20402 Semiconductors
Credits: 4 intermediate credits in Electronics or in Chemistry
Prerequisites: none
Required: Fundamentals of Physics (or Fundamentals of Physics I) and Differential and Integral Calculus I (or Infinitesimal Calculus I)
Recommended: General Chemistry1 (or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II, for Biology Students; or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II), Thermodynamics, Electronics I, Modern Physics
Authors: Adir Bar-Lev, Gady Golan
The course surveys the chemical and physical properties of semiconductor materials and the principles of solid state physics in these materials. The topics are the basis for Semiconductor Devices and Microelectronics (20403).
The course is intended for Physics or Chemistry students interested in electronics, semiconductors and the field of solid state physics. It is designed to provide students with basic knowledge of the physical principles of the range of semiconductor materials and to enhance students’ understanding of their physical structure, manufacture and function.
Topics: Characteristics of crystals and semiconductors; Crystal structure and the valence model; Mobility and electrical conductivity; Mobile carriers, lifetime, diffusion and the transport phenomenon; Calculating electrical parameters in semiconductors; Energy bands in solids; Density of states in energy bands; Homogeneous semiconductors in thermodynamic equilibrium; P-N junctions, heterojunctions and M-S contacts.
1or General Chemistry (20477 or 20487), which is no longer offered.