Fundamentals of semiconductor materials and devices.

Prerequisites: PHYS122,  Corequisite: EE321

Text: Solid State Electronic Devices Ben G. Streetman, 6th ed 2006, Prentice Hall.

This is a class for juniors and seniors designed to give the students an understanding of solid state devices they may encounter now or in the future. The class will spend considerable time on the basic physics involved. The basics have remained the same, while the devices and manufacturing techniques have changed at a furious rate. We see no reason to expect this to change. As devices become smaller, quantum effects will become more important. We will apply the theory to many of the current solid state devices.

The class will be roughly divided into 4 parts, with a test at the end of each, and a cumulative final.

The goal of ch 1-4 is to become familiar with quantum ideas and effects, and begin to make them intuitive.

Understanding the processes is more important than being able to work problems. The problems will be a good illustration of what is possible to do with the theory presented. Much of the material is easy to read and well covered in the text. This material may not be covered in lectures, it is your responsibility. Read the assignments and bring questions to class. Regular quizzes will be given on this material.

The tests will be based on the objectives for each section. New objectives for each part will be given as we start it. For the tests, you will be allowed a 3X5 card of notes. An oral exam can be taken to make up a missed test or bring up a low score.

Reading the text and working problems is very important to understanding the material.   A reading summary will be required for most assigned sections. Weekly homework assignments will concentrate on the analytical aspects.

Homework should be done regularly. Home work can be turned in late but the grade will drop 10% each period it is late. A bonus (more challenging) problem will be assigned each week. Problems will be assigned each class and will be due the following Tuesday. You are encouraged to work on homework in a group of up to 3, however handing in the problems certifies that you have participated in deriving the solution and understand all of it. You may seek my help (outside of class) on the solution before they are due.

Each reading summary will be graded: satisfactory, unsatisfactory, or redo.  They should include the following.

• A sentence describing the maim point of the section.
• A sentence describing how the section is related to previous sections.
• A sentence describing how the section is related to the following sections.
• Premises and assumptions for derivations (if any).
• Results of derivations (if any).  Describe equations with words, not symbols.
• Identification of the difficult steps in a derivation.
• At least one question about the section.

The final grade will be based on the average of the hour tests, final, homework and reading summaries. The reading summary average will include pop quizzes be equivalent to one test. The homework will also be equlivant to a test.The final will count the same as any test. The lowest of these scores will be dropped. An average of 90% or above is guaranteed an A, 80% or above at least a B, 70% or above at least a C, 60% or above at least a D. However, curving of grades may enable students to get higher grades. There will be a gray area between letter grades in the final distribution where people with the same average could get different letter grades. If you are in this area the grade you get depends on your score on bonus problems and whether your test and homework performance has been improving (grade goes up) or declining (it goes down).