Optical Spectroscopy Techniques for Materials Science

This course covers various spectroscopic methods for understanding fundamental properties and processes in materials, as well as different types of interactions between light and matter. The course starts with atoms and molecules and how they shape solid materials. Several different spectroscopic methods, both in terms of absorption and emission, are studied experimentally and theoretically. The methods studied include time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, among others. Emphasis lies on the processes and phenomena that can be observed in materials when they interact with light, and the time scales of such processes. Examples of processes that are treated are excitons, plasmons, and magnons, how they can be observed, studied, and what they can teach us about the electronic properties of materials. These types of quasiparticles also have great importance in various applications, such as solar cells, biosensors, lasers, magnetic storage, photochemistry and light-emitting diodes. The course introduces theoretical aspects that are relevant for understanding the interaction between light and matter, as well as theories and methods relevant to the specific spectroscopic techniques.