400. History of Physical Science (3)
Lecture, 3 hours. A survey of the historical development of the physical sciences. Cross-listed as GEOL 400. Prerequisite: major in the physical sciences or consent of the instructor.

411. Laboratory Instruction Practicum (1)
Laboratory, 3 hours. Presentation of experimental techniques and guidance of student activities in a lower-division physics laboratory under the supervision of the instructor in charge of the laboratory. Development and application of instructional experiments in physics. May be repeated for up to 3 units credit, with different subject matter in each repetition. Prerequisites: junior standing in physics and consent of instructor.

413. Advanced Electronics (3) Spring
Lecture, 3 hours. Flip flops and sequential logic circuits; timing diagrams; families of logic devices; MSI and LSI devices; D/A and A/D converters; measurements and signal processing; introduction to microprocessors and microcomputers; microprocessor-controlled circuits; application of circuit simulation programs. Concurrent enrollment in PHYS 413L is mandatory. Prerequisites: PHYS 313 and 313L, or CHEM 313 and 313L, or consent of instructor.

413L Advanced Electronics Laboratory (1) Spring
Laboratory, 3 hours. Laboratory to accompany PHYS 413. Experiments in this lab are designed to address the major topics of the PHYS 413 lecture course. Students will experiment with physical and simulated circuits. Concurrent enrollment in PHYS 413 is mandatory. Prerequisites: PHYS 313 and 313L, or CHEM 313 and 313L, or consent of instructor.

430. Electricity and Magnetism (3) Spring
Lecture, 3 hours. Electrostatics; magnetostatics; electric currents, electromagnetic induction. Electric and magnetic fields in matter; Maxwell's equations, retarded potentials, radiation reaction, light emission, simple scattering and antenna theory, properties of waveguides, relativistic formulation of electrodynamics, Fourier decomposition of fields. Prerequisites: PHYS 214, and previous or concurrent enrollment in PHYS 325.

445. Photonics (3) Spring
Lecture, 3 hours. Gaussian beams; guided-wave optics; fiber optics; optical resonators; resonant cavities; laser oscillation and amplification; laser excitation; optical pumping; solid state, gas, dye, chemical, excimer and free electron lasers; semiconductor lasers; laser spectroscopy; fiber optic communication; photomultiplier and semiconductor radiation detectors including photoconductors, junction photodiodes; p-i-n diodes, avalanche photodiodes; detector noise. Prerequisite: PHYS 314 or consent of instructor.

447. Lasers and Holography Laboratory (1) Spring
Laboratory, 3 hours. Gas lasers; external mirror laser alignment; scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer; longitudinal and transverse mode structure and coherence; laser beam modulation; laser spectroscopy; making holograms; diode lasers; pulsed and CW measurements of threshold current density; tuning and beam profiling; spectrum analysis of diode lasers, LEDs, and diode-pumped solid state lasers. Prerequisite: previous or concurrent enrollment in PHYS 445, or consent of instructor.

449. Fiber Optics and Detectors Laboratory (1) Fall
Laboratory, 3 hours. Numerical aperture measurements; wideband fiber loss measurements including 850, 1310, and 1550 nm; fiber optic return loss and break-point detection; optoelectronic modulation in optical fibers; multiplexing in optical fibers; beam quality in optical fibers; radiation detection with photomultipliers; characterization of photodiodes; avalanche and p-i-n diodes; photodetector applications; photoconductor applications. Prerequisite: PHYS 316 and previous or concurrent enrollment in PHYS 445, or consent of instructor.

450. Statistical Physics (2) Fall
Lecture, 2 hours. The laws of thermodynamics; Boltzmann, Bose, and Fermi statistics; applications. Prerequisite: PHYS 314.

460. Quantum Physics (3) Fall
Lecture, 3 hours. The Schrödinger equation; coordinate and momentum representation; harmonic oscillator; angular momentum and spin; Hilbert space; eigenvalues and eigenvectors; completeness relations; central potentials; hydrogen atom; scattering; perturbation theory; Dirac notation. Extensive use of a symbolic processing program. Prerequisite: PHYS 320 and PHYS 325.

475. Physics of Semiconductor Devices (2) Spring
Lecture, 3 hours. Semiconductor materials, crystal structure and growth; energy bands and charge carriers, conductivity and mobility; metal-semiconductor and p-n junctions; p-n junction diodes, bipolar junction transistors, field-effect transistors, CCDs, photonic devices, and integrated circuits. Projects in photolithography; conductivity and contact resistance measurements; I-V and C-V characteristics of diodes; characterization of transistors may be assigned. Prerequisite: PHYS 314 or consent of instructor.

481. Applied Nuclear Chemistry and Physics (2) Fall
Lecture, 2 hours. This course offers working knowledge of nuclear radiations, radioactive sources, and nuclear reactors. Interaction of ionizing radiation with matter; physical, chemical, and biological effects. Radiochemical dating. Nuclear models. Nuclear reactor theory and neutron activation. Radioactive tracer methods. Cross-listed as CHEM 481. Prerequisites: PHYS 214, CHEM 115A, CHEM 116A, and one upper-division course in the natural sciences.

482. Applied Nuclear Chemistry and Physics Laboratory (2) Fall
Laboratory lecture, 1 hour; laboratory,3 hours. The use and production of radioactive sources. Nuclear reactor problems using a neutron howitzer. Applications to detection of trace elements, nuclear chemical phenomena, radiological safety. State-of-the-art instrumentation and laboratory practices. Cross-listed as CHEM 482. Prerequisites: PHYS 216 and previous or concurrent enrollment in PHYS 481.

493. Senior Design Project (2) Fall and Spring
A directed project to develop either a working prototype or a detailed conceptual design for an operational laboratory device. A report on the design characteristics considered and selected for the device will be required. Prerequisites: PHYS 313L. Application form required prior to enrollment.

494. Physics Seminar (1) Fall and Spring
A series of lectures on topics of interest in physics, astronomy, and related fields. May be repeated for credit up to 3 units maximum. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

495. Special Studies (1-4) Fall and Spring
The physics and astronomy department encourages independent study and considers it to be an educational undertaking. Students wishing to enroll for Special Studies are required to submit proposals to their supervising faculty members that outline their projects and exhibit concrete plans for their successful completion.

497. Undergraduate Research in Physics (2) Fall and Spring
Supervised research in an area of physics that is currently under investigation by one or more members of the physics and astronomy department's faculty. This course may be repeated for up to 6 units of credit. Prerequisites: junior standing and consent of instructor.

created by at last updated 2002-06-11 by JST