TLP Library
Teaching and learning packages (TLPs) are self-contained, interactive resources, each focusing on one area of Materials Science.
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Currently showing 27 TLPs
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Introduction To Anisotropy
It is common in basic analysis to treat bulk materials as isotropic - their properties are independent of the direction in which they are measured. However the atomic scale structure can result in properties that vary with direction. This teaching and learning package (TLP) looks into typical examples of such anisotropy and gives a brief mathematical look into modelling the behaviour.
Atomic Force Microscopy
Provides a brief introduction to atomic force microscopy (AFM), some of the ways it is commonly used and some of the problems faced.
Atomic Scale Structure of Materials
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous solids, and how the atomic-level structure has radical consequences for some of the properties of the material. It introduces the use of polarised light to examine the optical properties of materials, and shows how a variety of simple models can be used to visualise important features of the microstructure of materials.
Brillouin Zones
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to Brillouin zones in two and three dimensions and is aimed at developing familiarity with Brillouin Zones. It will not cover any specific applications. Brillouin Zones are particularly useful in understanding the electronic and thermal properties of crystalline solids.
Crystallographic Texture
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces the concept of texture in crystalline materials such as common metals and metallic alloys.
Crystallography
Crystalline materials are characterised by a regular atomic structure that repeats itself in all three dimensions. In other words the structure displays translational symmetry.
Dielectric Materials
This teaching and learning package will introduce you to the properties and uses of dielectric materials.
Dislocation Energetics
This teaching and learning package (TLP) uses an atomistic model of the misfit energy to predict dislocation width and Peierls stress.
Introduction To Dislocations
Dislocations are crucially important in determining the mechanical behaviour of materials. This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to dislocations and their motion through a crystal. A 'bubble raft' model is used to demonstrate some of the features of dislocations and other lattice defects. Some methods for observing real dislocations in materials are examined.
Electromigration
Electromigration is an ever-increasing problem as integrated circuits are pushed towards further miniaturization. The theory of the phenomenon is explained, including electromigration-induced failure and how it has been and can be minimized.
Epitaxial Growth
This TLP enables you to explore the way in which perfect thin crystalline layers are deposited epitaxially (i.e. in the same crystal orientation) on semiconductor substrates. This is the way many electronic and opto-electronic devices are now fabricated using techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).
Ferroelectric Materials
Ferroelectrics have been used in real-world applications for a small number of decades, most notably for non-volatile data storage. For example, they have been used in a Sony Playstation and Japanese railway cards.
Ferromagnetic Materials
How many ferromagnets do you think you own? Maybe many more than you realise. Ferromagnetic materials lie at the heart not just of the humble compass, but also of many loudspeakers and of computer memory. This teaching and learning package outlines the microscopic basis of magnetism and some of the conquences of ferromagnetic order in real materials.
Lattice Planes and Miller Indices
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to the method used to describe planes of atoms in a crystalline material. The practical uses of describing planes of atoms are also addressed.
Piezoelectric Materials
This teaching and learning package (TLP) provides an introduction to piezoelectric materials.
Polymer Basics
This teaching and learning package is an introduction to the basic concepts of polymer science. It includes molecular structure, synthesis and tests for identification.
Pyroelectric Materials
Pyroelectric materials are found in almost every home, in the form of intrusion detectors and other devices, and this TLP will consider how they work, and what the most common ones are made of.
Raman Spectroscopy
An introduction to the analysis of materials and chemicals by the Raman scattering of light.
Reciprocal Space
This TLP shows the construction of reciprocal lattices from real ones, use of the Ewald sphere for diffraction experiments and some other applications of reciprocal space.
Introduction To Semiconductors
This teaching and learning package provides a very basic introduction to semiconductors. These materials are essential to the operation of solid state electronic devices.
Slip in Single Crystals
This teaching and learning package explains how plastic deformation of materials occurs through the mechanism of slip. Slip involves dislocation glide on particular slip planes. The geometry of slip is explained, and electron microscopy techniques are used to show slip occurring in single crystals of cadmium.
Solid Solutions
This teaching and learning package is based on a practical used within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The package is aimed at first year undergraduate Materials Science students and focuses on the different types of solid solution and the thermodynamic principles involved in understanding them.
The Stereographic Projection
This TLP covers the use of the Stereographic projection and Wulff nets.
Superconductivity
Electrons in pairs? Levitating trains? Superconductivity - the combination of lossless electrical conduction and the ability of a material to expel a magnetic field - is a property that excites interest in fundamental science whilst offering tantalising prospects for a range of applications. In this teaching and learning package (TLP), we trace the history of superconductivity, outline some fundamental properties of superconductors, and describe current and potential applications of materials with this unusual property.
Introduction to thermal and electrical conductivity
This teaching and learning package (TLP) provides an introductory guide to both electrical and thermal conduction. It includes a few of the basic mechanisms of conduction, some useful formulae, and some common applications of electrical and thermal conductors and insulators.
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Transmission electron microscopy is a very important tool in materials science for investigating the fine-scale structure of materials. This TLP serves as an introduction to the basic concepts and structure of the transmission electron microscope.
X-ray Diffraction Techniques
This teaching & learning package provides an introduction to X-ray diffraction. It describes the main crystallographic information that can be obtained and experimental methods most commonly used.