Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Virginia
Course Syllabus - ECE 6163-1
Physics of Semiconductor Devices
Fall 2009
Mon, Wed and Fri 11:00-11:50 AM
MEC 216
Course Description:
This course introduces semiconductor device operation based on energy bands and
carrier statistics. It describes operation of p-n junctions and metal-semiconductor
junctions. It extends this knowledge to descriptions of bipolar and field effect transistors,
and other microelectronic basic devices. This course is intended for graduate students
who plan to study in the area of microelectronics or just have an interest in that area.
This course emphasizes the fundamentals of materials and device operation. It is
expected that the students taking this course will include EE and non-EE majors. The
EE students have likely had an undergraduate course in solid-state devices whereas the
non-majors should have some background in fundamentals of mechanics, electricity and
magnetism and perhaps quantum mechanics.
In this course, we will study
semiconductor devices from a fundamental point of view emphasizing a thorough
understanding of the mechanisms of device operation. It is expected that students who
successfully complete the course will have an understanding of basic semiconductor
devices sufficient to design transistors and diodes to particular specifications. While the
course will provide a ‘top-down’ view of traditional electronic devices, it should serve as
a suitable lead-in to more advanced courses such as ECE687 (Fundamentals of
Nanoelectronics), which provides a ‘bottom-up’ view of current and future devices.
Prerequisite:
Undergraduate introduction to solid-state devices or electronic materials or some
background in classical mechanics, E&M, QM + Motivation.
Textbooks:
"Semiconductor Device Fundamentals" by R.F. Pierret
Other Reference Material:
“Fundamentals of Semiconductor Devices”, Anderson and Anderson (2005)
“Principles of Semiconductor Devices” by Sima Dimitrijev (2006)
“Complete Guide to Semiconductor Devices”2nd Ed., K.K. Ng (2003)
“Introduction to Quantum Mechanics”, D.J. Griffiths(1995)
“Solid State Electronic Devices”, B.G. Streetman: (1995)
“Semiconductor Devices: Physics and Technology”, S.M. Sze (2002)
“Modern Semiconductor Device Physics”, edited by Sze (1998)
“Operation and Modeling of the MOS Transistor”, Y. Tsividis (1999)
“Devices for Integrated Circuits”, H.C. Casey, (1995)
Classes:
The lecture notes will be generally posted in advance on the class website. You may
want to print them out and bring them to class. In that way, you can make notes on the
important points without having to reproduce all of the figures/diagrams.
You are
expected to attend class and participate in discussions and problem solving.
Instructor:
Prof. Avik Ghosh. My office is in Thornton Hall, Room E315. You are welcome to stop
by my office at any time. You may want to e-mail ahead to be sure that I am in my
office. I can also answer many questions via e-mail. My address is ag7rq@virginia.edu.
WWW:
The class web page is http://people.virginia.edu/~ag7rq/663/Fall09/courseweb.html.
There you will find the syllabus, homework assignments and solutions, and other
materials for the class.
Homework:
Homework will be assigned nearly every week, and will be due about one week later, in
class. Late homework will not be accepted. However, the lowest homework grade will
be dropped. Homework assignments and solutions will be posted on the class website.
You will be expected to use Mathcad, Matlab, or similar programs to complete some of
the homework problems and exam questions. I strongly encourage you to work together
in small groups to discuss or solve home problems as teams BUT when you write it
down, do so alone (i.e. what I see should come from your head alone). We will have inclass homework solution discussions where you can earn valuable brownie points. You
should check the class website for homework assignment postings. Solutions will also
be posted on the class website after the assignments are turned in.
Grading:
There will be three tests given. Each of the tests will be open-book/take-home. Your
final grade will be based on your test scores and homework. The approximate weighting
will be as follows: Exam 1 ~15%, Exam 2 ~25%, Exam 3 ~35%, Homework ~25%.
Class Topics:
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Crystals and Semiconductor Materials
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (QM101)
Application to Semiconductor Crystals – Energy Bands
Carriers and Statistics
Recombination-Generation Processes
Carrier Transport Mechanisms
P-N Junctions
Non-Ideal Diodes
Metal-Semiconductor Contacts – Schottky Diodes
Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Transistor (MOSFET)
Photonic Devices
MOSFET Operation and Scaling
Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT)
Course Objectives:
The general goal of this course is to allow the students to understand the fundamentals
of semiconductor behavior and the operation of basic semiconductor devices. By the
end of the course, the students will be able to design diodes and transistors to a given
set of specifications. Additionally, this course lays the foundations for the understanding
of a vast array of other more advanced semiconductor devices such as those covered in
more advanced courses.