GATE 2016 Materials Science (XE-C) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Processing of Materials

Powder synthesis, sintering, chemical methods, crystal growth techniques, zone refining, preparation of nanoparticles and thin films

Section 2: Characterisation Techniques

X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic techniques like UV-vis, IR, Raman. Optical and Electron microscopy

Section 3: Structure and Imperfections

Crystal symmetry, point groups, space groups, indices of planes, close packing in solids, bonding in materials, coordination and radius ratio concepts, point defects, dislocations, grain boundaries, surface energy and equilibrium shapes of crystals

Also Check: GATE 2016 Pattern of Question Paper and Marking Scheme

Section 4: Thermodynamics and Kinetics

Phase rule, phase diagrams, solid solutions, invariant reactions, lever rule, basic heat treatment of metals, solidification and phase transformations, Fick’s laws of diffusion, mechanisms of diffusion, temperature dependence of diffusivity

Section 5: Properties of Materials

Mechanical Properties: Stress-strain response of metallic, ceramic and polymer materials, yield strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, toughness, plastic deformation, fatigue, creep and fracture Electronic Properties:Free electron theory, Fermi energy, density of states, elements of band theory, semiconductors, Hall effect, dielectric behaviour, piezo, ferro, pyroelectricmaterials Magnetic Properties: Origin of magnetism in metallic and ceramic materials, paramagnetism, diamagnetism, ferro and ferrimagnetism Thermal Properties: Specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal expansion, thermoelectricity Optical Properties: Refractive index, absorption and transmission of electromagnetic radiation in solids, electrooptic and magnetoopticmaterials, spontaneous and stimulated emission, gas and solid state lasers

Section 6: Material types

Concept of amorphous, single crystals and polycrystalline materials, crystallinity and its effect on physical properties, metal, ceramic, polymers, classification of polymers, polymerization, structure and properties, additives for polymer products, processing and applications, effect of environment on materials, composites

Section 7: Environmental Degradation

Corrosion, oxidation and prevention

Section 8: Elements of Quantum Mechanics and Mathematics

Basics of quantum mechanics, quantum mechanical treatment of electrical, optical and thermal properties of materials, analytical solid geometry, differentiation and integration, differential equations, vectors and tensors, matrices, Fourier series, complex analysis, probability and statistics