2023 Faculty Courses School of Materials and Chemical Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering

Crystals Science

Academic unit or major: Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
Instructor(s): Fumiyasu Oba
Class Format: Lecture (Livestream)
Media-enhanced courses: -
Day of week/Period (Classrooms): 3-4 Mon (G2-202(G221)) / 3-4 Thu (G2-202(G221))
Class: -
Course Code: MAT.C400
Number of credits: 200
Course offered: 2023
Offered quarter: 3Q
Syllabus updated: Jul 8, 2025
Language: Japanese

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

This lecture covers basic concepts that are required for understanding the functionalities of inorganic materials, including the basics of crystallography, the atomistic and electronic structure of materials, the properties of lattice defects, and their impacts on material functionalities.

In many commercialized devices, superb functionalities of inorganic materials are realized via a precise design and fabrication of complex microstructures and lattice defects. The aim of this lecture is to provide specialized knowledge on crystals science that is required for solving issues on such advanced technologies and developing novel high-performance materials.

Course description and aims

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the basics of crystallography.
2) Understand the properties of inorganic materials from the viewpoint of their atomistic and electronic structures.
3) Understand the basics of point defects and grain boundaries and their effects on the functionalities of inorganic materials.

Keywords

crystal structure, symmetry, reciprocal lattice, electronic structure, point defects, grain boundaries

Competencies

Specialist skills
Intercultural skills
Communication skills
Critical thinking skills
Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Points from the previous lectures are reviewed at the beginning of each class. The lectures on new topics are then given on the basis of documents distributed. Exercises are done when necessary.

Course schedule/Objectives

	Course schedule	Objectives
Class 1	Overview of crystals science I	Understand issues on inorganic materials from the viewpoint of crystals science.
Class 2	Overview of crystals science II	Understand issues on inorganic materials from the viewpoint of crystals science.
Class 3	Basics of crystals I	Understand the symmetry and the space group.
Class 4	Basics of crystals II	Understand the crystal structure of inorganic materials.
Class 5	Basics of crystals III	Understand the reciprocal lattice and the Brillouin zone.
Class 6	Basics of crystals IV	Understand the structure factor and the extinction rule.
Class 7	Electronic structure of solids I	Understand the basics of the electronic structure of solids.
Class 8	Electronic structure of solids II	Understand the electronic structure of solids.
Class 9	Point defects in inorganic materials I	Understand the electronic states of point defects in inorganic materials.
Class 10	Point defects in inorganic materials II	Understand the chemical reactions of point defects in inorganic materials.
Class 11	Point defects in inorganic materials III	Understand the effects of point defects on various properties of inorganic materials.
Class 12	Grain boundaries in inorganic materials I	Understand the structure of grain boundaries in inorganic materials.
Class 13	Grain boundaries in inorganic materials II	Understand the impurity segregation at grain boundaries in inorganic materials.
Class 14	Summary of crystals science	Confirm understandings of the contents of this lecture.

Study advice (preparation and review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course materials.

Textbook(s)

Distributed documents

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Yet-Ming Chiang et al., Physical Ceramics (John Wiley & Sons) ISBN-13: 978-0471598732
Michael Glazer and Gerald Burns, Space Groups for Solid State Scientists (Academic Press) ISBN-13: 978-0123944009
Yuichi Ikuhara et al., Physics of Ceramic Materials (Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd) ISBN-13: 978-4526044366 (in Japanese)

Evaluation methods and criteria

Evaluations are made on the basis of the exercises (40%) and the end-of-term report (60%).

Related courses

MAT.M401 ： Applied Diffraction Crystallography in Metals and Alloys
MAT.M407 ： Advanced Solid State Physics
MAT.C404 ： Physics and Chemistry of Semiconductors

Prerequisites

None

Other

4th-year undergraduate students should not take this course. Even if they take this course, it cannot be registered as a graduate school course from the following academic year onward.