Graduate Program
Graduate Programs in Materials Science and Engineering
Master of Science Degree
Candidates for the Master of Science degree follow a program of study formulated in consultation with, and approved by, a faculty adviser. A minimum of 30 points of credit must be taken in graduate courses within a specific area of study of primary interest to the candidate. All degree requirements must be completed within five years. A candidate is required to maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. Applicants for admission are required to take the Graduate Record Examinations. A research report (6 points of credit, MSAE E6273) is required. Special reports (3 points of credit) are acceptable for Columbia Video Network (CVN) students.
Doctoral Program
At the end of the first year of
graduate study, doctoral candidates are required to take a comprehensive written
qualifying examination, which is designed to test the ability of the candidate to apply
course work in problem solving and creative thinking. The standard is first-year
graduate level. There are two four-hour examinations over a two-day period.
Candidates in the program must
take an oral examination within one year of taking the qualifying examination. Within
two years of taking the qualifying examination, candidates must submit a written
proposal and defend it orally before a Proposal Defense Committee consisting of three
members of the faculty, including the adviser. Doctoral candidates must submit a thesis
to be defended before a Dissertation Defense Committee consisting of five faculty
members, including two professors from outside the doctoral program. Requirements for
the Eng.Sc.D. (administered by the School of Engi-neering and Applied Science) and the
Ph.D. (administered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) are listed elsewhere in
this bulletin.
Areas of Research
Materials science and engineering
is concerned with synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of metals, ceramics,
polymers, and other materials, with emphasis on understanding and exploiting
relationships among structure, properties, and applications requirements. Our graduate
research programs encompass projects in areas as diverse as polycrystalline silicon,
electronic ceramics grain boundaries and interfaces, microstructure and stresses in
microelectronics thin films, oxide thin films for novel sensors and fuel cells,
wide-band-gap semiconductors, plasma processing of materials and optical diagnostics of
thin-film processing, ceramic nanocomposites, electro-deposition and corrosion
processes, and magnetic thin films for giant and colossal magnetoresistance, chemical
synthesis of nanoscale materials, nanocrystals, and carbon nanotubes. Application
targets for polycrystalline silicon are thin film transistors for active matrix displays
and silicon-on-insulator structures for ULSI devices. Wide-band-gap II–VI semiconductors
are investigated for laser applications. Novel applications are being developed for
oxide thin films, including uncooled IR focal plane arrays and integrated fuel cells for
portable equipment. Long-range applications of high-temperature superconductors include
efficient power transmission and highly sensitive magnetic field sensors.
Thin film synthesis and processing
in this program include evaporation, sputtering, electrodeposition, and plasma and laser
processing. For analyzing materials structures and properties, faculty and students
employ electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, cathodoluminescence and electron
beam–induced current imaging, photoluminescence, dielectric and anelastic relaxation
techniques, ultrasonic methods, magnetotransport measurements, and X-ray diffraction
techniques. Faculty members have research collaborations with Lucent, Exxon, Philips
Electronics, IBM, and other New York area research and manufacturing centers, as well as
major international research centers. Scientists and engineers from these institutions
also serve as adjunct faculty members at Columbia. The National Synchrotron Light Source
at Brookhaven National Laboratory is used for high- resolution X-ray diffraction and
absorption measurements.
Entering students typically have
undergraduate degrees in materials science, metallurgy, physics, chemistry, or other
science and engineering disciplines. First-year graduate courses provide a common base
of knowledge and technical skills for more advanced courses and for research. In
addition to course work, students usually begin an association with a research group,
individual laboratory work, and participation in graduate seminars during their first
year.
Graduate Specialty in Solid-State Science and Engineering
Solid-state science and engineering is an interdepartmental graduate specialty that provides coverage of an important area of modern technology that no single department can provide. It encompasses the study of the full range of properties of solid materials, with special emphasis on electrical, magnetic, optical, and thermal properties. The science of solids is concerned with understanding these properties in terms of the atomic and electronic structure of the materials in question. Insulators (dielectrics), semiconductors, ceramics, and metallic materials are all studied from this viewpoint. Quantum and statistical mechanics are key background subjects. The engineering aspects deal with the design of materials to achieve desired properties and the assembling of materials into systems to produce devices of interest to modern technology, e.g., for computers and for energy production and utilization.Areas of Research
The graduate specialty in solid-state science and engineering includes research programs in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect and electronic transport (Professor Stormer, Physics/ Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); nonlinear optics of surfaces (Professor Heinz, Electrical Engineering/ Physics); semiconductor nanocrystals (Professor Brus, Chemistry/ Chemical Engineering); optics of semiconductors, including at high pressure (Professor Herman, Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); chemical physics of surfaces and photoemission (Professor Osgood, Electrical Engineering/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); molecular beam epitaxy leading to semi- conductor devices (Professor Wang, Electrical Engineering/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); luminescence in heavily doped wide-band-gap semiconductors (Professor Neumark, Henry Krumb School of Mines/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); and inelastic light scattering in low-dimensional electron gases within semiconductors (Professor Pinczuk, Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics/ Physics); large-area electronics and thin-film transistors (Professor Im, Henry Krumb School of Mines/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); structural analysis and high Tc superconductors (Professor Chan, Henry Krumb School of Mines/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); x-ray microdiffraction and stresses (Professor Noyan, Henry Krumb School of Mines/ Applied Physics and Applied Math-ematics); magnetic properties of thin films (Professor Bailey, Henry Krumb School of Mines/Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics); properties of nano materials (Professor O’Brien, Henry Krumb School of Mines/ Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics).
Program of Study
The applicant for the graduate
specialty must be admitted to one of the participating programs: applied physics and
applied mathematics, or electrical engineering. A strong undergraduate background in
physics or chemistry and in mathematics is important.
The doctoral student must meet the
formal requirements for the Eng.Sc.D. or Ph.D. degree set by the department in which he
or she is registered. However, the bulk of the program for the specialty will be
arranged in consultation with a member of the interdepartmental Committee on Materials
Science and Engineering/ Solid-State Science and Engineering. At the end of the first
year of graduate study, doctoral candidates are required to take a comprehensive written
examination concentrating on solid-state science and engineering.
The following are regarded as core
courses of the specialty:
APPH E4100: Quantum physics of matter
APPH E4112: Laser physics
APPH-MSAE E6081-E6082: Solid state physics, I and II
CHEM G4230: Statistical thermodynamics
orCHAP E4120: Statistical mechanics
ELEN E4301: Introduction to semiconductor devices
ELEN E4944: Principles of device microfabrication
ELEN E6331-E6332: Principles of semiconductor physics
ELEN E6403: Classical electromagnetic theory
or
PHYS G6092: Electromagnetic theory, I
MSAE E4206: Electronic and magnetic properties of solids
MSAE E4207: Lattice vibrations and crystal defects
MSAE E6220: Crystal physics
MSAE E6240: Impurities and defects in semiconductor materials
MSAE E6241: Theory of solids
PHYS G6018: Physics of the solid state
PHYS G6037: Quantum mechanics
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