Ch/APh 2
Introduction to Energy Sciences
9 units (4-0-5)
|
third term
Prerequisites: Ch 1 ab, Ph 1 ab, Ma 1 ab.
Energy production and transduction in biological, chemical, and nuclear reactions. Bioenergetics: energy sources and storage; components of biological energy flows: pumps, motors, and solar cells; circuitry of biological energy flows and biological energy transduction pathways. Chemistry of energy production and utilization: fossil fuel utilization and energy conversion pathways; artificial photosynthesis, solar cells, and solar energy conversion. Principles of nuclear energy production: nuclear energy decay processes, fission and fusion reactions, and reactor principles. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Satisfies the menu requirement of the Caltech core curriculum.
Instructors:
Lewis, Bellan, Arnold
APh/EE 9 ab
Solid-State Electronics for Integrated Circuits
6 units (2-2-2)
|
first, second terms
Prerequisites: Successful completion of APh/EE 9 a is a prerequisite for enrollment in APh/EE 9 b.
Introduction to solid-state electronics, including physical modeling and device fabrication. Topics: semiconductor crystal growth and device fabrication technology, carrier modeling, doping, generation and recombination, pn junction diodes, MOS capacitor and MOS transistor operation, and deviations from ideal behavior. Laboratory includes computer-aided layout, and fabrication and testing of light-emitting diodes, transistors, and inverters. Students learn photolithography, and use of vacuum systems, furnaces, and device-testing equipment.
Instructor:
Scherer
APh 17 abc
Thermodynamics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: Ma 1 abc, Ph 1 abc.
Introduction to the use of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics in physics and engineering. Entropy, temperature, and the principal laws of thermodynamics. Canonical equations of state. Applications to cycles, engines, phase and chemical equilibria. Probability and stochastic processes. Kinetic theory of perfect gases. Statistical mechanics. Applications to gases, gas degeneration, equilibrium radiation, and simple solids.
Instructors:
Vahala, Crosignani
APh 23
Demonstration Lectures in Optics
6 units (2-0-4)
|
second term
Prerequisites: Ph 1 abc.
This course cover fundamentals of optics with emphasis on modern optical applications, intended to exhibit basic optical phenomena including interference, dispersion, birefringence, diffraction, and laser oscillation, and the applications of these phenom-ena in optical systems employing two-beam and multiple-beam interferometry, Fourier-transform image processing, holography, electro-optic modulation, and optical detection and heterodyning. System examples to be selected from optical communications, radar, and adaptive optical systems.
Instructor:
Staff
APh 24
Introductory Modern Optics Laboratory
6 units (0-4-2)
|
third term
Prerequisites: APh 23.
Laboratory experiments to acquaint students with the contemporary aspects of modern optical research and technology. Experiments encompass many of the topics and concepts covered in APh 23.
Instructor:
Staff
APh 77 bc
Laboratory in Applied Physics
9 units (0-9-0)
|
second, third terms
Selected experiments chosen to familiarize students with laboratory equipment, procedures, and characteristic phenomena in plasmas, fluid turbulence, fiber optics, X-ray diffraction, microwaves, high-temperature superconductivity, black-body radiation, holography, and computer interfacing of experiments.
Instructor:
Bellan
APh 78 abc
Senior Thesis, Experimental
9 units (0-9-0)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
Supervised experimental research experience, open only to senior-class applied physics majors. Requirements will be set by individual faculty members, but will include a written report based upon actual laboratory experience. The selection of topic and the final report must be approved by the Applied Physics Undergraduate Committee. Students desiring additional units should register in APh 100. Not offered on a pass/fail basis.
Instructor:
Staff
APh 79 abc
Senior Thesis, Theoretical
9 units (0-9-0)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: instructor's permission.
Supervised theoretical research experience, open only to senior-class applied physics majors. Requirements will be set by individual faculty members, but will include a written report based upon actual laboratory experience. The selection of topic and the final report must be approved by the Applied Physics Undergraduate Committee. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. This course cannot be used to satisfy the laboratory requirement in APh.
Instructor:
Staff
APh 100
Advanced Work in Applied Physics
Units in accordance with work accomplished
Special problems relating to applied physics, arranged to meet the needs of students wishing to do advanced work. Primarily for undergraduates. Students should consult with their advisers before registering. Graded pass/fail.
Ae/APh/CE/ME 101 abc
Fluid Mechanics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: APh 17 or ME 18, and ME 19 or equivalent, ACM 95/100 or equivalent (may be taken concurrently).
Fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Microscopic and macroscopic properties of liquids and gases; the continuum hypothesis; review of thermodynamics; general equations of motion; kinematics; stresses; constitutive relations; vorticity, circulation; Bernoulli's equation; potential flow; thin-airfoil theory; surface gravity waves; buoyancy-driven flows; rotating flows; viscous creeping flow; viscous boundary layers; introduction to stability and turbulence; quasi one-dimensional compressible flow; shock waves; unsteady compressible flow; acoustics.
Instructors:
Gharib, Pullin
Ae/APh 104 abc
Experimental Methods
9 units (3-0-6) first term, (1-3-5) second, third terms
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: ACM 95/100 abc or equivalent (may be taken concurrently), Ae/APh/CE/ME 101 abc or equivalent (may be taken concurrently).
Lectures on experiment design and implementation. Measurement methods, transducer fundamentals, instrumentation, optical systems, signal processing, noise theory, analog and digital electronic fundamentals, with data acquisition and processing systems. Experiments (second and third terms) in solid and fluid mechanics with emphasis on current research methods.
Instructor:
McKeon
APh 105 abc
States of Matter
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: APh 17 abc or equivalent.
A survey emphasizing unifying concepts, such as order parameters, scaling laws, quasi-particle excitations, and correlation functions. Topics: long-range ordered states such as crystals, superfluids, and ferromagnets; phase transitions; critical phenomena; ideal classical and degenerate gases; theory of liquids; band theory of solids; fluctuations; noise. Part c taught concurrently with MS 105.
Instructors:
Johnson, Fultz
APh 109
Introduction to the Micro/Nanofabrication Lab
9 units (0-6-3)
|
first, second, third terms
Introduction to techniques of micro-and nanofabrication, including solid-state, optical, and microfluidic devices. Students will be trained to use fabrication and characterization equipment available in the applied physics micro- and nanofabrication lab. Topics include Schottky diodes, MOS capacitors, light-emitting diodes, microlenses, microfluidic valves and pumps, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron-beam writing.
Instructor:
Ghaffari
APh 110
Topics in Applied Physics
2 units (2-0-0)
|
first, second terms
A seminar course designed to acquaint advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students with the various research areas represented in the option. Lecture each week given by a different member of the APh faculty, who will review his or her field of research. Graded pass/fail.
Instructor:
Bellan
APh 114 abc
Solid-State Physics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: Ph 125 abc or equivalent.
Introductory lecture and problem course dealing with experimental and theoretical problems in solid-state physics. Topics include crystal structure, symmetries in solids, lattice vibrations, electronic states in solids, transport phenomena, semiconductors, superconductivity, magnetism, ferroelectricity, defects, and optical phenomena in solids.
Instructors:
Schwab, Atwater
APh/Ph 115 ab
Physics of Transport in Fluids
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second terms
Prerequisites: ACM 95 or equivalent.
There is growing interest in micro- and nanodevices in which a solid surface is made to contact a fluid for the purpose of measurement or actuation. Such devices include oscillating cantilevers, microfluidic arrays, optofluidic devices, and biofluidic sensors, to name a few. This course provides a self-contained treatment of the fundamentals of transport phenomena necessary for the development of such applications. Topics to include creeping and pulsatile flows, self-similar phenomena, lubrication and free surface flows, oscillating bubbles, spreading films, convective-diffusion processes, and instabilities leading to pattern formation. The first term will focus on fluid dynamical principles; the second term will examine processes triggered by thermal or concentration gradients.
Instructor:
Troian
APh/EE 130
Electromagnetic Theory
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first term
This course reviews EM theory and optical concepts that are frequently encountered. EM theory: tensor matrix, kDB space, Poynting theorem. Dispersion and absorption. Reflection at an interface. Nonlinear optics. Polarization: Jones matrix and Stokes vectors. Ray tracing: ABCD matrix, optical aberrations. Noise. Diffraction. Interferometry: system design, homodyne, heterodyne, spectral domain analysis.
Instructor:
Yariv
EE/APh 131
Optical Wave Propagation
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
This course focuses on optical wave propagation and related applications. Topics to be covered include Huygens' principle, Fourier optics, Gaussian waves, imaging, gratings, spectroscopy, interferometry, Fabry-Perot cavities, coherence, holography, femtosecond optics, dispersion, Kramers-Kronig relation, Mie scattering theory, photonic band gaps, and near-field imaging.
Instructor:
Staff
APh/EE 132
Optoelectronic Materials and Devices
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Interaction of light and matter, spontaneous and stimulated emission, laser rate equations, mode-locking, Q-switching, semiconductor lasers. Optical detectors and amplifiers; noise characterization of optoelectronic devices. Propagation of light in crystals, electro-optic effects and their use in modulation of light; introduction to nonlinear optics. Optical properties of nanostructures.
Instructor:
Yariv
APh 150
Topics in Applied Physics
Units to be arranged
Content will vary from year to year, but at a level suitable for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students. Topics are chosen according to the interests of students and staff. Visiting faculty may present portions of this course.
APh 156 abc
Plasma Physics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: Ph 106 abc or equivalent.
An introduction to the principles of plasma physics. A multitiered theoretical infrastructure will be developed consisting of the Hamilton-Lagrangian theory of charged particle motion in combined electric and magnetic fields, the Vlasov kinetic theory of plasma as a gas of interacting charged particles, the two-fluid model of plasma as interacting electron and ion fluids, and the magnetohydrodynamic model of plasma as an electrically conducting fluid subject to combined magnetic and hydrodynamic forces. This infrastructure will be used to examine waves, transport processes, equilibrium, stability, and topological self-organization. Examples relevant to plasmas in both laboratory (fusion, industrial) and space (magneto-sphere, solar) will be discussed.
Instructor:
Bellan
BE/APh 161
Physical Biology of the Cell
12 units (3-0-9)
|
second term
Prerequisites: limited to juniors and seniors who have completed the required BE courses; background in statistical and quantum mechanics or instructor's written permission required.
Physical models applied to the analysis of biological structures ranging from individual proteins and DNA to entire cells. Topics include the force response of proteins and DNA, models of molecular motors, DNA packing in viruses and eukaryotes, mechanics of membranes, and membrane proteins and cell motility.
Instructor:
Phillips
BE/APh 162
Physical Biology Laboratory
12 units (0-6-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in BE/APh 161; limited to juniors and seniors who have completed the required BE courses.
This laboratory course accompanies BE/APh 161 and is built around experiments that amplify material covered in that course. Particular topics include background on techniques from molecular biology, mechanics of lipid bilayer vesicles, DNA packing in viruses, fluorescence microscopy of cells, experiments on cell motility, and the construction of genetic networks.
EE/APh 180
Solid-State Devices
9 units (3-0-6)
|
second term
Prerequisites: EE 45.
Starting with the phenomenological statement of physical processes, the operation of a device is derived from fundamental principles and the device's materials and design. Subjects include the motion of charge carriers in solids, equilibrium statistics, the electronic structure of solids, doping, nonequilibrium states, the pn junction, the junction transistor, the Schottky diode, the field-effect transistor, the light-emitting diode, and the photodiode.
Instructor:
Scherer
BE/APh/Ph 181
Biological Interfaces, Transduction, and Sensing
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Prerequisites: APh 105, Ph129 or equivalent (students without a background in statistical physics are still encouraged to take the course-additional tutorial sessions will be arranged as needed).
Basic physics and chemical physics of interfaces between the fundamental realm of biology-molecules and cells-and the physical world. The course centers on processes that are essential for transduction to energy domains in which modern sensors operate. Information transfer from the biological realm to optical, electronic, and mechanical domains will be considered. Particular attention will be paid to both the sensitivity and the kinetics of transduction processes, and to how fluctuations affect and ultimately impose fundamental limits on such interactions.
Instructor:
Roukes
APh/EE 183
Physics of Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices
9 units (3-0-6)
|
third term
Principles of semiconductor electronic structure, carrier transport properties, and optoelectronic properties relevant to semiconductor device physics. Fundamental performance aspects of basic and advanced semiconductor electronic and optoelectronic devices. Topics include energy band theory, carrier generation and recombination mechanisms, quasi-Fermi levels, carrier drift and diffusion transport, quantum transport.
Instructor:
Atwater
APh 190 abc
Quantum Electronics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: Ph 125 or equivalent.
Generation, manipulations, propagation, and applications of coherent radiation. The basic theory of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with resonant atomic transitions. Laser oscillation, important laser media, Gaussian beam modes, the electro-optic effect, nonlinear-optics theory, second harmonic generation, parametric oscillation, stimulated Brillouin and Raman scattering. Other topics include light modulation, diffraction of light by sound, integrated optics, phase conjugate optics, and quantum noise theory.
Instructor:
Painter
APh 200
Applied Physics Research
Units in accordance with work accomplished
Offered to graduate students in applied physics for research or reading. Students should consult their advisers before registering. Graded pass/fail.
Ph/APh 223 abc
Advanced Condensed-Matter Physics
9 units (3-0-6)
|
first, second, third terms
Prerequisites: Ph 125 or equivalent, or instructor's permission.
Advanced topics in condensed-matter physics, emphasizing the application of formal quantum field theory and group theory methods to many-body systems. Selected topics may include path integral and canonical formalisms, Green's function techniques and Feynman diagrams, Fermi liquid theory, Luttinger liquid theory, symmetry breaking and Landau-Ginzburg theory of phase transitions, group theory and its applications, field theory for interacting bosons and superfluidity, superconductivity, Kondo effect, Hubbard and t-J models, gauge theory, fractional quantum Hall effect, anyons, and topological field theory.
APh 250
Advanced Topics in Applied Physics
Units and term to be arranged
Content will vary from year to year; topics are chosen according to interests of students and staff. Visiting faculty may present portions of this course.
Instructor:
Staff
APh 300
Thesis Research in Applied Physics
Units in accordance with work accomplished
APh 300 is elected in place of APh 200 when the student has progressed to the point where his or her research leads directly toward a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Approval of the student's research supervisor and department adviser or registration representative must be obtained before registering. Graded pass/fail.
Published Date:
July 28, 2022