EP427 Thin Film Physics and Technology (Spring 2017-18)

Review 1
Instructor Name: Prof. S. S. Major

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Prerequisites: None (not even 1st year courses)

Course Content: Thin Films - The misnomer, Thin Film Deposition processes, Source, Transport, Deposition, Characterization

Other Topics: Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD), Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), Chemical Kinetics and Thermodynamics, Atomic Layer Deposition, Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Sputtering (Plasma Deposition)

Books: Thin Film Physics (Donald L. Smith), Thermodynamics (Sears and Salinger)

Lectures: 100% attendance required (enforced by various means), all slides uploaded, excellent quality lectures (most energetic and perhaps, the Best Prof.(lecturer) in our dept), lectures and homework (limited to 1-2 Questions) sufficient to get an excellent grade in the course

Assignments: Very good grading of weekly assignments (1-2 questions), all tutorial problems discussed in deep detail, very reasonable difficulty level, a good mix of easy medium, tough and some challenging problems

Exams and Grading: 2 quizzes, Midsem, Endsem, Assignments and Project (weightage varies, and is put up for discussion in the first class), question papers are a treat to solve, and one feels good after giving his exams

Online Material: Quality of teaching and question setting is excellent, no extra online effort was needed

Advanced Followup Courses: Applied Solid State Physics (the one Major Sir takes)

Pro-Tips: If you enroll, attend each and every lecture WITHOUT exception; Prof. will remember you by name and will take attendance at the beginning of the lecture
Extremely well thought of lectures and tutorials, so be patient and trust the Prof., he will make the course a treat worth remembering.
Small class size, so do not hesitate to ask doubts, but be careful and wait your turn (if you interrupt him in the flow, he will get Angry); best raise your hand and let him indicate if he can take a doubt
If someone else is getting scolded, sit back and enjoy the spectacle :P
Do every assignment and tutorial as he instructs you, as well as derivations indicated in the slides, at the right time. DO Not procrastinate, the course is easy but heavy!
Write everything down in class irrespective of whether Sir uploads slides. The slides tend to be too much to cram in a week (or a day :P )
For any basic physics enthusiast, this is the perfect mix of theory, applications and experimental physics. If you like simple and non-abstract physics, this course will be your calling.
Also, grades tend to be high of UG students!!!
Get in with the intent of learning, and this course will make your insti life awesome!

Personal Comments: Major Sir is THE Best Prof. (lecturer) our department has to offer. Irrespective of whether you like the course (or its name) or not, do go for its 1st lecture and see the quality for yourself! Do interact with him sometime while you are here, you are lucky to be in the department in the era when he is around.
The course name is a huge misnomer, as is explained in its first lecture itself. So Please do not judge the course by its name, just give it an honest chance, and it will surely impress you.
While choosing courses, the only thing that matters is the Prof (which is great in this case). Remember that! Take it from someone who has passed out of the dept. and seen physics here and outside, that no course gives you any deep or life changing knowledge, so stop monitoring course content or names while choosing courses, look at the Prof ONLY. A good teacher can make any learning enjoyable (a bliss to be honest) and the contrary can ruin the most relevant course you have (and your interest in it too!). This is something taking this course taught me!

Respondent: Sheetal Jain

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Review 2

Instructor Name: Prof S.S. Major

Course Type: Honours / Elective

Pre-requisites: None, High School Physics

Course Content: Vaccuum Technology, Adsorption, Structures of Thin Films, Deposition Techniques, Practical Technology and Applications

Books:
1. D.L. Smith, Thin Film Deposition: Principles and Practices ( fun fact that you should not mention later: I uploaded this book on b-ok.org ;) I am officially a pirate ).
2. A Roth, Vaccuum Tech

3. Sears and Salinger, Thermodynamics

Lectures: He emotionally blackmails you to have 100% attendance. Very effective

Exams and Grading: Grading is lenient on the lower side, so it's easy to get a 7 or an 8, but he is very harsh, and proudly so on the upper end. You'd lose marks for the smallest of mistakes.
Don't remember, roughly: midsem:25, endsem:30, quizzes 30, assignments rest

Pro-Tips: Attend all the classes. In the words of the instructor himself, and I attest to that, this is an easy course. You just have to apply your basic concepts well.

Personal Comments: Hands down one of the best instructors I've encountered in IIT. His passion and energy is addictive.

Respondent: Kumar Ayush

Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course. While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.