ECE 4339: Physical Principles of Solid State Devices
Syllabus – Fall 2003
Section 02162: MW 5:30PM – 7:00PM, Room: 102-D (Engineering Building 1)
Instructor: Dr. Dmitri Litvinov
Office: N329-D;
Phone: 713-743-4168; Fax: 713-743-4444
E-mail: dlitvinov@uh.edu
Office Hours: MW 3:30-5PM; TTH 10AM-11:30AM, or by appointment
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Physical Principles of Solid State Devices Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: ECE 3455, 3317 and credit
for or concurrent enrollment in ECE 4119. Electronics, modern physics, and electromagnetism
used to develop fundamental understanding of bipolar, Schottky, and MOS solid state device
operation.
ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY:
Students in this course are expected to follow the Academic Honesty Policy of the University of
Houston. It is your responsibility to know and follow this policy. You must sign the Academic
Honesty Statement on the last page of this handout, detach it, and submit it by Wednesday,
September 3, 2003. If you fail to do this, you may be dropped from the course.
RELIGIOUS HOLY DAYS:
Students whose religious beliefs prohibit class attendance or the completion of specific
assignments on designated dates may request an excused absence. To do this, you must request
the excused absence, in writing, by September 9, 2003, which is the 15th calendar day of the
semester. Please submit this written request to your instructor immediately, to allow the
instructor to make appropriate arrangements. Students who fail to submit a written request will
not be given an excused absence due to religious reasons. For more information, see the Student
Handbook.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Students with recognized disabilities will be provided reasonable accommodations, appropriate
to the course, upon documentation of the disability with a Student Accommodation Form from
the Center for Students With Disabilities. To receive these accommodations, you must request
the specific accommodations, by submitting them to the instructor in writing, by September 9,
2003, which is the 15th calendar day of the semester. Students who fail to submit a written
request will not be considered for accommodations. For more information, see the Student
Handbook.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY:
The withdrawal dates listed in the Academic Calendar section of the Class Schedule will be
followed strictly. Please consult this document for appropriate dates. Grades of Incomplete (I)
will be given only when a small portion of the course has not been completed for a good reason.
If the material has been completed, an “I” grade cannot be given.
ECE 4339 – Fall 2003
EXPECTED COURSE OUTCOMES:
Students who successfully complete this course are expected to meet the following course
outcomes:
 Students will add to their knowledge-base in the area of solid state device physics as it relates
to fundamental understanding of bipolar, Schottky, and MOS solid state device operation.
 Students will be able to perform calculations related to material properties of semiconductors
and to parameters of electronic devices.
 Students will improve their abilities in problem solving. They will be able to interpret
operation of semiconductor devices based on physical effects.
 Students will be exposed to selected integrated circuit (IC) fabrication technologies as needed
to understand device properties.
 Student will become sufficiently proficient with semiconductor and device physics to
understand more advanced literature on these subjects, and be prepared for further study.
COURSE TOPICS:
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Introduction to Semiconductor Physics
Current Carriers and their transport
P-N junction devices
Schottky diodes and metal-semiconductor contacts
Bipolar transistors
Field effect devices
Textbook: Robert F. Pierret, Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, Prentice Hall, 1996
ISBN 0-201-54393-1.
GRADING:
There will be assigned homework, one mid-term exam, and a final exam. An in-class quiz may
be given during any class period. There will be no make-up of missed in-class quizzes. Course
grades will be calculated with the following approximately weights.
Final Exam: 35%
Midterm: 30%
Quizzes: 15%
Homework: 20%
An estimate of your letter grade based on your final semester average, as calculated by the
formula above, is given below. This schedule is only an indication of your probable letter grade;
actual grades will differ somewhat from one semester to another. The letter grade indicated
below is the minimum grade that you will receive for a given numerical average.
92 - 100: A
76 - 92: B
66 - 76: C
52 - 66: D
< 52: F
EMAIL: You should have one or more working e-mail addresses, which you should check
periodically for messages. Please obtain an account if you do not already have one. In order to
get onto the distribution list please join through the campus Listserv, joining the list called
ECE4339FALL2003. Visit http://www.uh.edu/infotech/news/story.php?story_id=490 for
information on how to subscribe to the mailing list.
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ECE 4339 – Fall 2003
Academic Honesty Statement
I have read the University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy
on pages 8 through 11 of the UH Student Handbook. I agree to
abide by the provisions of this policy.
Name: (Please print) _________________________________
Signature: _________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________
Please detach this page, and submit it to the instructor by
Wednesday, September 3, 2003. If you fail to do this, you may
be dropped from the course.
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