ECE 305: Semiconductor Devices - Prof. Bermel

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Overview

  1. bipolar junction transistors (BJTs)
  2. MOSFET
  3. pn-junction
  4. semiconductor basics
  5. semiconductor devices

About the Group

Public Description

Spring 2018: EE 115, TR 12:00-1:15 PM

Instructor: Peter Bermel

Office Hours: In weeks when the class meets: TR 1:15 - 2:15 PM, EE 332 (or make an appointment for a different time by e-mail)

Announcements (as of Monday, May 7):

Teaching Assistant: Mohammad Sadi

TA Office Hours: In the weeks when class meets, will be held in EE 209, Desk 2

  • Mondays, 11:45 AM - 1:45 PM
  • Wednesday, 2-6 PM

In addition to office hours, students are encouraged to make use of the ECE 305 online resources:

The course textbook is Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, by R.F. Pierret. There will be reading assignments from the text throughout the semester.
 

Course Description

This course is about semiconductors and semiconductor devices, in particular: 1) the PN junction, 2) the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), and 2) the bipolar junction transistor (BJT). The course is divided into three parts. The first part treats semiconductor fundamentals (energy bands, electrons and holes, the Fermi function), doping and carrier densities, carrier transport and generation-recombination, and the semiconductor equations, which provide a complete, mathematical description of electrons and holes in semiconductors, subject to some important simplifying assumptions. The second part of the course applies these concepts to PN junctions and PN junction devices, and the third part treats the dominant electronic device today, the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) as well as the bipolar junction transistor, another important device.

The course covers a lot of ground, aiming to provide a basic understanding of semiconductors and devices for those interested in circuits and applications, as well as a starting point for further studies of electronic materials and devices.

For a useful collection of practice exams, see Prof. Robert Pierret's collection of exams for Semiconductor Device Fundamentals.

Students interested in more advanced treatments of the topics discussed in 305, should see the graduate version of this course, ECE 606.

The course homepage provided above includes complete information about this course, and will be used for posting weekly reading assignments, homework assignments and solutions, supplemental material, announcements, etc.

Lecture Format:

Students are expected to read assigned material prior to class. Most class sessions will include a short iClicker-based quiz or an in-class assignment. Class periods will otherwise be devoted to providing an overview of the assigned reading topics, and providing an opportunity for relevant discussions.

Grading:

The course grade is based on a total of 400 points from exams, and 100 points from homework. Up to 50 extra points can also be earned from in-class assignments and quizzes. If exam averages are lower than the target average, they will be curved at the discretion of the instructor. The course grade will come from dividing the total by 500, and assigning letter grades on a 10-point scale.

There are five exams in this course. The lowest of Exams 1-4 will be dropped. Exam 5 (the final) is required, and may not be dropped. Exams are closed book, but a formula sheet will be provided.  You should bring a calculator.  Following ECE policy, the calculator must be a Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS scientific calculator.

Exams (5, each worth 100 points; your lowest score from Exams 1-5 will be dropped, assuming Exam 5 is taken)

Exam 1 (January 25, 2018). Exam 1 Solution. Practice Material:

Exam 2 (February 15, 2018). Exam 2 solution. Practice Material:

Exam 3 (March 22, 2018). Solution. Practice Material:

Exam 4 (April 12, 2018). Solution. Practice Material:

Exam 5 (Final Exam, Thursday, May 3, 1-3 PM). Solution. Practice Material:

You MUST take all exams. Each exam will have a maximum normalized score of 100 points..

Note that the Final Exam will be in the same format and of the same length as Exams 1-4. The final exam (Exam 5) MAY NOT BE DROPPED.  It is not comprehensive - it covers BJTs. If you miss the final altogether, it will be averaged into your final course grade as a zero.

In-class assignments and quizzes will provide extra credit to those attending class. The maximum total quiz+in-class assignment score is 50 points.

Homework: Homework will be assigned one week in advance, and due at 12 pm (noon) in class or in EE 326B on days marked below on the schedule; solutions will be posted shortly thereafter. The exams will be closely related to the homework assignments. You must submit the assigned HW on time for full credit, and BEFORE the solutions are posted to receive partial credit.

ECE 305 Honors: Students interested in earning honors credit for ECE 305 should contact Prof. Bermel directly.

Class announcements will supersede prior written information and will be posted on the course homepage

Campus Emergency Policies: In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. Information about changes will be posted on the course web page and available from pbermel@purdue.edu.

Class Attendance: Your attendance at class is important. If you must miss class, you are responsible for any material, information, handouts, announcements, etc. that you missed.  Attending class is the only way to earn extra credit points for in-class assignments and quizzes.

Make-up Exam Policy: There will be no written make-up exams. Oral make-up exams will be made available as required by Purdue policies or the discretion of the instructor.

Academic Dishonesty is unacceptable.  Any case of academic dishonesty will result in an F for the course and a detailed written report to the Dean of Students.

Definition of Academic Dishonesty
Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty" (University Regulations, Part 5, Section III, B, 2, a). Furthermore, the University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of ghost-written papers, the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest" (University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972).  

Students with Disabilities: Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Disability Resource Center in room 830 Young Hall to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities.

Campus Emergency Policies: In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances.  Information about changes will be posted on the course web page and available from pbermel@purdue.edu

 

ECE 305 ABET Outcomes and Assessment

Expected Course Outcomes: A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated the following abilities:

(i)     To predict the observable properties of semiconductors as a function of various parameters.

(ii)    To design pn diodes suitable for current rectification and solar power production

(iii)   To predict the behavior and limitations of Schottky diodes

(iv)   To evaluate the design and performance of metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs)

(v)    To describe, predict, and improve the behavior of bipolar junction transistors (BJTs)

Assessment: Exam 1 will assess outcome (i), exam 2 will assess outcome (ii), exam 3 will assess outcome (iii), exam 4 will assess outcome (iv), and exam 5 will assess outcome (v).

Process: Students who do not fulfill each of the five course outcome will receive an incomplete in the course. However, alternatives to passing each exam will be made available to help pass course outcomes. A grade will only be assigned when all of the outcomes have been achieved.

 

ECE 305 Spring 2018 Week by Week Course Schedule

All reading assignments are from: Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, R.F. Pierret (referred to below as SDF)

 

Week 1: Material properties
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 3-19, 23-32

Topics: General material properties, crystal lattices, crystal growth, quantization, semiconductor models

Posted HW #1

January 9: Introduction to ECE 305.

January 11: Material Properties of Semiconductors

 

Week 2: Carrier properties
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 32-69

Topics: Carrier properties (charge, effective mass, intrinsic and extrinsic carrier densities; density of states).

HW #2 posted.

January 16: Carrier Properties 1. HW #1 Due.

January 18: Carrier Action 1.

 

Week 3: Equilibrium Carrier Concentrations

Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 75-104

Topics: Equilibrium carrier concentrations. Carrier drift and mobility.

January 23: Exam 1 Review. HW #2 Due.

Posted HW #2 solution.

January 25: Exam 1

 

Week 4: Carrier Action
Reading Review: SDF, pp. 1-104

Topics: Crystal lattices, carrier properties, band bending, carrier diffusion. Recombination-generation, and equations of state

Posted Exam 1 solution

Posted Homework 3

January 30 (Guest Lecturer: Prof. Zhihong Chen): Carrier Currents and Band Structures.

February 1: Band Structures and Quasi Fermi Levels

 

Week 5: Semiconductor equations and the MCDE
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 105-134

Topics: Minority carrier diffusion equation and quasi-Fermi levels.

Posted Homework 4

February 6: Minority Carrier Diffusion Equation I. HW #3 Due.

February 8: Semiconductor Equations: MCDE and PN junctions.

Posted Homework 3 solution

 

Week 6: PN Diodes
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 149-174, 195-226, 235-249

Topics: PN diode fabrication and physical properties; PN diode equilibrium and ideal diode IV characteristics.

Homework 5 posted

February 13: Exam 2 Review. HW #4 Due.

February 14, 5-6 pm (EE 117): Exam 2 review session; posted Homework 4 solution

February 15: Exam 2

 

Week 7: Solar Cells and Photodetectors
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 347-360, 260-281, 301-324

Topics: photovoltaic effect, distinction between solar cells and photodetectors, solar cell efficiency limits and limitations

Posted Homework 6

Posted Exam 2 and Exam 2 solution

February 20: Semiconductor Fabrication. HW #5 Due.

February 22: Ideal Diode Equation and Solar Cells

 

Week 8: Solar Cell Non-Idealities + MS Junctions

Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 347-360, 260-281, 301-324; 477-487

Topics: solar cell efficiency limits and limitations

February 27: Non-Ideal Diodes and Solar Cells. HW #6 Due.

Posted HW #5 solution

March 1 (Guest Lecturer: Prof. Zhihong Chen): Metal-Semiconductor Junctions.

 

Week 9: MS Diodes
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 477-496

Topics: Metal-semiconductor energy band diagrams, electrostatics, and IV curves

March 6 (Guest Lecturer: Prof. Zhihong Chen): Metal-semiconductor diodes and IV curves

March 8: MS diode performance and non-idealities

Posted Homework 7, due Tues. March 20

Posted Homework 6 solution

 

Week 10: Spring Break

March 13: No class

March 15: No class

 

Week 11: Exam 3 Preparation and Testing

Homework 8 posted

March 20: Exam 3 Review Lecture. HW #7 Due.

Posted Homework 7 solution

March 21 (5:30-6:30 pm, EE 117): Exam 3 Review Session

March 22: Exam 3.

 

Week 12: MOS Devices

Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 525-530, 583-599

Topics: ideal MOS devices, electrostatics, MOS capacitance-voltage

Homework 9 posted.

Posted Exam 3 and full solution.

March 27: MOS and MOSFET Fundamentals. HW #8 Due.

March 29: MOS capacitors and field-effect transistors

 

Week 13: MOSFETs
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 611-637, Lecture Notes on MOSFETS + SDF

Topics: Properties and band structures of MOSFET Devices.

Posted Homework 10

April 3: MOSFET Field Effect Transistors. HW #9 Due.

April 5: MOSFET Transistor Nonidealities.

 

Week 14: Exam 4

April 10: Exam 4 Review. HW #10 Due.

April 10, 5:30-6:30 pm in ME 1015: Exam 4 review session.

Posted Homework 10 solution

April 12: Exam 4.

Posted Exam 4 and solution.

 

Week 15: Bipolar Junction Transistor Introduction

Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 371-385

Topic: Bipolar transistor (BJT) fundamentals, heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), comparison to MOSFETs

Posted Homework 12

April 17: Introduction to BJTs; Ebers-Moll Model. HW #11 Due.

Posted Homework 11 solution

April 19: BJT IV Characteristics; Solving the Ebers-Moll Model.

 

Week 16: Bipolar Junction Transistor Non-idealities
Reading Assignment: SDF, pp. 389-433, 443-449

Topic: Bipolar transistor deviations from the ideal, and strategies for improvements.

April 24: BJT Non-idealities and Course Review. HW #12 Due.

Posted HW #12 solution.

April 26: Final Exam Review.

April 26 (5:30-6:30 pm in WALC 3132): Final Exam review session (of Fall 2017 Final Exam).

 

Finals Week:

Thursday, May 3, 1-3 PM (ME 1061): Final Exam

Posted Final Exam and full solution