ECE 535 – Theory of Semiconductors and Semiconductor Devices
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Fall 2015
Instructor:
Matthew Gilbert
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Office: MNTL 2256
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays 9-10 am or by appointment.
Teaching Assistant:
Youngseok Kim
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Office: MNTL 2261
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Fridays 10 am – 12 pm
Course Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday
9:30am – 10:50am
ECEB 3013
Background:
Senior level course in quantum mechanics
Course Description:
The course will cover the fundamental ideas surrounding the physical principles of
semiconductors and their use in electronic and photonic device applications. Within this course, I
plan on covering the following broad topics:
• Classical Free Electron Model of Solids
• Basic Quantum Mechanical Principles of Electrons in Solids
• Crystals and Bandstructure of Semiconductors, Insulators, and Metals
• Electron Statistics and Dynamics within Energy Bands
• Semi-Classical Electron Transport in Semiconductors
• Phonons, Photons and Carrier Scattering
• Electron-Phonon Interaction and Band Transitions – Lasers and Light Emitting Diodes
• Quantum Transport and Conductance Quantization
• Light – Matter Interaction and Collective Effects
•
Emergent Materials and Devices (Selected Topics: Spin, Tunneling Devices, Berry Phase,
Low-Dimensional)
Course Textbook (Official and Helpful):
Official: Advanced Theory of Semiconductor Devices, Karl Hess (2000) – (KH).
Recommended: Solid State Physics, N. W. Ashcroft and N. D. Mermin (1976) – (A&M).
Strongly Recommended: Introduction to Solid State Physics, C. Kittel (1996) – (CK).
Helpful: Fundamentals of Carrier Transport, M. Lundstrom (2000) – (ML).
Helpful: Quantum Mechanics, H. Kroemer (1994) – (HK).
Helpful: Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers, D. A. B. Miller (2008) – (DM).
Helpful: The Physics of Low-Dimensional Semiconductors, J. H. Davies (1998) – (JD).
Helpful: Electronic Transport in Mesoscopic Systems, S. Datta (1995) – (SD).
Absences:
Please discuss with the instructor. If you are going to be absent when the homework is due, then
please make arrangements to turn the work in before you leave. You are still responsible for the
work completed in your absence so please make appropriate arrangements.
Grading:
Homework: 30%
In-Class Examinations: 50%
Final Term Paper: 20%
Class Participation: Encouraged
Homework:
During the course of the semester, we will assign homework to check for understanding. The
homework will be due at the beginning of class one week after they are assigned. Late
homework may be accepted only with the consent of the instructor. While the homework may be
done in groups, each student is expected to turn in their own solutions to the problems. Cases of
cheating and plagiarism will be handled according to the policies of the University of Illinois.
In-Class Examinations:
We will have two in-class examinations throughout the semester. These problems will be similar
to those contained within the homework and will test understanding of topics presented in the
course lectures.
Final Term Paper:
In lieu of a comprehensive final exam and to fulfill the requirements of ECE 535, students will
complete a final term paper. The paper will be 5 pages in length to be written in the style of
Physical Review Letters (PRL) in 11pt font, for those who do not use LaTex for word
processing, complete with: references, figures, and requisite equations to explain the chosen
topic. As this course is theoretical in nature, the term paper may not cover expressly
experimental issues such as: device fabrication, materials growth, or processing issues. Ideally,
the term paper should be the deeper exploration of a topic that we cover during the course of the
semester that is of interest. The papers should be written in teams of 2 students and topics must
be cleared with the instructor to ensure a broad diversity of topics. It is also forbidden for the
topic of your choice to coincide with your thesis research topic. Appropriate topics for the paper
include:
Carrier transport in ultra-scaled field effect transistors
Quantum transport in low-dimensional systems (i.e. quantum wires, point contacts, or dots)
Dissipation in nanodevices
Ballistic conduction
The integer quantum Hall effect or other 2D electron gas phenomena
Quantum transport in graphene or other atomically thin layers (MoS2, etc.)
Resonant tunneling diodes
Quantum computing (using diamond, Majorana fermions, etc.)
Quantum effects in nanoscale photonic or electronic devices
Quantum cascade lasers or THz sources
Quantum wells and intersubband transitions
Topological insulators or metals
Spin Hall effect or spin-orbit interaction driven phenomena
Tunneling transistors or other post-CMOS devices
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Topic Selection Due Date: 11/06/2015 by 5pm central time.
Final Submission Due Date: 12/09/2015 by 5pm central time.
Course Lecture Schedule (Tentative):
Class
#
1
2
Date
Topic
8/25/2015
(Tuesday)
i) Introduction to Course
ii) Drude Model – I
8/27/2015
(Thursday)
i) Drude Model - II
ii) Quantum Intro/Refresher - I
Suggested Reading
i) Syllabus
ii) KH: pp. 89 – 94
iii) A&M: Chapter 1
iv) SD: pp. 23 – 26
i) Hess: pp. 89 – 94
ii) A&M: Chapter 1
iii) HK: Various
iv) ML: Chapter 1
3
9/1/2015
(Tuesday)
i) Quantum Intro/Refresher - II
ii) Sommerfeld Model
4
9/3/2015
(Thursday)
Properties of the Electron Gas – I
5
9/8/2015
(Tuesday)
Properties of the Electron Gas - II
6
9/10/2015
(Thursday)
Crystal Lattices and Reciprocal Lattices – I
7
9/15/2015
(Tuesday)
Crystal Lattices and Reciprocal Lattices – II
8
9/17/2015
(Thursday)
Electrons in a Periodic Potential - I
9
9/22/2015
(Tuesday)
Electrons in a Periodic Potential – II
10
9/24/2015
(Thursday)
9/29/2015
(Tuesday)
MJG in Germany – In-Class Exam # 1
10/1/2015
Tight-Binding Method - II
11
12
Tight-Binding Method – I
v) SD: Chapter 1
vi) DM: Various
vii) JD: Chapter 1
i) HK: Chapter 1
ii) DM: Various
iii) A&M: Chapter 2
iv) ML: Chapter 1
v) SD: Chapter 1
vi) JD: Chapter 1
i) CK: Chapter 6
ii) SD: Chapter 1
iii) JD: Chapter 2
iv) A&M: Chapter 3
i) CK: Chapter 6
ii) SD: Chapter 1
iii) JD: Chapter 2
iv) A&M: Chapter 3
i) HK: pp. 19 – 31
ii) CK: Chapter 2
iii) A&M: Chapters 4 & 5
iv) JD: Chapter 2
i) HK: pp. 19 – 31
ii) CK: Chapter 2
iii) A&M: Chapters 4 & 5
iv) JD: Chapter 2
i) CK: Chapter 7
ii) JD: p. 46
iii) A&M: pp. 143 – 161
iv) KH: pp. 27 – 29
v) HK: p. 422
i) CK: Chapter 7
ii) JD: p. 46
iii) A&M: pp. 143 – 161
iv) KH: pp. 27 – 29
i) A&M: Chapter 10
ii) JD: pp. 275 – 280
iii) SD: pp. 141 – 145
i) A&M: Chapter 10
(Thursday)
13
14
15
10/6/2015
(Tuesday)
10/8/2015
(Thursday)
10/13/2015
(Tuesday)
16
10/15/2015
(Thursday)
17
10/20/2015
(Tuesday)
18
10/22/2015
(Thursday)
19
10/27/2015
(Tuesday)
20
10/29/2015
(Thursday)
21
11/3/2015
(Tuesday)
22
11/5/2015
(Thursday)
11/10/2015
23
ii) JD: pp. 275 – 280
iii) SD: pp. 141 – 145
Tight Binding Application: Energy Bands in i) Paper: Rev. Mod. Phys.
Graphene
81, 109 (2009)
Tight-Binding Application: Energy Bands
i) Paper: Rep. Prog. Phys.
in Elemental and III-V Semiconductors
60, 1447 (1997).
Perturbation Theory Applications to
i) DM: Chapters 6 & 7
Semiconductors
ii) JD: pp. 249 – 252 & 273
– 275.
i) Kronig-Penny Model for Energy Bands
i) DM: Chapter 7
ii) Electrical Conduction in Energy Bands
ii) JD: App. 6 & pp. 261263
Carrier Dynamics and Conduction in
i) CK: Chapters 6 & 7
Energy Bands
ii) JD: Chapter 6
iii) A&M: Chapters 12 & 13
Phonons in Semiconductors – I
i) CK: Chapters 4 & 5
ii) JD: pp. 70, 290 – 307
iii) KH: pp. 94 – 103
iv) A&M: Chapter 26
v) ML: Chapter 2
Phonons in Semiconductors – II
i) CK: Chapters 4 & 5
ii) JD: pp. 70, 290 – 307
iii) KH: pp. 94 – 103
iv) A&M: Chapter 26
v) ML: Chapter 2
Effective Mass Theory
i) CK: Chapter 6
ii) JD: pp. 107 – 114
iii) SD: pp. 10 – 11
iv) A&M: Chapter 12
v) ML: p. 12
vi) HK: pp. 217 – 218, 437
– 447
Boltzmann Transport in Semiconductors
i) CK: Appendix F
ii) KH: Chapter 8
iii) SD: 322 – 328
iv) A&M: 319 – 328
v) ML: Chapter 3
Ballistic Transport in Nanostructures
i) SD: Chapter 2
ii) ML: Chapter 9
Ballistic Transport in Nanostructures
i) SD: Chapter 2
24
(Tuesday)
11/12/2015
(Thursday)
Reduced Dimensionality Semiconductors
25
11/17/2015
(Tuesday)
Reduced Dimensionality Semiconductors
26
11/19/2015
(Thursday)
12/1/2015
(Tuesday)
Quantum Transport Theory
28
12/3/2015
(Thursday)
Optical Processes and Light-Matter
Interactions in Semiconductors
29
12/8/2015
(Tuesday)
Extra Topic: Emergent Materials: Berry
Phase and Topological Aspects of
Semiconductors
27
Optical Processes and Light-Matter
Interactions in Semiconductors
ii) ML: Chapter 9
i) HK: Chapter 10
ii) JD: Chapters 3 & 4
iii) KH: Chapter 10
i) HK: Chapter 10
ii) JD: Chapters 3, 4 & 9
iii) KH: Chapter 10
i) ML: Chapter 9
ii) SD: Chapter 8
i) JD: Chapter 8 & 10
ii) SD: Chapter 7
iii) CK: Chapter 11
iv) HK: Chapter 14
i) JD: Chapter 8 & 10
ii) SD: Chapter 7
iii) CK: Chapter 11
iv) HK: Chapter 14
i) Paper: Rev. Mod. Phys.
83, 1057 (2011).