The Committee on the Science and Engineering of Materials offers an interdisciplinary graduate program leading to the Ph.D. degree in the Science and Engineering of Materials, with concentrations in high-resolution nanostructure analysis and solid-state device materials design. The members of the faculty comprising the committee are from several academic research units of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences: the Center for Solid-State Science; the Departments of Chemical, Bio, and Materials Engineering; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Physics and Astronomy.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
The Ph.D. degree in the Science and Engineering of Materials is an interdisciplinary program that integrates courses offered by faculty representing various disciplines noted above, along with courses in mathematics, to provide a sound foundation for research leading to a dissertation. Emphasis is placed upon applications of the core fundamentals for investigation of the relationships between microstructure and properties and performance of solids, and the dependence of microstructure on processing.
Admission. All prospective graduate students must satisfy the general admission requirements of the Graduate College. In addition, each applicant must provide the program admissions committee with Graduate Record Examination scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical). International students must submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores; the Test of Spoken English is optional but is required for students who are interested in applying for a teaching assistantship. The SEM Admissions Committee also requires that applicants submit a statement of career goals and objectives, a professional résumé, and three letters of recommendation. Application materials must be received by the SEM Program Office by the following established deadlines: for fall, documents must be received (postmarked) by February 1; for spring, by October 1.
Program of Study. The program consists of a minimum 84 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, at least 24 of which are research and dissertation credit. Programs of study for individual students are defined during discussions between the student and the faculty supervisory committee. At least 30 semester hours of the approved program of study, including the core, exclusive of research and dissertation, must be completed after admission to the Ph.D. at ASU.
A minimum of 10 graduate-level courses beyond the bachelor’s degree is required.
The curriculum includes core courses that define the essential course work for all students, involving 22 semester hours of selected courses in the science and engineering of materials, chemistry, and physics. Students who previously have taken courses fulfilling some of the core requirements may select electives.
Students may choose one of the following concentrations in their program of study: (1) high-resolution nanostructure analysis and (2) solid-state device materials design, or may tailor a program of study in the science and engineering of materials to meet their professional and academic needs. Students achieve the desired concentration by completing three or more of the courses in the appropriate concentration group of courses. The courses in these concentrations are a part of the elective portion of the degree course requirements.
High-Resolution Nanostructure Analysis. The courses comprising the high-resolution nanostructure analysis concentration are the most comprehensive education in the theory and application of transmission electron microscopy in the U.S. This group of courses is highly interdisciplinary. Because of the strict and important correspondence between the properties of materials and their nanostructure, transmission electron microscopy plays a central role in modern materials science, far beyond its role in other fields of natural science and engineering. Nanostructure analysis is fully one-third the field of materials research and is often the critical knowledge necessary to understand the behavior of materials. The development and applications of high-resolution nanostructure analysis methods is one of ASU’s strongest materials research and education specialities and is an important part of the SEM Program. Required courses are as follows:
| SEM 556 | Electron Microscopy Laboratory (3) |
| SEM 557 | Electron Microscopy Laboratory (3) |
| SEM 558 | Electron Microscopy I (3) |
| SEM 559 | Electron Microscopy II (3) |
| Total: 12 |
Solid-State Device Materials Design. The courses specified for the solid- state device materials design concentration are materials applications and characterization courses that introduce SEM students to the culture of device engineering. Students apply their knowledge in depth of basic materials science to contemporary problems of the solid-state electronics industry. Required courses are as follows:
| EEE 435 | Microelectronics (3) |
| EEE 436 | Fundamentals of Solid-State Devices (3) |
| EEE 536 | Semiconductor Characterization Design of Engineering (3) |
| IEE 572 | Design of Engineering Experiments (3) |
| MSE 518 | Integrated Circuit Materials Science (3) |
| Total: 15 |
Preliminary/Qualifying Examination. The student must take a preliminary examination at the end of the first year in the program. Under exceptional circumstances, the student can petition to the Curriculum and Examination Committee to postpone taking the exam until the third or fourth semester. The examination is principally for diagnostic purposes and unsatisfactory performance may require additional course work or study. The examination addresses topics central to the science and engineering of materials, such as classical thermodynamics, physical metallurgy, materials science and materials characterization, kinetics and diffusion, structure, continuum mechanics and defects in solids, quantum mechanics and chemistry, solid structure, inorganic chemistry, statistical thermodynamics, and experimental methods. Results of the examination are used by the stu-dent’s advisor and/or faculty supervisory committee in formulating a program of study for the student. Students with thorough undergraduate preparation in physical chemistry, engineering physics, solid-state physics, engineering science, solid-state device engineering, physical metallurgy, physical ceramics, applied mathematics, and similar backgrounds are best prepared for study of the science and engineering of materials.
Foreign Language Requirements. None.
Comprehensive Examinations. Near completion of course work and no later than three years after admission to the program, the student is given a comprehensive examination with oral and written components. The written component examines the student’s knowledge in the core course materials as well as those topics covered in the preliminary examination. The examination is administered by the Curriculum and Examination Committee. The oral portion will require the presentation of a research proposition to the student’s faculty supervisory committee. The student must define a research problem of current relevance to the science and engineering of materials. The problem may be experimental, theoretical, or a combination of both. The presentation should be based on the study of literature and discussions with members of the supervisory committee and materials researchers. The student will define the problem, describe its significance in the field, propose a method of investigation leading to a solution of the problem, and defend the problem and proposed solution before the faculty supervisory committee. The proposed problem may be from any area of materials research but it may not be directly related to the student’s dissertation topic. The student must prepare and deliver to the members of the supervisory committee a written proposal describing the research proposition not less than two weeks prior to the scheduled examination date. The comprehensive exams may be taken no more than twice upon formal application to, and under conditions specified by, the student’s faculty committee, the director of the supervisory program, and the dean of the Graduate College. Upon successful completion of this examination, the student is expected to apply to the dean of the Graduate College for formal admission to candidacy for the degree.
Dissertation Requirements. The dissertation, which is the final and most important product of the student’s effort in this program, must report original research in the field and demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct creative, independent research. Each candidate must register for at least 24 semester hours of research and dissertation credit as part of the requirement.
Final Examinations. The final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is conducted by the student’s dissertation committee and others appointed by the dean of the Graduate College.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
The faculty of the Science and Engineering of Materials Committee have established vigorous research programs in the field. Current results are discussed regularly by faculty, research staff, graduate students, and external invited speakers in several regular seminar series. Students in the program have the opportunity to participate and interact directly with speakers.
Areas of current research include the structure and properties of semiconductors such as the following: silicon and gallium arsenide; fabrication of ultrasmall solid-state electronic devices; the structure of the free surfaces of crystalline solids; the structure and properties of intercalated layer compounds; the effects of ion implantation on solids (lattice defect formation, mixing, phase transformations); environmental effects on spectral emissivity of solids; the effects of high pressure on solids; study of phase transformation mechanisms in many different types of solids; atomic structure of interfaces in metal matrix/ceramic and crystal/polymer composites. Several different laboratories containing specialized equipment and computing facilities are available to students conducting research in the program. These include the following: the Facility for High Resolution Electron Microscopy; the Center for Solid-State Electronics Research; electron spin and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy laboratories; several materials preparation laboratories; a Raman spectroscopy laboratory; atomic absorption, X-ray fluorescence, and mass spectroscopic laboratories; X-ray diffraction laboratories; optical microscopy laboratories; computer-controlled high temperature mechanical deformation facilities for constant or variable strain rate plasticity and fracture research; creep research; high temperature electron emission and thermionic energy conversion research.
Courses applicable to the Science and Engineering of Materials interdisciplinary program are taught by faculty in related departments such as chemistry and biochemistry, physics and astronomy, electrical engineering, chemical, bio and materials engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and mathematics. For descriptions of these courses, see the listings under appropriate headings in this catalog.
Omnibus Graduate Courses: See omnibus graduate courses that may be offered.
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