Syllabus

Fall 2022

Instructor

• Dr. Branislav K. Nikolic
  • Email: bnikolic@udel.edu
  • Web: http://www.physics.udel.edu/~bnikolic
  • Phone: (302) 831-2943
  • Fax: (302) 831-1637

Calendar

• TR 3:30PM-4:45PM in Ewing Hall 204.
• Computer Lab: W 1:25PM-2:15PM in Gore Hall 320.
• Poster session for the final project: December 16 at 2:00PM in 225 Sharp Lab.
• Office hours: Thursday 1:30-2:30 PM, or by appointment (send me an email).
• Classes start on Wednesday, August 31 and terminate on Thursday, December 8.
• Breaks:
  • Election day: November 8; Thanksgiving Holiday: November 21-25.
  • Instructor's travel schedule: October 10-14.

Requirements

Lectures: The goal of class time is to emphasize important concepts covered in the textbook, introduce topics not in the text, and highlight common conceptual and problem-solving pitfalls. It is my responsibility to present this material for your coherently and create an environment in which you will feel comfortable participating. It is your responsibility to take me up on my offer to participate and to prepare yourself for the class by reading the material and working sample problems. Attendance for all lectures and discussions is strongly recommended.

Quizzes: Short quizzes will be given in the middle or at the end of the class to test student class participation.

Resarch Track

Students opting to work on Research Track will not have to solve homework problems or conduct two mini-research projects, but they will be required to take in-class quizzes. Instead, they will spend whole semester working on an open ended project via computer simulations. If successful, students will receive grade A and could also publish their result in the form of a journal article. If unsuccessful, students will have to take oral exam at the end of the course.

Conventional Track

Homeworks: Homework will be assigned on Tuesdays and it is due by next Tuesday (can be handed in the class or emailed as PDF).

Exams: There will be no traditional exams.

Mini-Research Projects: Instead of traditional exams, two mini-research projects will be assigned dealing with modeling of transport in nanostructures of contemporary interest. The first project will be reported on in the form of a journal article (two column style with text and equations, see Example), while the second one will be presented in the form of the poster session at the end of the semester.

Academic Honesty

The policy on academic honesty as stated in the Student Guide to University Policies will be followed during this course. In particular, collaboration on homework assignments and in-class activities is permitted and encouraged. However, you cannot submit identical reports/posters.

Grading

• The final score will be determined as a weighted average of different class activities listed above using the following formula:
  • Homework - 30%,
  • Quiz - 10 %,
  • Midterm and final Research Project - 60%.

• Here is a guideline for your final letter grade, as a percentage of the total number of points:
  • 93 - 100 -> A
  • 90 - 92 -> A-
  • 85 - 89 -> B+
  • 80 - 84 -> B
  • 75 - 79 -> B-
  • 70 - 74 -> C+
  • 65 - 69 -> C
  • 60 - 64 -> C-
  • 57 - 59 -> D+
  • 53 - 56 -> D
  • 50 - 52 -> D-
  • < 50 -> F

These numbers may be lowered, depending upon numerous factors, but will not be raised (i.e., if you have 90 average you are assured of at least an A-). The course grades are not curved.

• Grading of overdue homework: Homeworks submitted after the deadline will incur a penalty 5 points for each 24 hour period. After eight days, the maximum possible grade is set at 60 points.

Study Guides

Main textbook

• L. E. F. Foà Torres, S. Roche, and J.-C. Charlier, Introduction to Graphene-Based Nanomaterials: From Electronic Structure to Quantum Transport (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2020). [E-book from UD libary]

Supplementary textbook and videos for undergraduate and engineering students

• S. Datta, Quantum transport: Atom to transistor (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2015). [E-book from UD libary]
• S. Datta, Lessons from Nanoelectronics: A new Perspective on Transport, (Worlds Scientific, Singapore, 2018). [Publisher Website].
• nanoHUB-U: Fundamentals of Nanoelectronics - Part A: Basic Concepts
• nanoHUB-U: Fundamentals of Nanoelectronics - Part B: Quantum Transport
• nanoHUB-U: Non-Equilibrium Green's Function: A Different Perspective

Advanced textbooks for theoretical physics students

• D. Ryndyk,Theory of Quantum Transport at Nanoscale: An Introduction (Springer, Cham, 2016). [E-book from UD library]
• G. Stefanucci and R. van Leeuwen, Nonequilibrium Many-Body Theory of Quantum Systems: A Modern Introduction (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013). [E-book from UD library]

Reviews

• F. Mahfouzi and B. K. Nikolić, How to construct the proper gauge-invariant density matrix in steady-state nonequilibrium: Applications to spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques, SPIN 3, 1330002 (2013). [PDF]
• B. K. Nikolić, K. Dolui, M. Petrović, P. Plecháč, T. Markussen, and K. Stokbro, First-principles quantum transport modeling of spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques in magnetic multilayers (Chapter of Handbook of Materials Modeling, Volume 2 Applications: Current and Emerging Materials (Springer, Cham, 2018). [PDF]