Department of Solid State Physics

In 1919 Prof. Jan Stock, a specialist in hydrodynamics and electroosmosis, organized the first Department of Physics in the Mining Academy, which was led by him until his death in 1925. According to the decision of the Main Meeting of Professors of the Mining Academy in 1922, the Physics Department was allocated to the Faculty of Metallurgy. After Prof. Stock’s passing away the heading of Physics Department was taken over by Prof. Mieczysław Jeżewski who introduced new research subjects i.e. dielectric properties of solids, liquid crystals and radiotechnique. After the Second World War his research interest was augmented with magnetism. Among the achievements of this period the most important one was the patent of a setup for magnetic studies of defects in steel ropes magnetized alongside, that Prof. Jeżewski elaborated together with Zygmunt Kawecki and Ludger Szklarski.

In 1952 already in the AGH University of Science and Technology new Faculty of Electrical Engineering was brought into existence. The Physics Department with two divisions: Technical Physics and General Physics, was placed on this Faculty. Prof. Jeżewski was the head of the Department and the Division of Technical Physics. In 1957 the Department of Physics together with the Division of Technical Physics was renamed to the Department of Physics I and moved to the Faculty of Metallurgy. Simultaneously, two new research divisions were founded: the Division of Dielectrics and Semiconductors (led by Prof. Tadeusz Piech) and the Division of Magnetism (led by Prof. Ludwik Kozłowski).

In 1960 Prof. Jeżewski retired and the Division of Technical Physics was dissolved. Prof. Ludwik Kozłowski, a specialist in physics of magnetism took over the leadership of the Department of Physics I. In 1964 in the Division of Dielectrics and Semiconductors, Mieczysław Jachimowski and Edward Leja constructed first vacuum systems and have introduced vacuum technologies for production of thin metallic films. In 1970 the Department of Physics I was renamed to the Department of Solid State Physics and Prof. Ludwik Kozłowski stayed at the Chair of the Department. In 1971 he left this position because of health problems. For the next year his follower was Prof. Tadeusz Piech.

Since 1971 the Department of Solid State Physics has had its own students of Solid State Physics specialization opened at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

After Prof. Piech’s retirement (1972) Prof. Stanisław Gorczyca was administratively in charge of the Department. At that time Karol Krop, Józef Korecki and Jan Żukrowski were introducing Mossbauer Spectroscopy there. The Department of Solid State Physics was the second scientific center (after Jagiellonian University) in Poland to have this unique at that time experimental technique. Simultaneously, Andrzej and Lidia Maksymowicz were advancing research on magnetic thin films. In 1974 Prof. Karol Krop was appointed to be the head of the Department of Solid State Physics. In 1978 Dr. Henryk Figiel had introduced NMR Spectroscopy. At the beginning of 80-thies Dr. Andrzej Kołodziejczyk started his research on coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity. At the end of 80-thies Dr. Józef Korecki started construction of ultrahigh vacuum system to study magnetic properties of ultrathin, epitaxial iron films in situ by means of Conversion Electron Mossbauer Spectroscopy.

In 1991 at the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques was founded. On September 1th 1991 the Department of Solid State Physics became part of it. Prof. Henryk Figiel was appointed as the head of the Department and kept this position until 1999.

The period of 90-ties was a time of further development of the experimental facilities. New research topics emerged and became the leading subjects of our present activity. They include: surface physics and magnetism of ultrathin film (Prof. Józef Korecki), magnetic and structural properties of R-T intermetallics and their hydrides (Prof. Henryk Figiel), superconducting and magnetic oxides (Prof. Andrzej Kołodziejczyk and Prof. Karol Krop) as well as expanded lattice intermetallics and magnetoresistive oxides studied with synchrotron radiation (Prof. Czesław Kapusta).

Nowadays the experimental base of the Department of Solid State Physics is created by nine laboratories: Mossbauer Spectroscopy, NMR Spectroscopy, EPR Spectroscopy, AC and DC Magnetometry, Surface Physics (in situ CEMS, LEED/AES, MOKE), Low Temperature Specific Heat, XRD, ARUPS and PPMS laboratory.

Students are trained in two student laboratories: Solid State Physics Lab and the Laboratory of Computer Control of Measurements.