ENEE313: Introduction to Device Physics

Credits: 3

Description

Prerequisite: Minimum grade of C- in ENEE205; and permission of ENGR-Electrical & Computer Engineering department.
Restriction: Must be in one of the following programs (Engineering: Electrical; Engineering: Computer).
Basic physics of devices including fields in solids, crystal structure, properties of electrons and holes. Current flow in Si using drift-diffusion model. Properties of the pn junction. Properties of devices including BJTs, FETs and their physical characteristics.

Semesters Offered

Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Summer 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Summer 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025
Testudo

Learning Objectives

  • Understand crystal properties, quantum mechanical aspects, and energy bands in semiconductor materials
  • Understand transport of charged mobile carriers in semiconductors (excess carriers, drift-diffusion)
  • Understand the formation of a p-n junction diode (built-in potential, electric field, charge transport). Understand the operation of the BJT
  • Understand the formation of a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor interface in terms of energy band, Fermi levels, and charge redistribution), and apply to a three terminal device such as the MOSFET and the operational characteristics of this device
  • Understand the interaction of photons and semiconductors in terms of electron-hole pair generation and the results of such interaction in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells, photodetectors, light emitting and laser diodes

Topics Covered

  • Crystal Properties of semiconductor materials
  • Quantum Mechanical aspects of crystalline solids, quantum wells, tunneling
  • The concept of energy bands in semiconductors (conduction and valence bands, Fermi-Dirac distribution function for electrons and holes, density of energy states, effective mass of electrons and holes in side a crystal potential distribution, mobility, transport, current)
  • Charged mobile carriers in semiconductors (excess carriers, optical absorption, generation and recombination, steady-state, quasi Fermi levels, drift, diffusion-recombination and the continuity equation)
  • P-N Junction Diodes (built-in potential, depletion region, internal-external electric fields, currents under forward and reverse bias. Capacitance and Current-voltage characteristics. Schottky diodes. Tunnel diodes, Zener diodes, avalanche breakdown, deviations from ideal transport, ideality factor, recombination-generation in the depletion region, high injection, series resistance)
  • MOSFETs. MOS capacitor energy band, accumulation, depletion, inversion, flat band voltage, threshold voltage. MOSFET operation, currents, and transfer characteristics
  • Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs). Principle of operation, transistor parameters, currents, Early effect (base width modulation), breakdown, base resistance, capacitances and high frequency operation
  • Optoelectronic Devices. Solar cell principle of operation, photoconductor-photodetector operation and design. Principle of LED operation. Lasers: fundamental principles of light amplification in a solid state device. Resonant cavities, and diode design for population inversion

[3] Credit only granted for: ENEE312 or ENEE313.