SHORT NOTES ON MATERIAL SCIENCE

CHEMICAL BONDING & CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

o Solids exist mainly in three forms: Single Crystalline, Polycrystalline and Amorphous.
o A lattice is a regular periodic 3-dimensional arrangement of points in space.
o A crystal is described by a lattice in which each lattice point is occupied by one atom or a group of
atoms. The group of atoms occupying a lattice point is called the basis of the structure.
o A unit cell is a fundamental block which when repeated in three directions generates the entire
lattice.
o Crystals are classified into fourteen Bravais lattices and seven crystal classes.
o Direction indices and Miller indices are used to specify crystal directions and crystal planes
respectively. Crystal directions are denoted by three indices enclosed in square brackets as [uvw]
and crystal planes are given by three indices enclosed in brackets as (hkl).
o Packing factor is defined as the ratio of the volume occupied by the atoms in a unit cell to the
volume of the unit cell. FCC and HCP structures have the highest packing factor of 0.74.
o Crystal structure of various materials may be identified with any one of the Bravais lattices with one
or more atoms (a basis) associated with each lattice point. For example, HCP structure belongs to
hexagonal Bravais Lattice with two atoms at 0,0,0 and 2/3,1/3,1/2 forming a basis.
o Structure of ionic crystals depends on the ratio of the ionic radii, i.e. ratio of the radius of the cation
to the radius of the onion.
o X-rays are used to determine the structure of crystals.
o Bragg’s Law is the key relation used for the determination of crystal structure by X-ray diffraction.
o Chemical bonds in solids may be classified as 5 distinct types: van der Waals, covalent, ionic,
metallic and hydrogen bond.
o Van der Waals bond occurs between two closed configuration atoms or between molecules in
organic solids, and it is relatively a weak bond. The bond is due to dipole-dipole interaction. The
dipoles may be permanent dipoles as in organic molecules or induced dipoles as in inert gas
atoms.
o Covalent bond is a very strong bond formed by sharing of electrons between the two bonding
atoms.
o Covalent bond in solids can be understood by the Hitler-London theory of hydrogen atom and the
molecular orbital theory.
o In molecular orbital theory, orbitals are formed by the linear combination of the atomic orbitals.
Combination of two suitable atomic orbitals of the bonding atoms gives rise to two orbitals: one
bonding orbital and the other anti-bonding orbital.
o The electrons in the molecule occupy the molecular orbitals obeying Pauli’s exclusion principle just
as in atoms.

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o Molecules in which the outermost valence electrons occupy bonding molecular orbital are stable.
o Ionic bond is formed between two atoms by transfer of electrons from one atom to the other making
one positively charged and the other negatively charged. The coulomb force of attraction between
the two oppositely charged ions is responsible for the bond.
o The bonding energy can be easily evaluated for an ionic crystal by taking the sum of interaction of
all the ions in the crystal with all their neighboring ions. Both the repulsive and the attractive energy
are considered. For the repulsive energy only the nearest neighbors are counted whereas for the
attractive energy all the ions in the crystal are counted.
o Most crystals have bonds which are partially covalent and partially ionic. This is because in the
covalent bond in which the electrons are shared by two atoms, one of the atoms may have stronger
affinity for electrons. Then the electrons tend to be closer to one of the atoms making the bond
partially ionic.
o Metallic bond found in metals in due to the interaction between free conduction electrons and the
ionic cores in the lattice. The electrons are not localized in metallic bond. Metals are characterized
by high electrical and thermal conductivity because of the free electrons.
o Hydrogen bond is the bond between two atoms formed by a hydrogen atom between the two. The
bond is very strong and largely ionic in character. The electron of the hydrogen atom will lie closer
to the atom which has stronger affinity for the electron. A typical example of hydrogen bonding is
that between two fluorine atoms in HF and the bonding between water molecules in ice.
o The type of chemical bonding and crystal structure are the factors that determine the properties of
materials. Impurities and defects in crystals also critically affect certain properties.
o Liquid crystals are materials that exist in a phase which is intermediate between a crystal and liquid.
They have applications in display systems and thermometers.
o Quasi crystals are crystals which exhibit five-fold symmetry.
o Primary bond energies are in the range 100 – 1000 kJ mol–1. Secondary bond energies are in the
range 1–50 kJ mol–1.
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC IMPERFECTION
o Crystals are never perfect. Defects or imperfections in crystals may be classified as (i) point defects
(ii) line defects and (iii) plane defects.
o The presence of defects affects the properties of the crystals quite sensitively. Some defects are
desirable and they are sometimes introduced deliberately to control the properties of crystals.
o The four types of point defects are lattice vacancy, Schottky defect, Frenkel defect and impurity
atoms. Schottky defects are lattice vacancies. Frenkel defects are atoms in interstitial positions in
the lattice. These types of defects are normally found in ionic and metallic crystals.
o An anion vacancy in a crystal may trap a free electron; this unit is called an F centre. The electron
is loosely bound to the anion vacancy. This causes absorption of electromagnetic wave in visible
range. So ionic crystals with F centres appear coloured.

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o Presence of point defects greatly effect several properties of materials.
o The two types of line defects are (i) edge dislocation (ii) screw dislocation.
o Dislocation occurs in a crystal due to slipping of one portion of the crystal with respect to the other
by a distance of one atomic spacing. The direction and magnitude of the slip is denoted by the
Burgers vector b.
o Dislocation line is the line on the slip plane that separates the slipped and unclipped portions of the
crystal.
o In edge dislocation, the Burgers vector is perpendicular to the dislocation line and in screw
dislocation the Burgers vector is parallel to the dislocation line.
o Edge dislocations can easily move in a crystal. Due to this the shear strength of crystals is very low.
To increase the strength of crystals the movement of dislocations must be impeded.
o There are several methods of impeding the movement of dislocations. One of the methods is to
increase the density of dislocations. This is called work hardening.
o Three types of plane defects are (i) grain boundaries (ii) stacking fault and (iii) twin boundary
o Dislocations and plane defects in materials may be observed using optical or electron microscopy.
o Diffusion deals with flow of atoms or ions from one region to another due to a concentration
gradient.
o Some of the applications of diffusion are carburization of steel, doping of semiconductors,
increasing the ionic conductivity of ionic crystal by introducing point defects, etc.
PHASE DIAGRAM AND HEAT TREATMENT
o Multi component systems are systems consisting of more than one component. Example of multi
component systems (of two components) are syrup (water + sugar), soldering lead (lead + tin),
steel (iron + carbon), etc.
o In two component (binary) systems one of the components may be treated as the solute and the
other as the solvent.
o Copper-nickel alloy is a binary system in which there is no solubility limit.
o Depending on temperature and composition a multi component system may exist in a single phase
or two phase state.
o Phase diagram is a graph of composition versus temperature; it indicates the various equilibrium
states in which the multi component system exists at various compositions and temperatures.
o Eutectic point is the point in the phase diagram at which the liquids and the solidus lines meet; or it
is defined as the point at which three phases, a liquid phase and two solid phase coexist. The
number of degrees of freedom (i.e. the number of independent variables) at the Eutectic point is
zero.
o Iron carbon alloy exists in the ferromagnetic state at room temperature only for a very low
concentration of carbon, less than 0.022 wt%.

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o Iron alloy exists in several states depending on the temperature and the composition:
Ferromagnetic BCC phase (α-phase), Austenite (FCC) phase, -phase,  + Fe3C phase.
o When iron carbon alloy is suddenly cooled from a high temperature to a low temperature, it
undergoes a diffusion less phase transition from BCC to FCC structure. This is called the
martensitic phase transformation and the new phase is called the martensitic phase.
o A phase change will taken place in a super saturated/supercooled phase when microscopic nuclei
are formed and grow to macroscopic dimensions.
o Nucleation may occur spontaneously (homogeneous nucleation) or it may be induced artificially
(heterogeneous nucleation).
o Cloud seeding and kinetics of crystal growth are two examples of nucleation phenomena.
o Phase transformations commonly occur by the processes of nucleation and growth.
o Most phase transformations that occur on cooling pass through a critical temperature of maximum
transformation rate. If the cooling rate is fast enough to avoid transformation in the critical range,
the parent phase can be obtained in a highly metastable condition.
o Objective of heat treatment are to remove internal stresses due to unequal contraction of castings,
to improve machinability, to improve electrical and magnetic properties, to improve mechanical
properties like tensile strength, ductility, hardness, shock resistance etc., to improve corrosion
resistance.
o Annealing is done to reduce residual stress, hardness, increase ductility and toughness, to refine
grain size. Normalizing is done to increase the strength of medium carbon steel, improve
machinability of low carbon steel. It is less ductile than annealed steel, by normalizing mechanical
and electrical properties improved.
o Hardening is done to produce external hardness, result of its are as follows: maximum tensile
strength, minimum ductility and materials are too brittle.
o Spheroidizing used for high carbon steel. This type of heat treatment produces cementite in the
form of globulus particles (Spheriods) from pearlite. Purpose : Good machinability, high ductility,
maximum softness.
o Martempering (Stepped quenching) Austenite is converted to martensite.
o Austempering: Austenite is converted to Bainite.
o Tempering is done to reduce internal stresses to improve ductility, toughness, strength and wear
resistance.
o Our ability to harden steel by the formation of martensite depends on avoiding the pearlitic and
bainitic transformations. A good hardenability (ability to harden) is a practical necessity to avoid
cracking due to drastic cooling.
o Proper control of the size and spacing of the precipitate particles that form from the supersaturated
solution yields the optimum strength after ageing.

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o Inducing crystallization or preventing it in a glass forming material would depend on the
requirements of processing or final properties of the materials.
o A cold worked material undergoes recovery, recrystallization and grain growth at successively
higher temperatures of annealing. The retardation of the grain boundary motion is the key factor in
raising the recrystallization temperature and preventing grain growth.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES & TESTING

o The important mechanical properties of interest are elasticity, ductility and plasticity.
o The measurable parameters that are associated with the mechanical behavior of materials are
elastic modulus or stiffness constant, tensile strength, yield strength, hardness, toughness.
o Stress versus strain curve is an important characteristic curve that is useful in the study of
mechanical properties of materials.
o For a perfectly elastic material stress is proportional to strain (Hooke’s law), i.e. stress versus strain
curve is a straight line. The slope of the curve gives the stiffness constant. For such materials, the
deformation is recoverable when the stress is removed.
o Most materials undergo plastic deformation beyond a certain stress called the yield strength.
Beyond the yield strength the stress versus strain curve is non-linear.
o Materials which fracture after considerable plastic deformation are called ductile materials and
materials which remain perfectly elastic up to fracture are called brittle materials.
o Tensile strength is the stress corresponding to the maximum in the stress strain curve.
o A ductile material undergoes necking near the stress corresponding to the tensile strength and the
cross sectional area subsequently decreases.
o In a crystal, the mechanical behavior depends on the orientation of the crystal with respect to the
stress direction.
o When a tensile force is applied to a crystal in a certain direction the crystal tends to slip along
certain preferred atomic planes. The slip takes place when the stress resolved in the slip direction
exceeds a certain critical shear stress.
o The experimental value of the critical resolved shear is much smaller than the theoretically
predicted value. This is because of the presence of dislocations in the crystal.
o Toughness is defined as the ability of a material to absorb energy up to fracture. It is the area under
the stress strain curve and is expressed in energy per unit volume.
o In an elastic materials, after the stress is applied, the material continues to deform for some time at
constant load. When the load is removed, the original form is gradually recovered.
o In a viscoelastic material, as in an an elastic material, the deformation continues for some time at
constant load, but when the load is removed the original form is not recovered after any length of
time.
o Hardness is a measure of the resistance of the material to localized deformation like a dent or a
search. Hardness values are relative. Several scales are used to specify hardness of materials.

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o Creep is the deformation of the material as a function of time under constant load. Creep
deformation is non-recoverable. Creep normally occurs in materials at high temperatures. Creep
curves are drawn between strain and time.
o The four types of fracture are ductile, brittle, creep (rupture) and Fatigue.
o Fatigue is the behavior of materials under cyclic loading. The fatigue behavior of materials are
represented by S-N curves. S is the stress amplitude and N is the number of cycles after which
failure occurs.
o Titanium and its alloys, refractory metals and super alloys are special materials with superior
mechanical properties. They are also highly corrosion resistant. They find applications in
spacecraft, aircraft, nuclear reactors, petrochemical industries, etc.
o Crystals that are inherently hard show a strong dependence of yield stress on temperature.
o There are sources for the generation of dislocations within crystals. These sources account for the
increase in dislocation density with increasing amount of plastic deformation.
o Grain boundaries provide effective obstacles to dislocation motion. The yield stress of a
polycrystalline material increases as the reciprocal of the square root of the grain diameter.
o Very closely spaced precipitate particles obstruct dislocation motion. The yield stress varies as the
reciprocal of the particle spacing.
o Creep is the thermally activated deformation that occurs as a function of time at temperatures
above 0.4Tm. Dispersion hardening is an effective method of improving creep resistance.
o Ductile fracture is commonly caused by the formation and coalescence of pores or voids in the
necked region.
o Brittle fracture is usually caused by a propagation of pre-existing cracks in a material. Griffith’s
criterion gives the critical stress required to propagate a crack spontaneously.
o In truly brittle materials, cracks are atomically sharp, so that there is sufficient stress concentration
at their tips to break open the bonds during crack propagation.
o In ductile materials, plastic deformation at the crack tip blunts the cracks as well as increases the
energy of propagation of the crack.
o Many materials exhibit a transition to brittle behavior at low temperatures. Surface perfection, grain
size, the stress required to move a dislocation and molecular mobility in polymers are some of the
factors determining the brittle transition.
o Surface treatments such as introduction of compressive stresses at the surface improve the
resistance to crack propagation in brittle materials.
o The majority of failures of structural and machine components are due to fatigue. The resistance to
fatigue crack propagation is increased by surface treatments and also by a fine grain size.
o Ductility testing method are close bend test, angle bend test, 180° bend test.
o Impact testing methods are izod test (cantiliever type), Charpy test (simply supported beam). Izod
test is suitable for room and high temperature. Charpy test is better for low temperature test.

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o Thicker materials have lower fracture toughness than the thin materials, because there is more
probability of crack to be found in thicker material.
o Increasing the temperature usually increases the fracture toughness of BCC and HCP metals.
However, fracture toughness of FCC metals is relatively unaffected by variation in temperature.
o Creep test is usually performed at a constant temperature and under constant load conditions as
these conditions match with service conditions. In actual service conditions, it is not possible to
maintain constant stress condition.
o Brinell Hardness test : Brinell hardness is a function of carbon content in steels. Therefore, this
method provides a rapid estimation of approximate carbon content in steels. Hardened steels and
surface hardened steel components cannot be tested. Sinking in effect is found in manganese steel
and austenitic steel. When the indenter is pressed on the surface then materials moves away from
indenter. In this case actual diameter of indentation (d) is greater than the measured diameter of
indentation (dm). Thus there is an error measurement of hardness. Piling-up effect is found in lead,
Sn, Mg. When the indenter is pressed on surface then materials moves towards the indenter. In this
case actual diameter of indentation (d) is smaller than the measured diameter of indentation (dm)
.Thus there is an error measurement of hardness.
o Vickers hardness Test : For homogeneous materials the value of hardness obtained remains
constant irrespective of the load applied except at very light loads. It is the most accurate method of
hardness test among the indentation hardness tests. Therefore this method is widely used for
research work. This method is very suitable for measuring hardness of thin, superficially hardened
materials such as surface hardened components. It is also used to major hardness of case
hardened material. This method is not suitable for determining the hardness of materials with
heterogeneous microstructure. Vicker machine is more expensive than Brinell and Rockwell
machines.
o Rockwell Hardness Test : The Rockwell test is used in industry because it is quick, simple and
gives direct reading. In principle the Rockwell hardness test compares the differences in depth of
penetration of the indenter when using forces of two different values. Hardened steel and
nonferrous materials can be tested with reasonable accuracy.
o Shore Hardness Test : This test is suitable for determining hardness of very thin and very soft
metals, and nonmetals. Plywood, paper, bark of tree, leather and rubber are generally shore tested.
There are 5 scales viz shore A, B, C, D and E to test the hardness of materials according to their
suitability. Scale A is used for soft rubbers and foamed plastics, while scale D is used for hard
rubbers and leathers. Shore tester, also called durometer, is a handy instrument having a dial and
pointer. The hardness scale ranges between 0 to 100 on these durometers.
o Barcol hardness Test : This test determines the degree of curing of polymers and polymeric
composites. Hardness of the gel coat may also be determined by estimating Barcol hardness value.

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 This value is temperature dependent, hence the result is specified at a certain prefixed
temperature.
o Jominy’s End-Quenched test : Ability of a materials to get hardened by any process is called
hardenability. High carbon steel shows greater degree of hardenability than mild steel. In steel, it
can be measured by Jominy end-quench test.
o Rebound hardness test : This test is also known as Shore Scleroscope’s method. In this test, a
small steel or diamond tipped weight is dropped from a known height. Its rebalance is measured
which directly tells the hardness value. Less than 1 mm thick jobs and case hardened surfaces may
be tested by this method. Hardness of concrete is measured by this method.
o Ultrasonic test : High frequency ultrasonic (sound) waves are applied to the test piece by a
Piezoelectric crystal. If the test piece is free from cracks or flawless, then it reflects ultrasonic waves
without distortion.
o Liquid penetration test : This test is a very fast method used to test aerospace components and
automobiles. This test is generally used to detect internal cracks like shrinkage cavities, hot tears,
zones of corrosion and non-metallic inclusions. Since the ultraviolet light is not visible to the human
eye, it is also called black light.
o X-rays method is much more rapid than gamma ray method because unlike gamma-ray method, it
requires seconds or minutes instead of hours.
o Eddy Current Inspection : A change in the impedance in coil indicates certain property of the
existence of defect in the component. In eddy current inspection tested body is surrounded by
metals sheet to avoid eddy current losses.

THERMAL PROPERTIES & BAND THEORY

o Thermal properties which are mainly of interest in most applications are specific heat, thermal
conductivity and thermal expansion.
o Specific heat is defined as the thermal energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of the
-1 -1
material through one unit. The unit of specific heat is J kg K .
o The variation of specific heat with temperature can be explained by the quantum theory of specific
heat given by Einstein and later the theory was improved by Debye.
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o According to Debye’s theory, the specific heat varies as T at low temperatures (for T<<Debye
temperature) and attains a constant value at high temperatures. The experimental results agree
well with Debye’s theory.
o Heat conduction in metals takes place through lattice vibrations and free electrons. The free
electron contribution is much greater than the lattice contribution. In non-metals the contribution to
specific heat is only due to the phonons. Consequently metals have much higher thermal
conductivity than non-metals.
o The process that are responsible for thermal resistance in non-metals are (i) Umklapp process
(phonon-phonon interaction in which the total momentum of the system changes) (ii) boundary

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 scattering (ii) impurity scattering. Thermal resistance is a consequence of anharmonicity in lattice
vibrations.
o Thermal expansion in solids is due to the anharmonicity in the lattice vibrations. A higher
temperatures, the atoms vibrate with larger amplitudes and the mean interatomic spacing in the
lattice increases slightly. This results in the expansion of the solid.
o Solids are broadly classified as metals and non-metals, the valence electrons are free to move in
the whole lattice whereas in nonmetals the valence electrons are strongly bound to the nuclei and
are localized.
o Most of the properties of metals can be explained based on the free electron theory which assumes
that the electrons move in a zero potential field. In the classical free electron theory, called the
Drude Lorentz theory the free electrons are treated as classical particles. This theory is quite
successful in explaining qualitatively, the high electrical and thermal conductivity of metals.
o In the Quantum free electron theory (known as Somerfield’s theory), the electrons are treated as
quantum particles. The motion of the electrons is described by Schrodinger equation. According to
this theory the energy of the electrons is quantized. The electrons occupy discrete energy levels,
obeying Fermi-Dirac statistics.
o The highest occupied energy level at 0K is called the Fermi energy. The Fermi energy is a
characteristic parameter of the metal. It depends on the number of free electrons per unit volume in
the metal.
o At 0 K all the states below the Fermi energy are occupied and all the states above the Fermi level
are unoccupied. At any temperature T>0K, some of the electrons near the Fermi level get thermally
excited to states above the Fermi energy; thus some levels above the Fermi energy are occupied
and consequently some below are unoccupied.
o Band theory of solids is a more general theory which can be applied to both metals and non-metals.
In this theory, the valence electrons are assumed to move in a periodic potential. The periodicity of
the potential is the same as that of the lattice. The solution to the Schrodinger equation is called the
Bloch function.
o According to band theory of solids, there are allowed energy bands separated by forbidden energy
gaps. The top most energy band which is filled by electrons, either partially or fully, is called the
valence band and the next higher vacant band is called the conduction band. The energy gap
between the valence band and the conduction band is called the forbidden energy band or the
energy gap.
o The widths of the energy bands and the energy gap depend on the type of atomic bond and the
interatomic separation, i.e. the crystal structure.
o For a given solid (i.e. fixed interatomic separation) the widths of the higher energy bands are
greater than the lower energy bands.

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o Based on band theory, the distinct characteristics of metals, semiconductors and insulators can be
explained.
o Metals have either partially filled valence band, or completely filled valence bands with overlapping
valence and conduction bands. Semiconductors have completely filled valence band with a small
energy gap (of the order of 1 eV) between the valence band and the conduction band. Insulators
have completely filled valence band with a wide energy gap (of the order of several eV) between
the valence band and the conduction band.
o The concepts of effective mass and holes are used to describe the motion of electrons in a solid.
The effective mass is positive in lower part of the band and negative in the upper part of the band.
o If in a completely filled valence band some of the electrons get thermally excited to the conduction
band, the vacant sites left in the valence band act like positive charges with negative mass! These
are called holes.
SEMICONDUCTORS
o The two elements in the periodic table that are semiconductors are Si and Ge. Compound
semiconductors are formed by combination of group III group V elements and Group II Group VI
elements.
o Silicon and germanium crystallize in diamond cubic structure. Ga As which is one of the most
widely used compound semiconductors, crystallizes in zinc blende structure.
o Pure semiconductors are called intrinsic semiconductors. Semiconductors doped with impurity
atoms are called extrinsic semiconductors.
o In intrinsic semiconductors the number of electrons in the conduction band is equal to the number
of holes in the valence band.
o The Fermi energy in an intrinsic semiconductor lies exactly in the middle of the forbidden energy
gap.
o Semiconductor doped with Group V elements are called n-type semiconductors and the dopants
are called donors. In n-type semiconductors electrons are the majority carriers. The donor energy
levels lie about 0.1 eV below the bottom of the conduction band.
o Semiconductors doped with Group III elements are called p-type semiconductors and the dopants
are called acceptors. In n-type semiconductors holes are the majority charge carriers. The acceptor
energy levels lie about 0.01 eV above the top of the valence band.
o The concentration of the dopants will usually be of the order of 0.01-0.001 atomic per cent.
o To understand the behavior of electrons and holes in a semiconductor the concept of effective
mass is introduced. The effective mass m* of the charge carrier in semiconductor may be positive
or negative (positive for electrons and negative for holes).
o For device applications, single crystals of semiconductors are required. The standard method used
for growing single crystals of semiconductors is the Czochralski technique.

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o Zone refining technique is used for purifying semiconductors. Zone leveling is used for getting
uniform distribution of dopant concentration. Zone melting technique is used for growing single
crystals of semiconductors.
o Hall effect is the generation of voltage when a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic
field such that the direction of the current is perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field. This
effect is more pronounced in a semiconductor than in a conductor.
o The main application of hall effect is in the measurement of magnetic field strengths.
o Semiconductor devices are based on the special characteristics of the junction formed between a
n-type and p-type semiconductor called the p-n junction.
o p-n junction is a non-linear device. The resistance of the p-n junction is very low (<100 ohms) under
forward bias and very high (several 100’s of K ohms) under reverse bias.
o p-n junction diode is used as a rectifier in power supplies for conversion of AC signals into DC.
o A heavily doped p-n junction, called the Zener diode, is used for voltage regulation. A zener diode is
operated in reverse bias, near the break down voltage Vz.
o Tunnel diode is a heavily doped p-n junction. Under forward bias, the diode has negative resistance
in a certain voltage range and this characteristic of the diode is made use of in its applications in
high frequency oscillator, pulse and digital circuits.
o LED is a p-n junction device that emits electro magnetic radiation when forward biased. LED’s are
made of compound semiconductors like GaAsP, InP. The wave length range of the emitted
radiation depends on the type of semiconductor and the dopants. LED’s that emit red, yellow and
green light are commonly used for displays. Infra-red LED’s are used in remote control devices.
o There are two types of field effect transistors (FET); junction FET (JFET) and metal oxide
semiconductor FET (MOSFET). MOSFETs are more widely used in all modern electronic devices
(IC’s). FETs are unipolar devices, i.e. the charge carriers are of only one type; either electrons or
holes.
o IC chips are devices in which a large number of electronic components (millions) are integrated on
a single Si crystal of a very small size. All modern electronic appliances use IC chips.
SUPERCONDUCTORS

o Superconductors are materials which exhibit zero resistivity below a certain temperature known as
the superconducting transition temperature Tc.
o Tc is very low for elemental superconductors. Among the elements Nb has the highest transition
temperature of 9.5 K. Some alloys and intermetallic compounds have higher Tc of about 18 – 20 K.
o There are two types of superconductors—Type I and type II. Type I superconductors are perfect
diamagnets below the critical field i.e. the magnetic lines of force are completely expelled from he
material below the critical field Bc. Type II superconductors have two critical fields Bc1 and Bc2.
Below Bc1 the magnetic lines of force are completely expelled whereas between Bc1 and Bc2 the
magnetic lines of force partially penetrate into the material. Between the two critical fields the type II

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 super conductor exists in the so called mixed or vortex state (in which flux lines in the form of
quantized vortices are arranged in a periodic two dimensional array called the flux lattice). Beyond
Bc2, they become paramagnetic, i.e. they become normal metals.
o Type II superconductors are more useful than type I superconductors in practical applications
because the Bc2 values are much higher than the Bc values of type I superconductors.
o Superconducting state is an ordered state. There is a decrease in free energy of the system when
there is a transition from the normal to the superconducting state. Correspondingly, the entropy in
the superconducting state is lower than the entropy in the normal state.
o BCS theory is a microscopic theory, that accounts for the superconducting behavior. According to
this theory, there is an attractive interaction between two electrons, via the phonon which leads to
pairing of electrons in the superconducting state. The electron pairs are called the cooper pairs.
o In a superconductor, the density of electron states has a discontinuity near Fermi energy. There is a
very small energy gap (≅ 1 me V) near EF. The energy gap decreases with increasing temperature
and vanishes at Tc.
o Compounds of the type AxMo6Ch8 (A is a metal atom and Ch is a Chalcogen atom) and certain
mixed oxide materials (ceramics) exhibit superconductivity at relatively higher temperatures. The
latter are called high Tc superconductors. The highest Tc reported is about 133K in the ceramic
HgBa2CaCu2O6. The high Tc ceramic superconductors crystallize in a modified perovskite structure.
o One of the important applications of superconductor is in the generation of extremely high magnetic
fields.
o Perovskites is high temperature ceramic superconductor having cubic structure. Several
ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and anti ferromagnetic materials also have this structure. Atoms of
different elements occupy corner, face and central positions in the cubic structure.
DIELECTRICS MATERIALS

o Dielectrics are electrical insulators. Materials with covalent and ionic bonding may be classified as
dielectrics.
o When a dielectric is subjected to an external electric field, the positive and negative charges in the
dielectric get displaced inducing electrical dipole moment in the material.
o The dielectric constant and the electrical susceptibility are related by 𝜒𝐸 = 𝜖𝑟 − 1.
o The three types of polarization mechanisms in a dielectric are (i) electronic (ii) ionic (iii) dipolar (or
orientation).
o When a dielectric is subjected to ac fields, the polarization decreases with increasing frequency.
This is because the ionic polarization and the dipolar polarization which are slower processes
cannot follow the rapidly varying electric fields. So, at higher frequencies (visible and UV), the
contribution to polarization is only form the electronic polarization.
o In an ac field, polarizability and the dielectric constant are represented as complex quantities. At
low frequencies, the polarizability and dielectric constant are almost independent of frequency and

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 equal to their static values. The electronic polarizability and ionic polarizability show dispersion in
the ultraviolet and infrared frequency ranges respectively.
o The maximum electric field that a dielectric can withstand without breakdown is called the dielectric
strength.
o Ferroelectrics are dielectrics which possess spontaneous polarization. That is, they possess
polarization even in the absence of external electric field. In a ferroelectric material, the P versus E
curve shows hysteresis. The dielectric constant of a ferroelectric is very high and its value depends
on the applied electric field.
o Crystals which do not possess a Centre of symmetry exhibit piezoelectricity. Piezoelectric are those
dielectrics that get polarized when subjected to stress.
o Pyro electrics are those dielectrics that get polarized when they are heated. All pyro electrics are
piezoelectric but not all piezoelectric are pyro electrics.
o Pyro electrics are a special class of piezoelectric materials and ferroelectrics are a special class of
pyro electrics which possess spontaneous and reversible polarization.
o When a high frequency ac field is applied to a dielectric, there will be a dielectric loss and due to
this the material gets heated up. So when dielectrics are used as insulators in electrical circuits,
different types of dielectrics must be used for different temperature ranges.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

o Atoms possess magnetic moments by virtue of the motion of the electrons in orbits around the
nucleus and the spin of the electrons. The total atomic magnetic moment is the vector sum of the
total orbital magnetic moments and the total spin magnetic moments of all the electrons in the
atom.
o Electrons in completely filled orbitals do not contribute to orbital and spin magnetic moments.
Paired electrons do not contribute to spin magnetic moments. So the contributions to atomic
magnetic moments come from electrons in partially filled orbitals and unpaired electrons.
o In diamagnetic materials, individual atoms do not possess permanent magnetic moments. In the
presence of and external magnetic field, they acquire moments. In the presence of and external
magnetic field, they acquire induced magnetic moments in the direction opposite to the applied
field. Diamagnetic materials get feebly repelled in a magnetic field.
o In ferromagnetic materials, the individual permanent atomic magnetic moments align themselves,
even in the absence of an external magnetic field, due to a strong internal interaction known as
exchange interaction. The material exhibits spontaneous magnetization which is quite high.
o The internal field in a ferromagnetic material is called the Weiss field. The origin of the Weiss field is
the strong interaction between adjacent spins called the exchange interaction.
o Ferromagnetic materials exhibit magnetic hysteresis. That is the M versus H curve is non-linear and
M lags behind H.

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o Coercive field is the magnetic field that is required to be applied in the reverse direction to a
magnetized ferromagnetic material, in order to make its magnetization zero.
o Hard magnetic materials have high remnant magnetization and high coercive field. Their hysteresis
curve will be wide. They are suitable for making permanent magnets. Soft magnetic materials have
high remnant and long. They are suitable for electromagnets and high frequency magnetic
applications.
o Ferrites are special types of ferromagnetic materials in which some spins are oriented parallel and
some are oriented antiparallel. They are ceramics with the molecular formula MeO. Fe2O3 where
Me is a divalent metal ion. Ferrites have a wide variety of applications in many magnetic devices as
they have some unique properties.
OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

o The optical properties of material arise due to the interaction of the electromagnetic radiation with
the valence electrons of the material.
o The main optical properties of interest the scattering, refraction, reflection, transmission, absorption
and luminescence.
o Scattering arises due to the oscillation of the valence electrons in the presence of the alternating
electric field of the incident radiation. The electrons oscillate at the frequency of the incident
radiation and emit electromagnetic radiation of the same frequency in all directions.
o Refraction is the deviation in the path of the beam when it travels from air into the material. The
deviation arises due to the slowing down of the radiation (i.e. decrease in velocity of the radiation)
in the material. This occurs because of the interference of the incident beam with the radiation
emitted by the oscillating dipoles in the material. Refractive index is defined as the ratio of the
speed of the light beam in air to its speed in the material.
o Metals have high reflectivity for light radiation in the range of infrared and visible range and low
reflectivity in the ultraviolet and higher frequency range.
o The two types or transitions that may occur are, intra-band transition and inter-band transition.
o The transparency, opacity or colours of materials can be explained in terms of the absorption
properties of the materials.
o The electrons that get excited to higher energy levels eventually drop down to lower energy levels
spontaneously. The difference in the energy may be emitted in the form of a photon. The emission
process is called luminescence.
o The two types of luminescence are: fluorescence and phosphorescence. After excitation, if the
emission is instantaneous it is called fluorescence. If the emission occurs after a certain interval of
time of excitation, it is called phosphorescence.
o The luminescence is classified according to the process of excitation as photoluminescence,
cathodoluminescence and electroluminescence.

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o Colour centres occur in ionic crystals. They are negative ion vacancies in which an electron is
trapped. Presence of such colour centres in ionic crystals result in selective absorption in the visible
radiation range of the electromagnetic radiation. This makes the crystal appear coloured.
o Laser is source of highly intense, monochromatic, coherent radiation, Laser is acronym for light
amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
o High power lasers are used in materials processing in industries, such as cutting, welding, and
drilling.
o Lasers are widely used in the medical field for eye surgery, skin treatment, cancer treatment, dental
surgery etc.
o Optical fibers are optical waveguides that carry light radiation. They are made of extremely thin
wires of silica. They transmit light signals through long distances without much attenuation and
distortion. They are used in optical communication for transmission of signals.
POLYMERS, CERAMICS & COMPOSITE

o Polymers are organic amorphous materials with large sized molecules. The molecules in polymers
are in the form of long chains.
o Polymers may be classified as thermoplastics and thermosets. In thermoplastics, the molecular
chains are bonded together by weak secondary bonds whereas in thermosets the polymer chains
have side chains which are strongly bonded by covalent bonds. The side chains link the long
molecular chains forming a three dimensional network.
o Thermoplastics soften on heating and after they melt they can be solidified on cooling and this
process can be recycled. On the other hand, thermosets do not soften on heating. Heating causes
further polymerization and the structure develops cross links. On subsequent cooling, the thermoset
becomes hard and brittle. The process cannot be recycled, i.e. once heated and cooled the
thermoset gets hardened and on heating again the material decomposes.
o Polymers which contain more than one type of mer units are called co-polymers.
o Degree of polymerization of a polymer is the average number of mer units per molecule.
o Polymers may be partially ctystalline with crystalline regions dispersed within amorphous polymer
region. A parameter called crystallinity is defined for a polymer which is a measure of percentage of
crystalline regions in the polymer.
o The response of materials to an externally applied stress can be recoverable or permanent
deformation or both. Each of these deformations can be time dependent or independent.
o Rubber-like elasticity arises from entropy changes during stretching, when the coiled long chain
molecules uncoil.
o The time dependent part of recoverable deformation is always associated with a relaxation
phenomenon.
o Energy losses due to anelastic processes should be kept a minimum and should be dissipated
efficiently in most applications.

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o Long chain polymers exhibit viscoelastic behavior.
o Ceramics are inorganic, non-metallic materials. Mostly oxides, carbides and nitrides are classified
as ceramics.
o Ceramics are classified according to their structure as AX, AX2, ABX3 and AB2X4.
o The atomic bonding in ceramics is predominantly ionic with a small covalent character.
o Most ceramic are brittle and have low toughness. But they possess other superior mechanical
characteristics such as, high strength hardness, stiffness constant, creep resistance, etc.
o Ceramics have wide applications where high strength at high operating temperatures are required.
o Composites are materials formed by a combination of two or more distinct type of materials.
o Micro composites are composites in which the components are of atomic dimensions. Alloys which
have multiphase structures are examples of micro composites.
o In macro composites the components are of large dimensions. Two types of macro composites are
(i) large particle composites and (ii) fibre reinforced composites.
o In large particle composites, large sized particulate of one type of material are uniformly dispersed
in a matrix material.
o In fibre reinforced composites, thin fibers on one type of material are uniformly distributed in a
matrix material.
o The special characteristics of composites that make them unique are high strength and high elastic
modulus combined with low specific gravity.
o If the fibres are long and extend over the entire dimension of the composite material, the composite
is called continuous fibre composite. If the fibres are short, they are called short fibre composites.
o Continuous fibre composites are highly anistropic in their mechanical properties.
o The elastic modulus of the composite may be related to the elastic moduli of the individual
components of the composite. The relation is called the rule of mixtures.
o The strength of the composite increases with the volume fraction of the fibres in the compsite.
o The fibre-matrix bond strength is an important parameter that influences the mechanical properties
of the composites
o The common matrix materials are polymers, metals and ceramics. The fibres normally used are
glass fibres, carbon fibres and aramid fibres.
o The structure of silica and the silicates can be described with reference to the basic unit, the silicate
tetrahedron.
o The crystallinity of long chain polymers is influenced by a number of factors such as chain length,
branching, presence of large random side groups, and plasticizers.
NANO MATERIALS
o Nanotechnology is a vast interdisciplinary field, encompassing the disciplines of materials science,
physics, chemistry, biology, mechanical and electrical engineering and medicine. Ever since its

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 importance came to light in recent decades, frantic research has been in progress all over the
world. Industrial applications based on nanotechnology have yet to gather full momentum.
o According to their geometry, nanomaterials are classified as 0-D, 1-D, 2-D and 3-D.
o The properties of nanomaterials are influenced greatly by the large surface area to volume ratio of
nanoparticles.
o Many routes for the production of nanomaterials are known such as high-energy ball milling, inert-
gas condensation, physical/chemical vapour deposition, electrodeposition and sol-gel synthesis.
o When any of the dimensions of a solid is in the nanorange, the electrical properties get modified. In
0-D nanomaterials (called quantum dots), electrons confinement occurs in all three directions, when
even a metallic nanoparticle behaves like an insulator.
o The critical current density which a Type II superconductor can carry, is increased by two orders of
magnitude, by refining the grain size into the nanorange.
o In magnetic materials, the coercive field increases inversely with grain size in the conventional size
range, but falls precipitously in the nanorange. Because of this, a nanograined ferromagnetic solid
has practically zero area of the hysteresis loop.
o In the nanosize range, the melting point of a pure solid is lowered and the thermal conductivity
decreases.
o The absorption and emission spectra of optical materials shift to smaller wavelengths with
deceasing particle size.
o Innovations in nanomedicine include improved drug delivery systems and tools for accurate
diagnosis and treatment.
MISCELLANEOUS
o The elastic strain energy of dislocations varies as the square of their Burgers vector. This favours
small Burgers vectors.
o The glide motion of dislocations under an applied shear stress can deform a crystal. The climb of
an edge dislocation occurs with the aid of point imperfections. Only screw dislocations can cross-
slip from one slip plane to another non parallel slip plane.
o The atomic arrangement can be described in detail at planar boundaries such as tilt boundaries,
twin boundaries and stacking faults.
o The solid state analog of the eutectic and the peritectic reactions are the eutectoid and the
peritectoid reactions.
o Brasses are more economical and have better mechanical properties than copper.
o The microstructures of slowly cooled steels and cast irons correspond to the phases shown in the
phase diagram.
o The zone refining process is based on the fact that the first solid to crystallize in a two-component
system is generally purer than the liquid.

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o Substitutional solutes diffuse by interchanging positions with vacancies. Interstitial solutes simply
jump to the next interstitial site, without having to wait for a vacancy. Consequently, interstitial
diffusion is much faster than substitutional diffusion.
o The formation of an adherent oxide film is necessary to improve the oxidation resistance of a metal.
The oxide film should offer a high diffusion barrier to the diffusing species that control the oxidation.
o The common alloying elements added to steel for improving its oxidation resistance are chromium,
aluminium and nickel.
o The standard electrode potential measures the tendency of a metal to go into solution. Metals with
positive potentials are noble, as compared to metals with negative potentials.
o A galvanic cell may form under different conditions, e.g., due to a two-phase structure, due to
concentration differences in the electrolyte or due to stress differences.
o Passivation refers to the formation of a thin, high resistance oxide layer, which reduces the
corrosion current by two or three orders of magnitude.
o (a) Designing to avoid contact between dissimilar metals, (b) use of inhibitors, (c) metallic and
nonmetallic coatings, (d) cathodic protection with a sacrificial anode or with an impressed voltage,
and (e) passivation by alloy additions are the main methods of corrosion prevention.
o Bi-Modulus Materials : A material whose stress-strain diagram has different slopes in tension and
compression, is known as bi-modulus material. Such a material possesses unequal values of
young’s moduli in tension and compression. Cast iron is not a bi-modulus material while the
elastomer and wood may keep bi-moduli character.
o A calendaring machine is used to obtain rubber in the form of sheets of definite thickness.
o Expanding monomers (EMS) experience zero shrinkage during polymerization. The polycyclic ring
opening monomers are combined with conventional monomers and oligomers to produce
expanding plastics. Polymers in mixture and alloys forms are suitable for high performance
applications because of improved toughness in them. Important example : PEEK, PPS, PES, ABS,
PTFE etc.
o Kevlar49 is characterized by a low density and high strength/modulus; is used in aerospace,
marine, automotive and other industrial application.
o Terra-cotta : terra-cotta means the baked earth. It is strong and durable material. It is fireproof and
can therefore be conveniently used with RCC work. It is light in weight. It is not affected by
atmospheric agencies and acids and is capable of withstanding weathering actions better than most
kinds of stone. It is used in arches cornices, casing for columns, etc.
o Cellular solids or foam : A foam is a substance formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or
solid. Solid foams can be closed cell or open cell. The properties of a foam depend not only on
those of the matrix solid from which it is made but also on the size, proportion, shape, distribution
and interconnection (if any) of the voids within it. This range of variables allows a vast range of
properties to be achieved. The polymers most widely used in cellular form are polystyrene, familiar

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 as rigid and brittle Styrofoam, and the thermosetting polyurethanes. Ceramic foam is a tough foam
made from ceramics. The foam can be used not only for thermal insulation but for a variety of other
application such as acoustic insulation, absorption of environment pollutants. Metal foams are
amongst the newest of all materials. A metal foam is a cellular structure consisting of a solid metal
(frequently aluminium) with gas filled pores comprising a large portion of the volume. The defining
characteristic of metal foam is a high porosity making these ultra light material. Syntactic foams are
composite materials synthesized by filling a metal, polymer or ceramic matrix with hollow particles
called microballons. The presence of hollow particles results in lower density, higher strength, lower
coefficient of thermal expansion. They are used for floatation in offshore drilling, rigs, buoys, small
boats and submarines.
o Alumina Al2O3 exists principally in two crystalline forms called   Al2O3 or corundum and

  Al2O3 . Gallium is used in semiconductor devices. It is used in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) &
laser diodes. Indium is used to dope crystals to make p-n-p transistors & thermistors.
o Quartz : Quartz is important as a piezo-electric material for the crystals in gramophone pickups, for
cigarette and gas lighters and for making crystal oscillators for radios and computers. There is
insufficient natural quartz of high enough purity and so it is made synthetically by hydrothermal
growth of seed crystals from aqueous NaOH and vitreous silica at 400°C under pressure.
o Feldspar : When isomorphous replacement of some of the Si4 by Al3 plus an additional metal ion

Na , Ca2 in three dimensional network feldspars formed. These are aluminosilicates minerals.
They are used in glass making, feldspar provides alumina for improving hardness, durability &
resistance to chemical corrosion. In ceramics, feldspar is used as flux.
o Zeolites : It is aluminosilicate minerals commonly use as adsorbend and catalysts. It has
honeycomb like structure. The are often use as ion-exchange materials. Permutit water softeners
use sodium zeolites.
o The main uses of Sn are electroplating steel to make tin-plate and making alloys. Tin –plate is
extensively used for making cans for food and drinks. The most important alloy is solder (Sn/Pb)
but there are many other including bronze (Cu/Sn), gun metal (Cu/Sn/Pb/Zn) and pewter
(Sn/Sb/Cu). SnO2 is used as a glaze in ceramics and is often mixed with other metal oxides as

pigments for pottery. SnCl4 and Me2SnCl2 are used to produce very thin films of SnO2 on glass.

This toughens the glass.

o Calcium plumbate Ca2PbO4 is used for rustproof corrugated steel sheets and PbCrO4 is used as a
strong yellow pigment for road signs and markings. Lead is poisonous to man and burning petrol
containing PbEt 4 releases lead into the atmosphere.

o Germanium is used to make prisms and lenses and while pure Si is used to make a computer
chips.

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o Hydrazine N2H4 : The methyl derivatives MeNHNH2 and Me2NNH2 are mixed with N2O4 and used
as a rocket fuel in the space shuttle, in quided missiles and (earlier) in the Apollo lunar modules.
o N2O it is sometimes called ‘laughing gas’, because small amounts cause euphoria. N2O4 has no
unpaired electrons and is diamagnetic.
o AS2O3 uses as rat poison, in medicine to kill parasites and for preventing wood rot, arise from their
poisonous nature. Alloys of Bi us used as a low melting plug for automatic fire sprinkler systems.
o Pure water is diamagnetic and dielectric. The H-O-H bond angle in water is 104°28’, in accordance
with VSEPR prediction of slightly less than tetrahedral due to the presence of lone pairs of
electrons. Thus the orbitals used for bonding by O are close to sp3 hybrids.
o The first new detergents, introduced in about 1950, were branched chain alkylbenzene sulphonates
(ABS). They are called ‘hard detergents’. The main use of Na2SO3 is as a bleach for wood pulp in

the paper making industry. Some is used to treat boiler feed water (it removes O2 and thus

reduces corrosion of pipes and boilers). Small amounts are used in photographic developer. In
NaOH solution Na2S2O4 is used to preserve foodstuffs and fruit squashes. Hypo is used in

photography for ‘fixing’ films and prints. Photographic emulsions are made of AgNO3 , AgCl and

AgBr . K 2S2O8 is used as an initiating agent in the polymerization of vinyl chloride to PVC and
styrene-butadiene copolymer rubbers.
o Selenium (Se) is used in Xerox-type photocopiers to make the photoreceptor to capture the image.
However, Se is toxic in large quantities.
o The largest use of Ar is to provide an inert atmosphere for metallurgical processes. This includes
welding stainless steel. Smaller amounts are used in growing silicon and germanium crystals for
transistors and in electric light bulbs, fluorescent lamps, radio valves and Geiger Muller radiation
counters.
o It should be notes that Fe, Co and Ni are ferromagnetic.
o La2O3 is used in optical glass such as Crooke’s lenses which give protection against UV light.
o Ti also called ‘wonder metal’, Ti ihas better corrosion resistance than stainless steel. It is a better
conductor of heat and electricity than group 3 (Sc group) metals. Ti metal and alloys of Ti with Al
are used extensively in the aircraft industry in jet and gas turbine engines and in airframes.
Supersonic aircraft like concorde can use small amounts of Ti alloyed with steel.
o Tungesten bronzes are used in production of bronze and metallic paints.
o Rh is an important catalyst in the control of car exhaust emissions. A Pt/Rh alloy is used to make
the electrodes for long life sparking plugs.
o Nickel-silver does not contain silver. It contains 60% Cu, 20% Zn. Ni is used in Ni/Fe storage
batteries and it helps in charging very fast without damaging battery plates. Cu2S,CuCO3 Cu(OH)2 ,

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 Cu2O and Cu5FeS4 called bornite or ‘peacock ore’ because it has a mixture of iridescent colours
like a peacock’s feathers blue, red, brown and purple.
o Bordeaux mixture is basic copper hydroxide, and is made from CuSO4 and Ca(OH)2 . It is an
important spray for preventing fungus attack on the leaves of potatoes (potato blight).
o Nickel improve the resistance to fatigue in low alloy steels. Low alloys steels usually contain upto
3-4% of one or more alloying elements to improve the strength, toughness and hardenability etc.
o High alloy steel : The alloys contains the alloying elements more than about 4%. Example :
stainless steel and highs peed tool steel,
o Ferritic Stainless Steel :It contains about 16-18% chromium. It has rustless iron with low carbon
content. It has high resistance to corrosion but low impact strength and cannot be refined by heat
treatment alone. If the chromium percentage lies between 25 and 30%, it is used for the purpose of
furnace parts which is resistant to sulphur compounds.
o Martensitic (Hardenable Alloys) Stainless steel : It contains about 12-14% chromium. It is
characterized by high strength combined with considerable corrosion resistance. Stainless steel
with 12% Cr and 0.1% C can be welded and easily fabricated. It is useful for making turbine blades.
Stainless steel with 12% Cr and 0.2% C is difficult to weld is corrosion resistant only when
hardened and polished.

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