This course will give an overview of basic transport theory, picking up where Physics 871 left off.  Then it will provide an introduction to the field of mesoscopic physics. The treatment will be phenomenological, without Green’s functions.

Tuesday, 2:30-3:50 & Thursday, 4:10-5:30,  Room 209

Homework: 40%; Final paper and oral presentation: 60%

Basic transport theory: Every student should own one of the following standard texts:

        Condensed Matter Physics, by Michael Marder
        Solid State Physics, by Neil Ashcroft and N. David Mermin
        Principles of the Theory of Solids, by J.M. Ziman

Mesoscopic physics: I will use material from both of the following books:

        Electron Transport in Mesoscopic Systems, by Supriyo Datta
        Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics, by Yoseph Imry

I. Semiclassical Transport in Solids
    A. Drude model, effective mass, wave packets
    B. The Boltzmann equation
    C. Fermi liquid theory
    D. Semiconductor Electronics: diode, MOSFET

II. Preliminary Concepts
    A. The Metal-Insulator Transition
    B. Disorder: The Scaling Theory of Localization
    C. Electron Phase Coherence

III. Mesoscopic Physics
    A. Conductance by Transmission – the Landauer Formula
        1. Ballistic transport: conductance quantization
        2. Diffusive transport: universal conductance fluctuations
        3. Tunnel junctions
    B. Quantum Hall Effect
    C. Coulomb Blockade

IV. Optional Topics
    A. Transport through quantum dots
    B. Atomic point contacts
    C. Andreev reflection and mesoscopic superconductivity
    D. Noise in mesoscopic systems