EEE3026 : Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Technology
EEE3026 : Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Technology
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Sarah Olsen
- Lecturer: Professor Anthony O'Neill, Dr Konstantin Vasilevskiy
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
European Credit Transfer System | |
Pre-requisite
Modules you must have done previously to study this module
Code | Title |
---|---|
EEE2014 | Semiconductor Devices and Analogue Electronics |
Pre Requisite Comment
N/A
Co-Requisite
Modules you need to take at the same time
Co Requisite Comment
N/A
Aims
To provide specialist knowledge of electronic devices and related components.
To enable students to have a better understanding of state-of-the-art devices (e.g. transistors) and their applications.
To enable students to compare competing electronic and related technologies.
To provide a specialist knowledge of processes used in chip manufacturing.
To show students how electronic devices are fabricated in a clean room.
To enable students to experience fabrication processes and characterisation of devices in a clean room environment.
Outline Of Syllabus
Introduction to electronic devices; electronic system exemplar: smartphone.
Junctions: Metal-semiconductor junction, Schottky contact, Ohmic contact, p-n junction, LED, photodiode;, Smartphone: camera, optical and MEMS (electromechanical) sensors.
MOS Junction. MOS electrostatics, depletion accumulation and inversion
MOSFET: mode of operation, I-V characteristic, sub-threshold, transistor and IC cross sections.
CMOS: Inverter, power dissipation, short channel effects, impact of scaling of electrical characteristics, threshold Voltage, electrostatic integrity, scaling strategies, limits to scaling.
Carrier transport: transconductance degradation, mobility components, velocity-field, universal mobility, field dependence, short channel regime.
MOSFET Evolution: STI and LOCOS isolation, metal and polysilicon gates, LDD, parasitics, halo doping, retrograde doping, strained Si, high-k dielectrics, finFETs, nanosheet FETs,. More than Moore, passives, SoC, 3D-integration
III-V compound semiconductor devices:, properties of silicon versus other semiconductors, MESFET, mode of operation, I-V characteristic, heterojunctions, MODFETs, I-V characteristic
Bipolar Transistor: dc characteristic, Gummel plot, Bipolar evolution, heterojunction bipolar (HBT).
Displays: OLED, touchscreen, digitizer (smartphone)
Memory: addressable arrays, DRAM, SRAM, flash
Power transistor: vertical topologies, UMOS, DMOS, specific on-resistance, analysis using pin, Si versus wide bandgap semiconductor
Device Fabrication:. Wafer fabs, mask design, process flow
Patterning: lithography, resolution, alignment, photoresist, e-beam, EUV, maskless
Starting Material: wafer engineering, crystal structure, Czochralski growth, defects,
Material addition: Thin films,: chemical vapour deposition (dielectrics, polysilicon, metals), physical vapour deposition (evaporation, sputtering), atomic layer deposition, metallisation options
Material subtraction:. Wet and dry etches, etching parameters, reactive ion etching, deep reactive ion etching, chemical mechanical polishing
Thermal processing:. Tube furnaces, RTP, wet and dry oxidation, oxide quality, local oxidation,. diffusion, Doping, ion implantation, annealing
Interconnects: multilevel metallisation, low-k dielectrics, reliability, CR delay
Learning Outcomes
Intended Knowledge Outcomes
To be able to describe in depth contemporary electronic and related technology, including the scaling issues encountered and comparing devices and their technology variations; (M1)
To be able to describe the technology that goes into an exemplar electronic system: mobile phone; (M2)
To be able to describe the key fabrication steps used in electronic device fabrication and chip manufacturing; (M1 and M2)
To be able to describe material characterisation techniques used in electronic device fabrication; (M1 and M2)
To be able to describe clean room protocol required for chip manufacture. (M1 and M2)
Intended Skill Outcomes
• Ability to analyse electronic devices operation from a physical perspective (M1)
• Ability to compare competing semiconductor technologies (M2)
• Ability to describe trends in device evolution and recognise fundamental limits on performance (M2)
• Ability to recognise challenges in the integration of complex elements and the need for engineering trade-offs (M3)
• Ability to describe key processes used in fabrication of electronic devices (M1 and M2)
• Ability to explain sources of experimental error in chip fabrication (M3)
• Ability to relate electronic device performance to device processing stages (M3)
• Ability to describe cleanroom protocol (M1 and M2)
Ability to describe material and electrical characterisation techniques used in electronic device fabrication (M1 and M2)
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | Preparation for written exam on device fabrication. |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 19 | 2:00 | 38:00 | Lectures in semester 1 and 2 |
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 5:30 | 5:30 | Preparation and completion of formative assessment on device fabrication |
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 24:00 | 24:00 | Preparing 2000 word report for assessment on electronic devices. |
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 1:30 | 1:30 | Written Exam |
Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Completing tests from canvas (semester 1) |
Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 19 | 2:00 | 38:00 | Reading and reflecting to supplement understanding of material taught |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | Practical sessions on chip fabrication and characterisation. |
Guided Independent Study | Reflective learning activity | 5 | 3:00 | 15:00 | Reflection and notes on practical session. |
Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 38:00 | 38:00 | Reviewing lecture notes; general reading |
Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures provides the core material weekly problem solving sessions in semester 1 give students the opportunity to query material taught each week. Face-to-face lectures can be replaced with online synchronous sessions supported by non-synchronous videos if the public health situation requires it.
Practical clean room sessions in semester 2 provide an opportunity to gain experience of clean room processes used in chip fabrication and the techniques used in the characterisation of electronic devices. Taught lecture material covering chip fabrication processes provide the theory for the practical work.
Reading Lists
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Written Examination | 90 | 2 | A | 50 | In-person, closed-book exam. |
Exam Pairings
Module Code | Module Title | Semester | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
Advanced Device Fabrication | 2 | N/A |
Other Assessment
Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Report | 1 | M | 50 | 2000 word written assignment on mobile phones |
Zero Weighted Pass/Fail Assessments
Description | When Set | Comment |
---|---|---|
Oral Examination | M | In Semester 2 - Oral assessment to demonstrate understanding of practical work (15 minutes) |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The coursework provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate their knowledge and skills developed from the electronic device (semester 1) lecture course material. The exam in semester 2 assesses the student knowledge of device fabrication, while the formative oral assessment in semester 2 ensures the student has engaged and acquired key knowledge from the practical device fabrication and characterisation experience.
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- EEE3026's Timetable
Past Exam Papers
- Exam Papers Online : www.ncl.ac.uk/exam.papers/
- EEE3026's past Exam Papers
General Notes
N/A
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