Overview

The course primarily explores the processing methods of different classes of materials: ceramics, electronics, metals and polymers. Students will learn how each processing method relates to the consequential opportunity to synthesize and characterize materials found in prosthetics, circuitry and shape memory polymers.

1. Ceramics: In this section, students synthesize a superconductive ceramic by processing the starting materials through two different methods. They then compare the procedures and confirm the expected properties. The lower image is an example of an assignment students complete in the lab. The gray cube is a magnet levitating above superconductive ceramic.
2. Doping and Alloying Materials: Students use zinc sulfide (ZnS), which is employed for its optical and luminescent properties. They slowly inject copper (Cu) into the material and visually see that the properties change.
3. Metals and Electronics: In this section, students learn about subtractive and additive processing, intentionally adding or subtracting material to create a desired product. They explore techniques such as deposition of metals, semiconductors and dielectrics, lithography and machining.

The skills students learn in this course are applicable to a number of career paths including:

• • Processing and lab techniques for microelectronics and semiconductors as well as device fabrication
  • Medical imaging and medical devices using bioceramics, such as prosthetics for joints and teeth