ELEN 261 FUNDAMENTALS OF SEMICONDUCTOR PHYSICS
Instructor: Toshishige Yamada, Ph.D. (EE)
Email: tyamada@mail.arc.nasa.gov, phone: 650-604-4333
Text: R. F. Pierret, Advanced Semiconductor Fundamentals, 2nd ed., Modern Series on Solid State Devices VI
(Prentice, Englewood Cliffs, 2003).
Refs: 1S. M. Sze , Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2 nd ed. (Wiley, New York, 1981).
2
C. M. Wolfe, N. Holonyak, and G. E. Stillman, Physical Properties of Semiconductors (Prentice,
Englewood Cliffs, 1989).
3
R. S. Muller, T. I. Kamins, and M. Chan, Device Electronics for Integrated Circuits, 3rd ed. (Wiley, New
York, 2002).
4
W. Shockley, Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors, (Van Nostrand, Toronto, 1950).
Tentative schedule
6/20
Basic Semiconductor Properties:
Crystal structures, Miller indices, wafer specifications
Chap. 1
6/22
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics:
Schroedinger equation, electrons in a 1D box
Sec. 2.1-2.3
6/27
Solutions of the Wave Equation
Electrons in a periodic potential, Bloch theorem
Sec. 2.3, Sec. 3.1
6/29
Energy Bands in Solids:
Brillouin zone, E-k diagram, bandgap, effective mass
Sec. 3.2, 3.3
7/4
Independence Day: No Class
7/6
Carrier Statistics:
Density of states, Fermi function, donors/acceptors
7/11
*** MIDTERM EXAM ***
7/13
Carrier Statistics (continued)
Equilibrium carrier concentration, quasi-Fermi energy
Sec. 4.4, 4.5
6.3.1
7/18
Recombination/Generation
RG statistics, Shockley-Read-Hall equation
Sec. 5.1, 5.2, 5.4
7/20
Carrier Transport
Drift, diffusion, recombination/generation
Chap. 6
7/24 or 25
*** FINAL EXAM ***
Grading: Homework: 20 %, Midterm: 30-40 %, Final: 40-50 %.
Exams: no textbook, one formula sheet format.
(Tentative) office hours: right after the class.
Sec. 4.1-4.3