Engineering Physics

Please click "Outline" for Technical Elective Information. Contact the department if anything is unclear.

Each student is required to prepare/present a formal seminar, based upon extensive research work and literature surveys, in areas related to their current research. A pass/fail grade will be assessed based on overall performance in the course.

Antirequisite(s): This course provides an opportunity to experience the decontamination in the residential area which was contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. A visit to other nuclear energy industry sites in Japan will give students a chance to consider the responsibility of engineers and scientists in the nuclear field

Degraded fuel heat transfer; fuel failure mechanisms; fission product release and transport from nuclear fuel; leak-before-break and piping fracture mechanics; pipe ruptures; challenges to containment system integrity; severe accident progression and mitigation; off-site release of fission products; applications to CANDU and LWR reactors.

This course covers the fundamentals of nuclear reactor heat transport system design for key reactor types, with emphasis on the CANDU and Light Water Reactor (PWR and BWR) designs. Theoretical topics and their application include reactor thermodynamics, single-phase and two-phase flow, heat and mass transfer, critical heat, flux, pressure drop prediction, flow stability, design of reactor core, reactor vessel, steam generators and primary heat transport pumps. The course also covers experimental techniques, facilities and results. Course assignments are analytical problems related to these topics.

Introduction, Micorfabrication and micromachining. Surface and bulk micromachining, nonconventional machining. Microfluidics, Microchannels, Microsvalves, Micromixers, Micropumps, Droplet actuation, Integrated Systems.

Advanced Photovoltaics provides students with a comprehensive overview of the fundamental processes relevant to photovoltaic operation. Specific devices are studied by both numerical simulation and analytic calculation. A connection is made between the material parameters necessary for simulating a device and their independent measurement by a range of characterization techniques. Silicon, III-V, II-VI, organic and nano-based approaches to PV device design are all explored. Students are also introduced to the challenges of integrating different approaches into a solar based electrical generation system.

Crystallography: binding and structure; free and nearly free electrons, energy bands; electronic aspects of semi-conductors: doping, carrier statistics; point defects; energy levels, atomic configuration, thermodynamics; experimental aspects of defect spectroscopy.

This is a course on in-core fuel management in nuclear reactors. It covers all aspects of the use of nuclear fuel in CANDU reactors, with comparison to fuel management in Light-Water Reactors. A major objective of the course is to allow students to carry out various types of fullcore calculations in realistic CANDU-reactor models.

Mathematical modelling and computational multiphysics for engineering design synthesizing E&M, thermodynamics, statics, dynamics, and quantum mechanics.

Three one-hour lectures and one two-hour laboratory per week; second term

Prerequisite(s): Registration in Level II of an Engineering Physics program

Introduction to communication styles, team dynamics, oral and written presentation skills, effective two-way communication strategies, project management, problem analysis, and job skills.

Three lectures; first term

Prerequisite(s): Registration in an Engineering program
Antirequisite(s): ENGPHYS 4ES3

Algebraic solutions; Numerical integration and differentiation; Finite difference and finite element methods; Euler method; Runge- Kutta techniques; Partial differential equations; Monte Carlo simulation.

Three lectures, one laboratory (three hours); first term

Prerequisite(s): Registration in Level II or above of an Engineering program
Antirequisite(s): ENGPHYS 2CE4

An introduction to statistical distributions and their properties, and the statistical basis of thermodynamics at the microscopic level, with applications to problems originating in a modern laboratory or engineering environment.

Lectures (three hours), tutorial (one hour); second term

Prerequisite(s): Enrolment in Level III or above of an Engineering program
Antirequisite(s): ENGPHYS 2H04, PHYSICS 2H04, PHYSICS 3K03

Introduction to nuclear fission and the physics of nuclear reactors; reactor statics for homogeneous reactors; reactor kinetics for simple time-dependent situations; effects of saturating fission products (Xe-135); reactivity coefficients

Three lectures; first term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 3D03

Nanoscale semiconductor devices and associated materials including organic electronics (OLEDs, organic solar cells), quantum well devices (LEDs, high electron mobility transistors), quantum dots, quantum wires, graphene, emerging nanoscale materials and devices.

Three lectures; second term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 3F03; and credit or registration in ENG PHYS 3PN4 or credit or registration in both MATLS 3Q03 and 4Q03

Energy generation and conversion, heat transfer and transport in a nuclear reactor. Characteristics and performance of nuclear fuels. Thermal margins and safety limits. Aging of core structural materials. Structural integrity of components.

Three lectures; second term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 3D03

Systems and overall unit operations relevant to nuclear power plants; includes all major reactor and process systems; self-study using interactive nuclear power plant.

Three lectures; second term

Prerequisite(s): Registration in Level IV or above of any Engineering program (familiarity with ENGPHYS 4D03 or other nuclear course desirable)

An introduction to quantum computing including qubits, entanglement, quantum key cryptography, teleportation, quantum circuits and algorithms, spin qubits.

Three lectures; second term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 2QM3 or PHYSICS 2C03

Basic properties of electromagnetic radiation. Optical modulation and detection. Nonlinear optics. Multiple-beam interference and coherence. Optical resonators. Laser systems.

Three lectures; first term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 3E03, PHYSICS 3N03, ELECENG 4EM4, or ELECENG 3FK4

A review of photovoltaic devices including solar cell operation, characterization, manufacturing, economics and current and next generation technologies.

Three lectures; first term

Prerequisite(s): One of ELECENG 2EI5, MATLS 3Q03 or ENGPHYS 3BA3

Detailed description of fabrication technologies used in the semiconductor industry; computer modelling of device fabrication; analysis of device performance.

Two classroom-based lectures, one computer cluster-based lecture; first term

Prerequisite(s): ENGPHYS 3F03 or MATLS 3Q03; and registration in the Faculty of Engineering or the Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences (IBEHS) program.

Current developments and specialized aspects of engineering physics. This course may be taken for repetitive credit.

This course introduces group III-V semiconductor materials, heterostructures and devices including HBTs, HEMTs, laser diodes, photodiodes, and multi-junction solar cells.

Reactor kinetics: point kinetics model; modal model for space-time kinetics; reactivity feedback mechanisms; reactor transfer functions; the in hour equation; reactor stability; Xenon stability; bulk and spatial power control; load following; control systems for CANDU and LWR reactors.

Safety design and analysis of nuclear reactors based on deterministic and probabilistic assessments. Topics include: concepts of risk; probability tools and techniques; safety criteria; design basis accidents; risk assessment; safety analysis; safety system design; and general policy and principles.

Advanced topics of current interest in the area of fission and fusion nuclear reactor primary heat transport system, system safety and the transitional operations.

The course covers two-fluid phase modeling of thermal-hydraulic phenomena in the reactor heat transport system including modeling and simulation of postulated accidents, simulation methodology and tools, and development and qualification of selected thermal-hydraulics computer codes, including two-fluid modeling, nodalization schemes and numerical methods, computer code development, CATHENA computer code theory and numerical algorithm. This is a simulation-based course; it includes CATHENA training. Assignments include analytical problems, CATHENA code simulation and analysis, and preparing a CATHENA model and report.

An introductory course that will provide the fundamentals from many disciplines relevant to the understanding and application of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Design topics will include mechanical and biofluidic principles with an emphasis on analytical techniques. Equivalent circuits for MEMS devices, noise analysis, and nonlinear phenomena will be discussed. Fabrication methods will cover bulk and surface micromachining techniques that rely heavily on VLSI processing. Process integration with existing device platforms and materials properties related to MEMS design and fabrication will be discussed. Numerous applications of MEMS technology to problems in science, engineering, and medicine will be presented and analysed.

This course will explore the physics and technology under-pinning the global semiconductor fabrication industry. The design of processes for nano-, micro- and opto-electronic devices will be covered with description of the fundamental models describing diffusion, ion implantation, polymer processing, thin film deposition and thin film growth. Students will be required to develop models from first principal, as well as design novel process strategies using the industrial compatible software ‘Athena.’ Emphasis on industrial practice will be made with description of six-sigma process development.

An introduction to steady-state theories of laser oscillators and amplifiers, spectroscopy of laser media, population inversion mechanism in gaseous and solid-state systems.Characterization of pulsing laser systems.

An examination of the theory of operation, manufacture, and application of semiconductor diode lasers. Emphasis will be on InGaAsP diode lasers and the application of these devices in optical communication systems.

Optoelectronic devices and the physics that governs their operation: the electro-optic, acousto-optic, and photo-elastic effects; optics in semiconductors: free carrier effects, heterojunctions, quantum wells, electro-absorption; guided wave optics; optical modulators; photonic switching and optical interconnects; Fourier optics.

This course is to provide an in-depth understanding of the physics behind nuclear reactors and the techniques to analyse the neutronic behaviour of a reactor. The emphasis will be on CANDU reactors.

Fundamental theory of radiation will be introduced and described in quantum terms. The theory will be applied to practical Solid State emitters with emphasis on point defects and visible wavelength emission and the technologically important materials in light emitting diodes, powder phosphors and electroluminescent thin films will be discussed.

Thin film growth and deposition including thermal evaporation, e-beam evaporation, sputtering, chemical vapour deposition and molecular beam epitaxy; thermodynamics and kinetics of film growth.

Characterization techniques of organic and inorganic thin films, including x-ray and electron diffraction, electron microscopy, chemical analysis, ion beam analysis, and optical and electrical characterization methods.

This course gives an introduction to the basic principles of nonlinear optics, which is useful in understanding the nonlinear optical effects involved in many modern photonic components and devices. It mainly includes a project and an oral examination.

This course covers power reactor fuel design, performance, and safety aspects, and complements existing courses on reactor core design, thermohydraulics and reactor safety design. It includes fissile and fertile fuels; burn-up effects; fuel production (as well as uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent fuel); quality assurance and CANDU fuel technical specifications; thermal conductivity; fuel chemistry; fuel restructuring and grain growth; fission product behaviour; fuel defect detection and location; fuel performance in operation; and fuel / fuel channel behaviour in design basis and severe accidents.