Exploring the Frontiers of Physics at SSN
The Department of Physics, established in 1996, caters to the basic foundation course, Engineering Physics, a baseline for any engineering stream. The department has a well-established undergraduate laboratory that can accommodate sixty students at a time. This lab is supported by virtual lab videos to aid the students coming from different educational streams and social strata.
The department has ten highly qualified and dedicated faculty members with specialization in various disciplines of Physics. As a result, the department enjoys the privilege of being one of the leading research departments in the Institution. It has been duly recognized as a Research Centre by Anna University, Chennai, for conducting Ph.D. programs. Faculty members have served as resource persons in conferences, workshops and faculty development programs, as external examiners for PhD defence of institutions within Anna University and also at other Universities and National institutions. Some of them serve as Board of Study Members for other autonomous institutions under Anna University and are reviewers for reputed journals.
Advancing Research, Specialized Labs and Interdisciplinary Centers in Physics
The physics department has created and continues to create, research labs in different areas to accommodate the evolving research requirements of its faculty and PhD students. In this context, the department established a Center for Crystal Growth in 2005 and an Optical Research and Networks lab, (An Interdisciplinary Research Lab in collaboration with the Dept of ECE) in 2006 for conducting active research.
In addition, another interdisciplinary centre, the SSN National MEMS Design Centre (NMDC) was established in January 2010 under the National Program on Micro and Smart Systems (NPMASS) sponsored by the Govt. of India. Ceramics lab, Radiation Research facility, Luminescence Lab, Sonic bandgap and metamaterials Lab, Thin Film Lab, Polymer Lab Water Analysis lab and Centre for Radiation, Environmental Science and Technology are some of the new labs/research centres initiated by the faculty of Physics department.
Pioneering Research, Funded Projects Driving Innovation in Physics
The faculty of the department has completed over 12 sponsored research projects totaling 2.67 crores of INR and is currently pursuing projects worth 5.68 crores of INR. These projects have been sponsored by government funding agencies like DST, DRDO, NRB, CSIR, AICTE and BRNS.
The faculty has also received internal funding to the tune of INR 31.25 lakhs from SSN Trust.
Inspiring Young Minds, Outreach, Research and Global Engagement in Physics
From 2012 onwards, the Physics department has been conducting DST sponsored Outreach Program, the INSPIRE Science Camp for XI and XII standard school students of the Kanchipuram/Chennai area. The faculty of the department also supports SSN’s flagship program for promoting and instilling research culture among the incoming undergraduates, the Internally Funded UG Student Projects, by mentoring first-year UG students.
The faculty members of the department visit various national and international laboratories frequently to update and enhance their knowledge to serve the social and student community.
Infrastructure
- Ultrasonic Interferometers
- Young’s modulus of beams -by uniform bending
- Young’s modulus of beams by non-uniform bending
- Torsion Pendulum apparatus
- Viscosity measurement set-up using Poiseillus method
- Lees Disc apparatus
- Thermo Emf measurement system–Potentiometer based
- Carey-Foster’s Bridge
- Melde’s String apparatus
- Optical Fiber –NA measurement system
- Biot-Savart law apparatus
- Air- Wedge Experimental set-up
- Bandgap determination set-up
- Spectrometers
- Travelling Microscopes
- Laser diodes (650 nm)
- Gratings, Prisms, Lenses
- Mercury vapor lamps
- Sodium Vapor lamps
- Vernier Calipers (Manual)
- Vernier Caliper (Digital)
- Screw Gauges (Manual)
- Screw gauge (Digital)
- Racer timers
- Electronic balance
- Solution Growth facilities : (Funded by DAE-BRNS & CSIR)
- Constant Temperature water bath with cryostat facility (2 Nos) (Subzero)
- Constant Temperature water bath – ambient to 90 Deg. (5 Nos) (Subzero)
- Condenser (Glass -for Refluxing)
- Vacuum desiccators
- Digital weighing balance (Accuracy 0.01g) (BRNS)
- Digital weighing balance (Accuracy 0.001g) (CSIR)
- Melt growth facilities (Funded by SERB)
- Bridgeman facility (for synthesis and Growth)
- Czochralski facility
- SouthBay Crystal Cutting Machine (Low speed Diamond Wheel Cutter) (BRNS)
- Yokagawa Optical Spectrum Analyser(600-1700nm) (SSN Trust)
- Newport Manual Grating Monochromator (Grating optimized for 1500-1600nm )
- Thor Labs Broadband Fiber coupled Laser source (1490-1650nm)
- Thor labs-Fiber coupled Tunable Laser source (1530nm-1650nm) (AICTE funding)
- LiNb external modulator (Thor Labs)
- Optical breadboards and Michelson Interferometer set-up (SSN Trust)
- Laser diode (530nm)
- 3 axis nanopositioner (Thor Labs)
- Single mode fibers and solid core photonic crystal fibers
- Probe station with camera (DST Funding)
- SOI wafers, SiN targets
- Microlens for fiber-to-chip coupling
- Multi-beam laser interference set-up
- Fixed Si-Air PBG optical filters
- Electrostatically tuned MEMS-based Optical Add drop filters
- Electrostatically tuned MEMS-based Mini Optical Spectrum Analyser
- Electrothermal actuators
- Si waveguide with Si-EO PBG resonator and Glass –EO PBG based tunable optical filters
- PCF based optical sensors
- Intellisense MEMS Sofware Suite – 2 licenses (AICTE and MHRD-NPMASS funding)
- COMSOL Multiphysics – 30 user licenses (MHRD-NPMASS funding)
- L-Edit -1 license (MHRD-NPMASS funding)
- Coventorware -1 license (MHRD-NPMASS funding)
- Programmable microprocessor with add-on MEMs navigation and pressure sensor board (SSN-Trust)
- Fixed Si-Air PBG filters
- Electrostatically tuned MEMS-based Optical Add drop filters
- Electrostatically tuned MEMS-based Mini Optical Spectrum Analyser
- Electrothermal actuators
- Electrothermal Actuator based Dual and Quad RF-MEMS switch
- Tubular furnace
- Ultrasonicator
- Magnetic Stirrer with Hot Plate
- Magnetic Stirrer without Hot Plate
- Vacuum oven with the vacuum pump
- Muffle furnace
- Hot air oven
- Centrifuge machine
- Digital weighing balance
- Vacuum desiccators
- Mini-Fridge
- The experimental setup for the unidirectional growth method of Sankaranarayanan-Ramasamy
- Ultrasonic Pulser-Receiver (JSR make) (NRB Funding)
- Broadband transducers (40kHz-150kHz) (NRB Funding)
- Hydrophones (for use upto 200km underwater) (NRB Funding)
- Needle Hydrophones (NRB Funding)
- Tektronix Storage Oscilloscope (NRB Funding)
- Sonic amplifiers
- Helmholtz resonator and membrane-based array-based single and dual negative metamaterials (Indigenous)
- Molybdenum Disilicide heating modules (DRDO Funding)
- Tubular furnaces (DAE-BRNS Funding)
- Bridgman facility (DAE-BRNS Funding)
- Flux growth facility (DRDO Funding)
- Top-seeded solution growth facility (SERB Funding)
- Platinum crucibles (DRDO Funding)
- High Vacuum pumping system (DAE-BRNS Funding)
- LCR Meter Wayne Kerr (DRDO Funding)
- Hydraulic press (CSIR Funding)
- Fume Hood
- Programmable spin coater with a vacuum holder
- Dual heat-source programmable thermal chamber for growth of organic crystalline thin films
- Magnetic stirrers,
- Hot plate
- Electrochemical Wet Etching Set-up for Si Wafers
- SiN target
- Desiccators
- Mini-Fridge
- PEDOT-PSS conducting membranes
- PDMS films
- Electro-optic crystalline and multi-crystalline organic BNA films on glass and Si substrates/patterned surfaces
- UV-Vis Spectrofluorometer with mini heater (up to 210 degree Celsius)
- Quantum efficiency measurement setup for powder phosphors
- Thermoluminescence Emission setup ( FACULTY INTERNAL PROJECT, SSN)
- UV-Vis Reflectance probe ( SSN FUNDING)
- Muffle furnace ( up to 1100 degree Celsius )
- Tubular furnace ( DST-SERB funding, up to 1300 degree Celsius )
- Gamma Ray Spectrometer (BRNS finding)
- Microsurvey Meter (BRNS finding)
- Atomic Emission Spectroscope -1
- P-E loop tracer
- Dielectric measurement facility
- Piezoelectric measurement facility
- Ball mill
- Tubular Furnace
- Hot plate
- Magnetic stirrers,
- Hydraulic press
- Czochralski Crystal Growth facility
- Bridgeman facility (low temperature and high temperature)
- Low temperature solution growth facility
- Water baths (amb. Temp to 96 deg)
- Water bath (4 deg to 96 deg)
- High Temperature solution growth facility
- Crystal puller with translation and rotation facility
- Platinum crucibles
- Ion Chromatograph
- UV spectro photometer
- BOD incubator
- Water purifier (micro level)
- pH meter
- TDS meter
- Tower
- Data acquisition system