ECE 398 KC - Electronic & Photonic Devices

Summer 2009 | Fall 2009 | Spring 2010 | Summer 2010
Web Page http://wiki.engr.uiuc.edu/display/ece398kcsp09/
Official Description Subject offerings of new and developing areas of knowledge in electrical and computer engineering intended to augment the existing curriculum. See Class Schedule or departmental course information for topics and prerequisites. Approved for both letter and S/U grading. May be repeated in the same or separate terms if topics vary.
Hours 0 to 4 hours.
Course Prerequisites Credit in PHYS 214
Credit or concurrent registration in ECE 329
Course Directors Kent D Choquette
Description A first course on semiconductor devices for sophomores and juniors in electrical engineering. The cellular phone and its associated information distribution systems are used to introduce and motivate the study of electronic and photonic devices. Following this introduction, the core concepts of all semiconductor devices – semiconductor carriers, energy bands, and the pn junction diode – will be studied in detail including web-based virtual laboratories. Armed with a solid understanding of the energy band structure and electrical characteristics of the diode, a student can understand the structure and operation of many semiconductor devices important to technologies of the information age. Devices to be examined will include metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors, bipolar transistors, solar cells, light emitting diodes, laser diodes, and photodetectors.
Credit 3 hours
Goals This course is intended to serve as an introduction course for ECE undergraduate students. The first goal of this course for all students, is an understanding of the technical context for modern semiconductor electronic and photonic devices. The second goal for those students who will not pursue a career in the semiconductor area, is to provide a thorough understanding of semiconductor materials and the pn junction, and an introduction to the structure and operation of basic electronic and photonic devices. The third goal for this course, for those students who will pursue a career in the semiconductor area, is to provide the background necessary for advanced courses.
Topics 1.  Introduction         (5 classes)
 Cellular phone: digital camera, processor, & radio transceiver
 History of transistor/laser (connection to UIUC)
 Information networks: cable, optical fiber, microwave, and satellite links
2.  Solids and Energy Bands       (4 classes)
 Silicon & III-V semiconductors
 Bond model for electrons & holes
 Energy bands
3. Carriers         (5 classes)
 Doping & effective mass
 Equilibrium carrier distribution
 Energy band diagram
4. Carrier Motion        (5 classes)
 Drift current/drift velocity
 Mobility & diffusion
 Carrier generation & recombination
 Minority carriers & diffusion lengths
5. pn Junction         (7 classes)
 Depletion region/built-in potential
 Forward/reverse bias
 Step junction equations
 Ideal diode equations
 Reverse breakdown
6. Photonic Devices        (5 classes)
 Absorption/emission
 Detectors & solar cells
 Light emitting diodes & Lasers
7. Field Effect Transistors       (5 classes)
 How a MOSFET works
 MOS Energy band structure
 MOSFET transfer characteristics
 Inverter circuits (CMOS)
8. Bipolar Transistors        (5 classes)
 How a bipolar transistor works
 Terminal currents & voltages
 Biasing modes
 BJT transfer characteristics – switching
 BJT transfer characteristics – active
Course Prerequisites PHYS 214 and credit or concurrent registration in ECE 329