes of functional materials for smart applications. Focusing on the peculiar physical and chemical properties of the different material systems, applications in the field of electronics, optoelectronics and photonics are presented. The Advanced Functional Materials module mainly focuses on organic materials while the Nanostructured Material part deals with inorganic semiconductors and metals.

In particular:

The Advanced Functional Materials course aims at providing knowledge about organic materials for electronics and optoelectronics. The course deals with conducting materials, photochromic materials, liquid crystals, as distinct topics. For each class of materials, molecular structure-properties relationships are studied also considering the possible technological applications. Attention is focused on the design of devices such as LEDs, transistors, photovoltaic cells, LCDs, sensors and smart windows. Finally, techniques for the deposition of the organic materials into films are considered.

The Nanostructured Materials course introduces the students to light-matter interactions in semiconductor micro- and nano-structures and metallic nanostructures. Purpose of the course is the study of the effects of electron and light confinement on the optical properties of materials. After a basic review of waves (electromagnetic and quantum mechanical) and semiconductors, various approaches to confine these waves will be described. Examples of devices employing such confinement will be considered. Particular attention will be devoted to the generation of light in semiconductors: spontaneous and stimulated emission, lasers, and light emitting diodes will be dealt with. Starting from a general description of the physics of lasers, the evolution from diode lasers to the last generation of nanotechnological (quantum cascade) lasers will be detailed.This will be complemented by the description of the most commonly employed fabrication technologies. Finally, as an example of subwavelength optical confinement, plasmonics and some of its applications will be discussed.

The expected learning outcomes for the Advanced Functional Materials course are: 

• knowledge of the principles of molecular engineering of electronic materials, i.e. organic semiconductors, and optically-active materials
• ability to apply the principles of molecular engineering to design functional materials for specific applications
• knowledge of the working principles of the main electronic devices, their characteristics, components and architecture.
• Ability to apply the above knowledge to a critical description and discussion of the devices and related materials properties, limitations and developments.

 These learning outcomes are expected to provide the student basic knowledge tools necessary to i) understand the technology trends and i) perform future activities aimed at the development of materials for electronics optoelectronics and smart optics.

After attending the Nanostructured Materials course the students will be able to:

- introduce the fundamentals of light matter interaction

- relate the optical properties of materials to their structure and dimensionality

- know the basics of lasers

- understand how light can be guided and manipulated on the nanoscale

- apply the above described knowledge to the solution of numerical exercises

For the Advanced Functional Materials course, although not strictly necessary, a basic background in organic chemistry is useful to understand the molecular design of functional materials.

See bibliography for suggested books (covering more than the programme of the course). Additional material or lecture notes are given by the lecturer.

For the Nanostructured Materials course a background in quantum physics and solid state physics is required as well as basic electromagnetic waves theory.

The final exams consists in two parts: a written examination for the Advanced Functional Materials course plus an oral examination for the Nanostructured Materials course. The examination of the two modules can be taken separately and there is no precedence.

Details about the exams are as following:

Advanced Functional Materials: a written examination, which consists in:

• A numerical exercise on OFETs, photovoltaic cells or OLEDs
• An open question of one of the main topics of the course
• An exercise on the structure-to-property relationship
• A series of multiple choice questions

In the open question, the student is required to clearly describe and critically discuss the proposed topic. Not only the knowledge about the topic is assessed, but also the correct use of a proper scientific language and clarity in the description. As for the numerical exercise, one type of device (i.e. FET, photovoltaic cell, LED) is proposed and the main characteristics have to be calculated starting from the given experimental data. Regarding this part, not only the correct calculation is assessed but also the proper use of significant decimals and units of measurement. Then, starting from the knowledge acquired during the course the efficiency of the device has to be assigned to a proper material (or to a specific material processing or post processing) and the assignment has to be properly supported. The structure-to-property exercise aims at evaluating the ability of the student to apply the acquired knowledge on molecular design to a case study, finding the right key to solve the problem.

Nanostructured Materials: The examination is an oral discussion about the topics of the course. The student must prove to master the physical concepts and be able to critically discuss the different issues making connections between related topics. The concepts must be exposed in a clear and well organized logical sequence.

Chapters 1-7

Selected chapters

Ch. 5.1-5.5

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 1-5