DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING
The Ohio State University
Course Syllabus
ECE 3030
Semiconductor Electronic Devices
Spring 2014
Prerequisite: Physics 1261, 1251, or 133 and Chem 1250 or 121, and enrollment in ECE, MSE, or
EngPhysics major. Prereq or concur: Math 2415 (415) or permission of the instructor.
Objectives:
To understand the fundamentals of material structure, quantum mechanics, the electronic
properties of semiconductors, the fundamentals of semiconductor device operation and
their physical limits, and the principles of new devices as technologies develop.
Text:
Semiconductor Physics and Devices: Basic Principles, 4th Edition, Donald A. Neaman,
McGraw Hill, 2011 (N) OR Solid State Electronic Devices, 5th or 6th edition, B.G.
Streetman and S. Banerjee, Prentice Hall, 2006 (SB) ($29.96 Paperback with textbook
binding) (preferred)
Instructor:
Prof. Leonard J. Brillson
Class:
11:30 am -12:25 pm, MWF, Scott E125, LEC 7889
Office:
387 Caldwell Laboratory
E-Mail:
Brillson.1@osu.edu
Telephone:
292-8015
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. or by appointment
Grading:
Midterm Exam 1:
Midterm Exam 2:
Homework:
Final Exam:
25%
25%
15%
35%
Examination & Homework Rules and Conditions: All exams and computer problem are conducted
under the ECE Honor System. This applies to all students enrolled in ECE courses, and academic
misconduct will be reported. Copies of the ECE Honor System are available in the ECE Main Office,
205 Dreese Lab. See also http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/csc/ (downloaded 8/20/2012)
There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. All midterm and final exams are closed book and
notes. I will supply a sheet of necessary equations and constants for each exam. You may bring a
calculator and one double-sided sheet of 8.5x11” notes for each midterm (plus two for the Final Exam).
Midterm exam solutions will be provided the following week. Practice problems will be posted near
midterm exams with the solutions available prior to the “review” scheduled during the lecture before the
exam. Class notes are the primary basis for the Midterm and Final Exam questions. You are encouraged
to obtain copies of notes from your classmates for lectures you may miss.
Students are required to sign an affidavit on the exam testifying that there was “no assistance given,
received or observed.” Any student observing another student being given assistance or taking
assistance of any type (except questions asked to the instructor) during the examination is obligated to
report the incident to the instructor. During the exam, no devices are permitted that facilitate
communication with another party (for example, cell phones or other wireless electronic communication
devices included laptop computers). Students may not leave the exam room without permission of the
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instructor (who will be present in the room) and while out of the exam room, no student may discuss any
part of the examination with another party (except the instructor) either in person or through an
electronic communication means. Students will only be allowed to take make-up exams either by prearrangement or with a written record of a visit to a medical practitioner or documentation of a death in
the family. Otherwise, no credit will be given. The final exam will be held during the time and date
assigned by the Registrar.
Exams will usually require the full exam time. They will be designed to show an understanding of the
principles covered in the course. To obtain maximum credit: (1) budget your time so that you attempt
every problem; (2) write down as much as possible. Even if you don’t know an answer, make an
educated guess and explain why; (3) show as much work as possible to gain partial credit. The right
answer without the method it was obtained is worth little credit. The wrong answer without a solution
method shown is worth no credit.
Special Exams: Students with special exam requirements approved by the Office of Disability Services
should notify Prof. Brillson by the 2nd Friday of the quarter.
Grading: Student grades are not based on the grades of others in the class. Rather they depend on the
student’s ability to demonstrate an understanding of the material and to use the principles learned to
think creatively and critically. Homework, exams, and discussion can all contribute to the aggregate
grade.
Homework will generally be assigned and posted on the ECE 3030 Carmen website to be due in class or
at 5:00 pm on the day indicated at 387 Caldwell Lab. Homework solutions will be provided shortly
thereafter. NO LATE HOMEWORKS WILL BE GRADED. Show as much work as possible so that
graders can understand your solution methods. Maximum credit is obtained when the method of solution
is shown even if the final numerical answer is not correct. The more work you show, the easier graders
can determine if only simple algebra errors versus concept errors are involved. The right solution method
but with minor algebraic errors is worth almost full credit. The overall homework grade averages all
but the lowest homework grade. You are encouraged to work with your classmates on the homework
assignments.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week
1
Jan.6
2
Jan.13
Topic
Overview and motivation: Atomic models and classes of
materials; Bonding, crystal structure, crystallographic directions
and planes, Miller indices; Diamond lattice structure, (1+2)
Reading
N: Chapter 1 or
SB: Chapter 1.11.2
N: Chapter 1 or
Electronic materials synthesis, phase diagrams, defects and
impurities, dislocations, interface defects, atomic diffusion, SB: Chapter 1.3 1.4.3, 2.4
activation energies (2), Principles of Quantum Mechanics (1)
Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 20, 2014: No class
3
Jan.22
4
Principles of Quantum Mechanics, wave particle duality,
uncertainty principle, step potential, tunneling, particle in a box,
wave equation applied to atoms (2)
N: Chapter 2 or
SB:
Chapter
2.4.2 -2.5.2
Band Structures: Electrons in periodic atomic potentials, k-space,
N: Chapter 3 or
SB: Chapter 3
2
Jan. 27 electrical conduction, electrons and holes, effective mass, GaAs
and Si band structures (3)
5
Feb. 3
Semiconductor statistics and charge carrier properties: Density of
states, Fermi-Dirac statistics, Fermi level, intrinsic carrier
concentration, dopants and extrinsic semiconductors, electron and
hole concentration, Fermi level position (3 + 1)
N: Chapter 4 or
SB: Chapter 3,
4.1-4.3
Midterm 1: Friday, February 7, 2014
6
Excess carriers and transport: Drift current, mobility, conductivity,
Feb. 10 resistivity, Hall effect, carrier generation and recombination,
optical absorption, luminescence, lifetime; Carrier diffusion, drift,
continuity (3)
N: Chapter 5,6 or
SB: 4.4, 5.1-5.2
7
Physics of P-N junctions: equilibrium, forward and reverse bias,
Feb. 17 built-in voltage, band diagrams, space charge, electron and hole
distributions, current flow, capacitance, reverse bias breakdown,
“real” junctions (3)
N: Chapter 7 or
SB: 5.2 - 5.6
8
Metal-semiconductor contacts: Ohmic contacts and Schottky
Feb. 24 barriers, P-N junction diodes: rectifiers, varactors, tunnel diodes
(3)
N: Chapter 8,9 or
SB: 5.4-5.8, 10.1
9
N: Chapter 10 or
SB:6.2-6.3,
6.4.1 -6.4.6
March 3
Field effect transistor (regular and HEMT): JFETs, MESFETs,
HEMTs, MOS capacitor, MOSFETS, Energy band diagrams,
depletion layer thickness, work function differences, flat band,
threshold voltage (3)
Midterm 2: Wednesday, March 5, 2014
March 10
Spring Break: March 10-14, 2014
10
Field effect transistor (regular and HEMT): JFETs, MESFETs,
March 17 HEMTs, MOS capacitor, MOSFETS, Energy band diagrams,
depletion layer thickness, work function differences, flat band,
threshold voltage (3)
11
Capacitance-voltage characteristics, frequency effects, fixed oxide
March 24 and interface charge effects, basic MOSFET operation (2), Nonideal effects; Bipolar junction transistors (1)
N:Chapter 10,13
or
SB:6.2-6.3,
6.4.1 -6.4.6
N:Chapter 10,11
or
SB:6.2-6.3,
6.4.1 -6.4.6
Bipolar junction transistor (regular and hetero): Minority carrier
March 31 and current profiles, modes of operation, non-ideal (3)
N: Chapter 12 or
SB: 6.1,7.1,7.2
13
N: Chapter 12 or
SB:
7.4-7.7.5,
7.8.2-7
N: Chapter 14 or
SB: 8.1.1-8.1.3,
8.2-8.4
12
Bipolar junction transistor: non-ideal Ebers-Moll Model,
April 7 switching, non-ideal effects, heterojunction bipolar transistors (3)
14
April 14
Optoelectronic devices: photodetectors, solar cells , LEDs, laser
diodes Nanoscale devices (2)
3
April 21
Last Day of Regularly Scheduled Class: Review (1)
FINAL EXAMINATION: April 23 – 29, 2014
Academic Misconduct Statement: It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct
to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic
misconduct. The term “academic misconduct” includes all forms of student academic misconduct
wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in
connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to
the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student
Conduct.
Disability Services: Students with disabilities that have been certified by the Office for Disability
Services will be appropriately accommodated and should inform the instructor as soon as possible of
their needs. The Office for Disability Services is located in 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue;
telephone 292-3307, TDD 292-0901.
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