ECE 656: Electronic Transport in Semiconductors (Fall 2009)
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Abstract
Fall 2009
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This is a course about how charge flows in semiconductors with an emphasis on transport in nanoscale devices. The course consists of three main parts. Part 1 focuses on near-equilibrium transport in the presence of small gradients in the electrochemical potential or temperature, with or without the application of a small magnetic field. The emphasis in Part 2 is on the physics of carrier scattering and how the microscopic scattering processes are related to macroscopic relaxation times and mean-free-paths. Part three examines high-field transport in bulk semiconductors and so-called “non-local” transport in sub-micron devices. The course concludes with a brief introduction to quantum transport. The objective of the course is to develop a broad understanding of the basic concepts needed to understand modern electronic devices. It is designed for those who work on electronic devices – whether they are experimentalists, device theorists, or computationalists. The course is intended to be accessible to students with a general, introductory background in semiconductors, such as that obtained by taking ECE-606: Solid State Physics at Purdue University.
Course Structure
Course Introduction
Part 1: Near-equilibrium transport:
Low bias transport –the Landauer approach
Low bias transport – the Boltzmann equation
Percolative transport
Part 2: Carrier scattering
Relaxation times and lengths
Carrier scattering in semiconductors
Part 3: High-field and non-local transport
Balance equations
Monte Carlo simulation
Off-equilibrium transport in bulk semiconductors and devices
Quantum transport
Bio
Mark Lundstrom is the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. He was the founding director of the Network for Computational Nanotechnology and now serves as chairman of its Executive Committee. Lundstrom earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota in 1973 and 1974, respectively and joined the Purdue faculty upon completing his doctorate on the West Lafayette campus in 1980. Before attending Purdue, he worked at Hewlett-Packard Corporation on MOS process development and manufacturing. At Purdue, he has worked on solar cells, heterostructure devices, carrier transport physics, and the physics and simulation of nanoscale transistors. His current research interests focus on the physics and technology of energy conversion devices. Lundstrom is a fellow the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Physical Society (APS), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has received several awards for his contributions to research and education and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
Sponsored by
This course is part of a the "Electronics from the Bottom Up" educational initiative being spearheaded by the Network for Computational Nanotechnology with support from Intel Corp.
References
Fundamentals of Carrier Transport, 2nd Edition Mark Lundstrom, Cambridge University Press ISBN-13: 9780521637244 (paperback)
Advanced Semiconductor Fundamentals, 2nd Edition R.F. Pierret, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-061792-X
Handouts and class notes will also be distributed from time to time
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Location
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN