Topic outline

  • Welcome to Principles of materials science course 2023.

    Lecturers are: Professor Tomi Laurila and Dr. Vesa Vuorinen

    Course Assistant: MSc Ishan Pande

    Content: The principles of the properties and structures of materials. The primary and secondary bonds and microstructures. Physical and mechanical properties of materials and their response under different stress states. Entropy law, the free energy of a system and the activity of a component. Phase diagrams of pure elements and binary alloys. The principles of diffusion and Fick's laws.

    Learning outcomes: After the course the student (i) understands the hierarchical structure of inorganic materials, (ii) how the macroscopic properties of materials can be derived on the basis of lower level properties. In addition, the student should (iii) understand, apply and utilize the thermodynamic concepts and stability diagrams for solving materials scientific problems.  After completion of the course student also understands the origins of the typical properties of different material groups and consequently their different usages in electronic and medical applications.

    Assessment Methods and Criteria: Intermediate exams (100%) [see first lecture slides for more details]

    Intermediate exams:

    • 1st intermediate exam Monday 27.2
    • 2nd intermediate exam Monday 17.4
    • No registration needed
    • Exercise points included


    Extra exam:

    • Friday 26.5 @9.00-12.00 o'clock in TU7
    • Compulsory, binding registration via e-mail
    • Covers the whole course, individual intermediate exams can't be retaken (if you don't have valid reason).
    • Exercise points are not included

    Study Material: Handouts.  For self-studying and to complement the lectures: Askeland, D. et al ."The science and engineering of materials", Shackelford, J. "Introduction to materials science for engineers", Callister, "Introduction to materials science and engineering“, Laurila et.al “Interfacial Compatibility in Microelectronics” and Laurila et al. “Thermodynamics, Diffusion and Kirkendall Effect in Solids”

    Computational experiment