New Course Proposal - ENSC 224 Electronic Devices

Calendar Information

Course Number: ENSC 224

Course Title: Electronic Devices

Credit Hours: 3

Course Description

The essential physics of silicon semiconductor devices that form the heart of integrated circuits today. An introduction to semiconductor device physics upon which device models are based leading to the development of the drift-diffusion equations. The static and dynamic behavior of PN junction diodes, bipolar junction transistors, and field effect transistors will be covered along with the application of the developed device models to integrated circuit design.

Prerequisite: ENSC 220 or equivalent.

Recommended: None.

Corequisite: None.

Special Instructions: None.

Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved: None.

Rationale for Introduction of this Course

Courses with content similar to the proposed ENSC 224-3 are part of the fundamental electrical and computer engineering core courses taught at Canadian universities with a focus on electronics engineering (e.g. Toronto, Waterloo, Alberta, Queens).   Implementing this course in the ENSC curriculum will stimulate interest in undergraduate students to pursue careers in the fields of semiconductor device and circuit engineering and thus, will provide the foundation for our graduates to stay competitive in the rapidly expanding field of microelectronics.  Enrolment is estimated at 100 students per year.

Scheduling and Registration Information

Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.

2006-2 and annually thereafter.

Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?

Of the tenured or tenure-track faculty present in the School of Engineering Science, the following have the expertise to offer this course (listed alphabetically).

Colombo Bolognesi, Professor

Glenn Chapman, Professor

Bonnie Gray, Assistant Professor

Bozena Kaminska, Professor

Karim S. Karim, Assistant Professor

James Kuo, Professor

Albert Leung, Professor

Lakshman One, Senior Instructor

Ash Parameswaran, Professor

Marek Syrzycki, Professor

Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?

No.

Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.

No.

Resource Implications

Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.

Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.

This course will be required for all Electronics and Computer Option students in the School of Engineering Science. It will replace an upper year technical elective for students in the Electronics Option and an upper year science elective for students in the Computer Option. It is expected that library, classroom and other resources currently supporting these electives will be redistributed to ENSC 224.

Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?

No.

Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.

No new resources are required. 

Course Outline

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to explain the physics of and develop basic device and circuit models for fundamental semiconductor devices including PN junctions, bipolar junction transistors and MOSFETs.

Course Description

This course covers the essential physics of silicon semiconductor devices that form the heart of integrated circuits today. The course will begin with an introduction to semiconductor device physics upon which device models are based leading to the development of the drift-diffusion equations. The static and dynamic behavior of PN junction diodes, bipolar junction transistors, and field effect transistors (in particular, MOSFETs) will be covered. A detailed description is as follows:

1) Introduction to Semiconductor Physics: metals, insulator, semiconductors, intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors, direct and indirect band gap, free carrier densities, Fermi distribution, density of states, Boltzmann statistics, thermal equilibrium, current flow mechanisms, drift current, diffusion current, mobility, generation and recombination, lifetime, internal electro-static fields and potentials, Poisson’s equation, continuity equations, drift-diffusion equations.

2) PN-Junction Diodes: thermal equilibrium physics, energy band diagrams, space charge layers, internal electro-static fields and potentials, reverse biased diode physics, junction capacitance, breakdown, forward bias diode physics, wide and narrow diodes, transient behavior, transit time, diffusion capacitance, low forward bias, high forward bias, small and large signal models for SPICE.

3) Bipolar Transistors: basic theory and operation, Ebers-Moll model, low forward bias, junction and diffusion capacitance, transit times, small-signal models, transition frequency, maximum oscillation frequency, large signal operation, Early effect, saturation and inverse operation, breakdown mechanisms, punch-through, SPICE model.

4) MOSFET Transistors: MOS capacitor, accumulation, depletion, strong inversion, threshold voltage, contact potential, body effect, drain current, saturation voltage, channel mobility, gate capacitance, MOSFET SPICE models level 1 and 2.

Learning Activities and Evaluation:

Activities consist of weekly assignments (10%), a mid-term paper (20%), semiconductor device modeling and design projects (20%) and a final examination (50%).

Texts, Resources & Materials

Donald Neamen, Semiconductor Physics and Devices: Basic Principles, 3rd Ed, McGrawHill, 2002. ISBN: 0072321075 ($169.95 Cdn)