Course syllabus
Course-PM: Welcome to the course Quantum Engineering
FKA132 Quantum engineering lp1 HT20 (7.5 hp). The course is offered by the department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience - MC2 and starts with first Zoom physics lecture (by the examinator) at 10:00 on Tuesday, August 31, 2021.
Note that safety of everybody is prioritized.
All course moments are available digitally. All recitations and projects will be run over Zoom for the first two weeks and then
we will generally move to in-class teaching (but with streaming) -- except when one us teachers are ill and deem we must
take that lecture or recitation over zoom for the safety of all.
Zoom invitations to lectures and other course components will be given on Canvas.
An overview of the organization of the course summarized on a schedule one-pager.
People and contact details
- Examinator and physics lecturer: Per Hyldgaard, MC2, hyldgaar_AT_chalmers.se
- Chemistry lecturer and recitation leader: Martin Rahm, Chemistry, martin.rahm_AT_chalmers.se
- Chemistry lecturer and recitation leader: Jerker Mårtensson, Chemistry, jerker@chalmers.se
- Physics-project advisor and recitation leader: Carl Frostenson, MC2, carl.frostenson_AT_chalmers.se
- Chemistry-project advisor: Hilda Sandström, hildasa_AT_chalmers.se
Course purpose
This Quantum Engineering course is given to provide knowledge that electrical engineers, material scientists, physicists, and chemists need as they enter the field of nanoscale physics and technology.
Schedule
TimeEdit -- and summary on a schedule one-pager.
Course literature
The course material will consist of (parts of) four main course books plus background text books. Additional material are handed out or are available from the course home page. All four main course books are available from the Chalmers library; in almost all cases in the form of electronic books (pdf-files), once you are registered at Chalmers. The same is true for the background books mentioned below.
You may not need to buy the paper version of the text book as we will only be using parts of the books and our own lecture notes are posted and will be posted here on the canvas webpage of the course.
Main physics materials: parts of Y. B. Band and Y. Avishai: Quantum Mechanics with applications to nanotechnology and information science, Elsevier and for the physics project: parts of D. M. Sullivan: Quantum Mechanics for Electrical Engineers, IEEE and Wiley.
For background/support on notes on the quantum language, we direct attention to either one of these books:
R. B Griffith: Consistent Quantum Theory, Cambridge University Press, 2001 (chapters 3-5 on Dirac notation) or J.J. Sakurai: Modern Quantum Mechanics, Addison-Wesley, 1994 (chapter 1) or A.F.J. Levi: Applied Quantum Mechanics, Cambridge University Press, 2006 (chapter 5).
Main Chemistry books: Chapters 12, 13 and 17 of Raymond Chang: Physical Chemistry for the Chemical Sciences (e-book) and parts of E.V. Anslyn and D. A. Dougherty: Modern Physical Organic Chemistry, University Science (hand outs).
Additional Chemistry materials, mostly for background and supplement, are: 1) parts of Frank Jensen: Introduction of Computation Chemistry (hand outs) and 2) Selected original research articles (hand outs).
Note that you are not required to buy any of these books. We will only be using parts and we will have both physics lecture notes and the chemistry lectures available here at Canvas.
We do mention that S.M. Lindsay: Introduction to Nanoscience, Oxford University Press, gives a nice overview of the cross-disciplinary field of nanoscience. Buying a copy is not required.
Also, we do recommend that you invest in (in order of priority) Nordling and Österman: Physics Handbook and Råde and Westergren: Mathematics Handbook (for example, available from the Chalmers book store or second hand). These will be useful throughout your study and many students at Chalmers have them (meaning that some teachers will assume that you have them). Any version will do, even decade old ones. However, keep them clean, except for very obvious typos: they may be then be allowed if we get to have an
on-campus written exam for this course -- but only if kept clean!
Finally, some optional reading. Many of you will know complex Fourier transform from science (and most of you know it anyway
from music or in other contexts). Fourier transform is not part of the curriculum nor required, just useful as an analogy when
discussing wave packets.. For those of you who want to read some short summary of the math (in a music context) the
canvas presentation now included an optional-reading module "Some Fourier Transform background" with links to
a music-based introduction.
Course design
The course consist of Physics and Chemistry lectures (generally 3 double-hour sessions per week) plus Physics and Chemistry recitations (generally 1 double-hour session per week).
In addition the course has both a physics and a chemistry project. Both are computational and you have access to a supervisor for the project work. Completion of two project reports is mandatory. Also, assuming the project reports are handed in in time, they give you bonus points that can possibly raise your final grade. This bonus is only available if you get an actual passing grade at the written exam.
The physics learning is organized into 6 areas with associated lectures and exercises. Please see the individual physics modules. There are and will be lecture notes for each physics and chemistry lecture. Notes reflecting the planned-lecture context will be available at least the day before the lecture (but may be updated). You should study those before the lecture.
The chemistry learning is organized in Concepts, with a reading plan summarized here. Again, notes are and will generally be available ahead of the lecture and should study those.
The suggested focus for the recitations will be posted on this learning platform the day before, and you should also regularly check for updates.
Course organization: please see list of lectures, recitations, and project-introduction sessions and project-report deadlines.
Finally, we mention some useful advise for studying, for preparing for the exam, and in general, "Ten rules of Good (and Bad) Studying," available under Stanford's "Tomorrows Professor" collection, https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1346 .
Changes made since the last occasion
Generally the focus for the course in the fall, this year is again getting safe distance learning to work though the canvas platform (using digital tools when relevant) but also starting in-class teaching in week three, safety permitting. In that, case there will be streaming. As such,
we have all components available digitally. We have added an optional-reading module on Fourier transform basics (at the suggestion of last years course evaluation).
Zoom will be used for the physics lectures and recitations in the first two weeks (check the page with zoom invites).
It will also be used when one of the teachers are ill and will have to give that specific lecture/recitation via zoom.
This may be announced as later as the evening before (so check the canvas page "Announcements!"
Learning objectives and syllabus
The goal of the course is to give students theoretical and technical skills to use quantum theory as tool in their continued studies and research. After completing the course in Quantum Engineering the student will have: acquired familiarity with basic tools of quantum mechanics, practical skills in solving standard quantum mechanical problems, understood and applied concepts of quantum tunneling, understood and used second quantization for the harmonic oscillator, gained numerical skills in treating scattering off and transmission through barriers, use the Lewis model of chemical bonding, apply valence bond and molecular orbital theory to common bonding situations in organic chemistry, and predict the structure of and the electron distribution in organic molecules.
The emphasis is on a practical approach to quantum mechanics rather than a formal treatment. Topics covered, either in depth or less stringent, include:
- Basic quantum theory for model potentials and barriers
- Basic theory of quantum transport
- Lewis structures – the language of chemistry
- Chemical bonding and molecular structure
- Quantum description of molecules & materials: Approximation/advanced computational methods
- The origin of intermolecular interactions and their role in the formation of molecular clusters
- Harmonic oscillator, coherent states and second quantization
- Time-independent and time-dependent perturbation theory
- Electrons in magnetic fields, spin
- Many-particle theory, quantum statistics, fermions and bosons
- Graphene and layered materials
Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen:
Examination form
The final grade will be based on passing a written exam and on the mandatory completion of two (computer-oriented) project works and reports.
The purpose of the written exam is to test that you have reached Physics and Chemistry learning objectives in terms of theoretical knowledge, through lectures/notes/books and though problem solving (at recitations and by additional preparation). Note that to pass the course, you must get a passing grade (at least 15 points as explained below) on the written exam itself.
The purpose of the two computationally oriented projects is to help you better learn the theory and to test that you have reached the learning objectives in terms of simple technical application skills, that you can apply the quantum-engineering theory in practice. Note that completion and approval (by relevant course assistants) of a report is mandatory for both projects. That is, you can only get an overall passing grade if you both pass the written exam and get both of your project reports approved. In addition, the project reports may serve you for increasing your overall grade, as explained below. However, this is only possible if you score at least 15 point on your written exam and the bonus points can only be applied within the same academic year.
Grades at the written examination will be given as follows:
15 out of 30 possible points: Grade 3
20 out of 30 possible points: Grade 4
25 out of 30 possible points: Grade 5
Bonus points: A correct, well written project report that is accepted on the first submission attempt and submitted not later than the deadline is awarded 2 bonus points. A report accepted after the second submission attempt will be awarded 1 bonus point. No bonus points will be awarded for projects handed in after the second deadline. The bonus points (0-4 in total for both reports) can be used on the exam and re-exams (during the 2019-2020 academic year), but only towards obtaining a grade 4 or 5. In other words, you must have 15 points on the exam itself in order to pass, no matter how many bonus points you have.
The written examination will be given on October 27), 2021 at 14:00-18:00. You need to sign up in advance for the examination via Studentportalen.
Re-examination will be given during the re-examination period in January 2022 provided that you contact the examinator (Per) before X-mas, and in the re-examination period in August 2022 provided you contact the examinator (e.g. by e-mail) before the end of July 2022 (NOTE: Mark such emails with FKA132 in the subject line).
Allowed during the examination are: dictionaries, “Beta”, Physics Handbook [by Nordling and Österman], one handwritten A4 paper (both sides) , and a Chalmers-issued calculator. All reference material, except a single sheet of A4 paper with handwritten notes, must be clean from added notes.