Department of Materials  Science and Engineering


















Learn more about Materials Science

Undergraduate Courses 

 14.Science of Engineering Materials. Lecture, three hours; demonstration, one hour; recitation, one hour. Prerequisites: Chemistry 11A, 11B/11BL, Physics 8A, 8B. Physics 8C may be taken concurrently. General introduction to different types of materials used in engineering designs: metals, ceramics, plastics, and composites, relationship between structure (crystals and microstructure) and properties of technological materials. Illustration of their fundamental differences and their applications in engineering.

88.Freshman Seminar: New Materials. Lecture, two hours; outside study, four hours. Preparation: high school chemistry and physics. Not open to students with credit for course 14. Engineering or chemistry/materials science majors expected to use course only as free elective. Introduction to basic concepts of materials science and new materials vital to advanced technology. Microstructural analysis and various material properties discussed in conjunction with such applications as biomedical sensors, pollution control, and microelectronics. 

90L.Physical Measurement in Materials Engineering (2 units). Laboratory, four hours; outside study, two hours. Prerequisite: course 14. Various physical measurement methods used in materials science and engineering. Mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, and optical techniques. 

Upper Division Courses

110L. Introduction to Materials Characterization A Laboratory (2 units). Laboratory, two hours; outside study, four hours. Prerequisite: course 14. Experimental techniques and analysis of materials through X-ray scattering techniques; powder method, lane method, crystal structure determination, and special projects. 

111. Introduction to Materials Characterization B (Electron Microscopy). Lecture, three hours; laboratory, two hours. Prerequisites: courses 14, 110. Characterization of microstructure and microchemistry of materials; transmission electron microscopy; reciprocal lattice, electron diffraction, stereographic projection, direct observation of defects in crystals, replicas; scanning electron microscopy: emissive and reflective modes; chemical analysis; electron optics of both instruments. 

120. Physics of Materials. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisites: courses 14, 110. Introduction to electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of solids. Free electron model, introduction to band theory and Schrödinger wave equation. Crystal bonding and lattice vibrations. Mechanisms and characterization of electrical conductivity, optical absorption, magnetic behavior, and dielectrical properties. 

121. Materials Science of Semiconductors. Prerequisite: course 120. Structure and properties of elemental and compound semiconductors. Electrical and optical properties, defect chemistry, and doping. Electronic materials analysis and characterization, including electrical, optical, and ion-beam techniques. Heterostructures, band-gap engineering, development of new materials for optoelectronic applications. 

121L. Electronic Materials Laboratory

122. Principles of Electronic Materials Processing. Prerequisite: course 14 or equivalent. Description of basic semiconductor materials for device processing; preparation and characterization of silicon, III-V compounds, and films. Discussion of principles of CVD, MOCVD, LPE, and MBE; metals and dielectrics. 

123. Electronic Packaging and Interconnection (2 units). Lecture, two hours; outside study, six hours. Various electronic packaging methods and interconnection technologies. Design, fabrication, and testing of complex microelectronic components, interconnections, and assemblies. 

130. Phase Relations in Solids. Requisites: course 14, Chemical Engineering M105A or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering M105A. Summary of thermodynamic laws, equilibrium criteria, solution thermodynamics, mass-action law, binary and ternary phase diagrams, glass transitions. 

131. Diffusion and Diffusion-Controlled Reactions. Prerequisite: course 130. Diffusion in metals and ionic solids, nucleation and growth theory; precipitation from solid solution, eutectoid decomposition, design of heat treatment processes of alloys, growth of intermediate phases, gas-solid reactions, design of oxidation-resistant alloys, recrystallization, and grain growth. 

131L. Diffusion and Diffusion-Controlled Reactions Laboratory (2 units). Corequisite: course 131. Design of heat-treating cycles and performing experiments to study interdiffusion, growth of intermediate phases, recrystallization, and grain growth in metals. Analysis of data. Comparison of results with theory. 

132. Structure and Properties of Metallic Alloys. Prerequisite: course 131. Physical metallurgy of steels, lightweight alloys (Al and Ti), and superalloys. Strengthening mechanisms, microstructural control methods for strength and toughness improvement. Grain boundary segregation. 

140 (old 190). Materials Selection and Engineering Design. Prerequisites: courses 132, 150, 160. Explicit guidance among the myriad materials available for design in engineering. Properties and applications of steels, nonferrous alloys, polymeric, ceramic, and composite materials, coatings. Materials selection, treatment, and serviceability emphasized as part of successful design. Design projects. 

143A. Mechanical Behavior of Materials. Prerequisite: course 14 or equivalent. Recommended: Civil Engineering 108. Plastic flow of metals under simple and combined loading, strain rate and temperature effects, dislocations, fracture, microstructural effects, mechanical and thermal treatment of steel for engineering applications. 

150. Introduction to Polymers. Lecture, three hours; laboratory, two hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Polymerization mechanisms, molecular weight and distribution, chemical structure and bonding, structure crystallinity, and morphology and their effects on physical properties. Glassy polymers, springy polymers, elastomers, adhesives. Fiber forming polymers, polymer processing technology, plasticiation. 

151. Structure and Properties of Composite Materials. Prerequisites: course 14, at least two courses from 132, 143A, 150, 160. Relationship between structure and mechanical properties of composite materials with fiber and particulate reinforcement. Properties of fiber, matrix, and interfaces. Selection of macrostructures and material systems. 

160. Introduction to Ceramics and Glasses. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Requisites: courses 14, 130. Introduction to ceramics and glasses being used as important materials of engineering, processing techniques, and unique properties. Examples of design and control of properties for certain specific applications in engineering. 

161. Processing of Ceramics and Glasses. Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Prerequisite: course 160. Study of processes used in fabrication of ceramics and glasses for structural applications, optics, and electronics. Processing operations, including modern techniques of powder synthesis, greenware forming, sintering, glass melting. Microstructure properties relations in ceramics. Fracture analysis and design with ceramics. 

161L. Laboratory in Ceramics (2 units). Laboratory, four hours. Prerequisite: course 160 or equivalent. Recommended corequisite: course 161. Processing of common ceramics and glasses. Attainment of specific properties through process control for engineering applications. Quantitative characterization and selection of raw materials. Slip casting and extrusion of clay bodies. Sintering of powders. Glass melting and fabrication. Determination of chemical and physical properties. 

162. Electronic Ceramics. Prerequisites: course 14, Electrical Engineering 100, or equivalent. Utilization of ceramics in microelectronics; thick film and thin film resistors, capacitors, and substrates; design and processing of electronic ceramics and packaging; magnetic ceramics; ferroelectric ceramics and electro-optic devices; optical wave guide applications and designs. 

CM180. Introduction to Biomaterials. (4). (Formerly numbered M180.) (Same as Biomedical Engineering CM180.) Lecture, three hours; outside study, nine hours. Requisites: course 14, or Chemistry 20A, 20B, and 20L. Engineering materials used in medicine and dentistry for repair and/or restoration of damaged natural tissues. Topics include relationships between material properties, suitability to task, surface chemistry, processing and treatment methods, and biocompatibility. Concurrently scheduled with course CM280. Letter grading.

191L. Computer Methods and Instrumentation in Materials Science (2 units). Prerequisites: upper division standing in materials science and engineering, knowledge of BASIC or C or assembly language. Interface and control techniques, real-time data acquisition and processing, computer-aided testing. 

197. Seminar: Technical Writing for Materials Engineers (2 units). Seminar, two hours; outside study, four hours. Corequisite: course 132 or 190 or 598 or 599 or consent of instructor. Types of technical documents and basic document patterns. Document planning, paragraph and sentence structures. Illustration and references. Reports, theses, and proposals. Oral presentation. 

199. Special Studies (2 to 8 units). Prerequisites: senior standing, consent of instructor. Individual investigation of selected topic to be arranged with a faculty member. Enrollment request forms available in department office. Occasional field trips may be arranged. May be repeated for credit. 

Graduate Courses   

201. Principles of Materials Science II. (Formerly numbered 247A.) Lecture, three hours; outside study, nine hours. Prerequisite: course 131. Kinetics of diffusional transformations in solids. Precipitation in solids. Nucleation theory. Theory of precipitate growth. Ostwald ripening. Spinodal decomposition. Cellular 
reactions. 

221. Science of Electronic Materials. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisite: course 120 or equivalent. Study of major physical and chemical principles affecting properties and performance of semiconductor materials. Topics include bonding, carrier statistics, band-gap engineering, optical and transport properties, novel materials systems, and characterization. 

222. Growth and Processing of Electronic Materials. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisites: courses 120, 130, 131, or equivalent. Thermodynamics and kinetics that affect semiconductor growth and device processing. Particular emphasis on fundamentals of growth (bulk and epitaxial), heteroepitaxy, implantation, oxidation. 

223. Materials Science of Thin Films. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisites: courses 120, 131, or equivalent. Fabrication, structure, and property correlations of thin films used in microelectronics for data and information processing. Topics include film deposition, interfacial properties, stress and strain, electromigration, phase changes and kinetics, reliability. 

224. Deposition Technologies and Their Applications. (Formerly numbered 248B.) Lecture, three hours; outside study, nine hours. Designed for graduate engineering students. Deposition methods used in high-technology applications. Theory and experimental details of physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-assisted vapor deposition processes, plasma spray, electrodeposition. Applications in semiconductor, chemical, optical,  mechanical, and metallurgical industries. 

225. Materials Science of Surfaces. (4). Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Requisites: course 120, Chemistry 113A. Introduction to atomic and electronic structure of surfaces. Survey of methods for determining composition and structure of surfaces and near-surface layers of solid-state materials. Emphasis on scanning probe microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, ion scattering spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Applications in microelectronics, optoelectronics, metallurgy, polymers, biological and biocompatible materials, and catalysis. Letter grading.

226. Selected Topics in Materials Science from Modern Si-CMOS Technology, Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; outside study, eight hours. Recommended preparation: Electrical Engineering 221B. Requisites: courses 130, 131, 200, 221, 222. Introduction to Si CMOS technology with an emphasis on the short channel effects; additional topics include strained Si FETs, gate dielectric degradation, source/drain engineering including transient-enhanced diffusion, nonvolatile memory, and metallization for ohmic contacts. Letter grading

243C. Dislocations and Strengthening Mechanisms in Solids. Requisite: course 143A or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 156B. Elastic and plastic behavior of crystals, geometry, mechanics, and interaction of dislocations, mechanisms of yielding, work hardening, and other strengthening. 

244. Electron Microscopy. Prerequisite: course 111 or equivalent. Essential features of electron microscopy, geometry of electron diffraction, kinematical and dynamical theories of electron diffraction, including anomalous absorption, applications of theory to defects in crystals. Moiré fringes, direct lattice resolutions, Lorentz microscopy, laboratory applications of contrast theory. 

245C. Diffraction Methods in Science of Materials. Prerequisite: course 110 or equivalent. Theory of diffraction of waves (X rays, electrons, and neutrons) in crystalline and noncrystalline materials. Long- and short-range order in crystals, structural effects of plastic deformation, solid-state transformations, arrangements of atoms in liquids and amorphous solids. 

246A. Mechanical Properties of Nonmetallic Crystalline Solids. Prerequisite: course 160. Material and environmental factors affecting mechanical properties of  nonmetallic crystalline solids, including atomic bonding and structure, atomic-scale defects, microstructural features, residual stresses, temperature, stress state, strain rate, size, and surface conditions. Methods for evaluating mechanical properties. 

246B. Structure and Properties of Glass. Prerequisite: course 160. Structure of amorphous solids and glasses. Conditions of glass formation and theories of glass structure. Mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of glass and relationship to structure. 

246D. Electronic and Optical Properties of Ceramics. Prerequisite: course 160. Principles governing electronic properties of ceramic single crystals and glasses and effects of processing and microstructure on these properties. Electronic conduction, ferroelectricity, and photochromism. Magnetic ceramics. Infrared, visible, and ultraviolet transmission. Unique application of ceramics. 

250A. Analysis and Design of Composite Materials. Requisites: course 151 and one course from 143A, Electrical Engineering 175, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 156A, or 156B. Mechanics of laminated composites, textile structural composites, strength and failure theory, fracture, fatigue and damage tolerance, environmental effects, microcomputer software for composite analysis and design. 

250B. Advanced Composite Materials. Prerequisites: course 151, B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering or equivalent. Fabrication methods, structure and properties of advanced composite materials. Fibers; resin-, metal-, and ceramic-matrix composites. Physical, mechanical, and ondestructive characterization techniques. 

296. Seminar: Advanced Topics in Materials Science and Engineering (2 units). (Formerly numbered 249AA-249ZZ.) Seminar, two hours; outside study, four hours. Advanced study and analysis of current topics in materials science and engineering. Discussion of current research and literature in research specialty of  faculty members teaching course. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. 

298. Seminar: Engineering (2 to 4 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. Seminars may be organized in advanced technical fields. If appropriate, field trips may be arranged. May be repeated with topic change. 

375. Teaching Apprentice Practicum (1 to 4 units). Preparation: apprentice personnel employment as a teaching assistant, associate, or fellow. Teaching apprenticeship under active guidance and supervision of a regular faculty member responsible for curriculum and instruction at the University. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. 

474A. Advanced Transportation Systems. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Survey of aerospace and advanced ground transportation systems, materials, structures, propulsion systems, control systems, communication systems, and infrastructure support. 

475A. Manufacturing Processes. Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Manufacturing properties of materials, thermomechanical processes, chemical and physical processes, material removal processes, packaging, fastening, joining and assembly, tooling and fixtures. 

596. Directed Individual or Tutorial Studies (2 to 8 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. Petition forms to request enrollment may be obtained from assistant dean, Graduate Studies. Supervised investigation of advanced technical problems. S/U grading. 

597A. Preparation for M.S. Comprehensive Examination (2 to 12 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. Reading and preparation for M.S. comprehensive examination. S/U grading. 

597B. Preparation for Ph.D. Preliminary Examinations (2 to 16 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. S/U grading. 

597C. Preparation for Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Examination (2 to 16 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of  instructor. Preparation for oral qualifying examination, including preliminary research on dissertation. S/U grading. 

598. Research for and Preparation of M.S. Thesis (2 to 12 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. Supervised independent research for M.S. candidates, including thesis prospectus. S/U grading. 

599. Research for and Preparation of Ph.D. Dissertation (2 to 16 units). Prerequisites: graduate standing in materials science and engineering, consent of instructor. Usually taken after student has been advanced to candidacy. S/U grading.