PHYS 524 Fall 2025
PHYS 524 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Topics covered
Unit 1: Integrated development environments (3.5 weeks)
- 1a. Arduino C++ programming environment (1 week);
• A C++ and Python Primer/Refresher from Physics 398DLP. - 1b. Anaconda Scientific Python (1 week).
- 1c. KiCAD printed circuit board layout facility (1 week)
- 1d. Project management (0.5 week)
Unit 2: Inter-device communication protocols and oscilloscope techniques (1 week)
- 2. I2C, SPI, the oscilloscope .
- Simple circuit to drive an I2C BME680 and an SPI BME680 from an Arduino MEGA 2560
- Sample code to run the circuit in the schematic
- Manual for the UTD2102CEX+ oscilloscope
- SparkFun tutorial: Serial Communication
- SparkFun tutorial: I2C
- SparkFun tutorial: Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)
Unit 3: Microcontroller-interfaced sensors (4 weeks)
- 3a. Motion: acceleration, rotation, orientation (0.5 weeks);
- 3b. Proximity (0.5 weeks);
- 3c. Thermometry (0.5 weeks);
- 3d. Voltage (0.5 weeks);
- Atmel SAMD21 data sheet (section 32 is about the ADC)
- 3e. Gas and atmospheric properties: alcohol, methane, humidity, barometric pressure, volatile organics, airborne particulates (0.5 weeks)
- 3f. IR, visible, and UV illumination (0.5 weeks)
- 3g. Sound and acoustics (1 week).
Unit 4: Rapid prototyping and PCB construction (1 week)
- 4a. 3D structure modeling: TinkerCad, Cura (0.5 weeks);
- 4b. Soldering and PCB assembly (0.5 weeks).
Unit 5: Cooling and thermal management (2 weeks)
- 5.1 Some thermal regulation concepts devices and heat exchangers;
- 5.2 Monophase liquid cooling (specific heat capacity) and conduction of heat into a fluid;
- 5.3. Phase change cooling and the concept of latent heat: solid-liquid and liquid - vapor;
- 5.4. Thermodynamic cycles and the pressure-enthalpy diagram;
- 5.5 Heat pipes and Peltier devices as heat extractors;
- 5.6 Isenthalpic Joule-Thompson cooling and the vortex tube;
- 5.7 Examples from the cooling of silicon pixel and microstrip detectors in particle physics (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb);
The advance of microchannel cooling;
SWOT analysis: Global warming aspects of radiation resistant refrigerants, 'fantasy(?) fluids', restrictions, opportunities? - Cooling and thermal management notes
- Problem set
- Lecture Slides
- Lecture 1: powerpoint, pdf
- Lecture 2: powerpoint, pdf
- Lecture 3: powerpoint, pdf
- Lecture 4: powerpoint, pdf
- Lab Activities:
Unit 6: Modeling (2.5 weeks)
- 6a. Static structures and finite element analysis (1 week);
- Annotated lecture notes
- Abaqus tutorials: 2D Plane Stress, 3D Elasticity, 2d geom.cae
- 6b. Vibration analysis (0.5 weeks);
- Abaqus tutorial: Modal Analysis
- 6c. Monte Carlo techniques (1 week).