EAS 210 |
Introduction to Nanotechnology |
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| Term Offered: | Spring | |
| Text(s): | Readings are provided in a course packet. | |
| Instructor(s): | Professor Karen Winey, Room 308 LRSM, winey@seas.upenn.edu, 898-0593 | |
| Prerequisite(s): | One college-level chemistry course or permission of the instructor. | |
| Grading: | Assignments (10) 20 % Exams (4, 15% each) 60 % Essays (4, 5% each) 20 % |
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| Course Home Page URL: | courseweb.library.upenn.edu Blackboard will be used to distribute assignments, provide reading assignments, and post grades. In addition, slides shown during lecture are also available on Blackboard as PDF files. |
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| Course Description: | This introductory course presents both theoretical concepts and practical applications in the field of nanotechnology. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter and only 10 times larger than the average atom. Nanostructures, objects on the length scale of 1 to 100 nm, often exhibit properties that are inconsistent with bulk properties. For example, bulk gold has a golden color, but gold nanoparticles with diameters ~15 nm are red and ~40nm gold nanoparticles are purple. Size effects are critical to nanoscience and nanotechnology. The course covers both top-down and bottom-up fabrication methods for making nanostructures. Characterization methods specific to the nanoscale are discussed, including scanning probe microscopies. Nanomaterials are presented including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and nanocomposites. Many of the functions within the human body are controlled by nanoscale mechanisms and this course will describe how these phenomena are being applied in new technologies including molecular motors. The principles and applications of the quantum confinement effects on optical properties are discussed particularly as sensors. Advances in microelectronics are described that have moved circuitry from microscale to nanoscale devices, as well as the emerging field of molecular-scale electronics. The primary objective of this course is to provide a broad foundation of understanding in the field of nanotechnology, so that students are prepared to continually learn about this emerging field. To accomplish the first part of this goal the course will consist of background readings and instructional lectures. The second part will be achieved by allowing students to apply their new understanding as they evaluate new findings reported in various publications. Students will complete homework assignments, take four short exams, and write four essays during the class. This course does not use a textbook. |
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| Course Outline: | Lecture 1 - Overview of nanotechnology |
