Learning Outcomes:
Please note that the codes given at the end of each Learning Outcome relate to the Programme Outcomes specified by Engineers Ireland for the professional accreditation of degree programmes.
On successfully completing this module a student will be able to:Describe at a basic level the physical processes underlying electrical transport and conduction (or non-conduction) in a wide range of solid materials, including metals, semiconductors and insulators (PO(A) 4); Analyse the basic operation in static and small-signal conditions of a range of commonly-encountered electronic components and devices, in particular the PN junction and transistor devices both FET and bipolar in kind, including formulating appropriate assumptions and developing compact circuit-level static models of such devices. (PO(A) 4, PO(B) 4). Describe the basic processes used in the semiconductor industry for the manufacture of complex semiconductor components, in particular Integrated Circuits (ICs) including gaining an appreciation of the wider business context, quality control, depreciation cycles, capital investment etc.Describe the impact of the exponential evolution of IC technology (Moore's Law) on current and future product development in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. (PO(D) 2 and PO(F) 4). Choose and apply an appropriate device model for use in commercial computer-aided design software tools, appreciate some of the limitations of such models and design and execute basic experiments for model parameter extraction (PO(B) 4 PO(C) 3)
Indicative Module Content:
- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics and Energy Band Theory
- Definitions of metal, insulator and semiconductor based on existence of energy bands in crystalline material
- Classification of semiconductor materials
- Charge transport in metals and pure and doped semiconductors
- Continuity and Poisson equations
- Principles of semiconductor processing; Moore's Law
- Ideal PN junction: electrostatic behaviour of depletion layer; physical explanation and derivation of static current-voltage characteristic
- The Metal-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET); MOS capacitor; DC characteristic; applications
- The Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT): structure of NPN and PNP bipolars; operating principles; characteristics; applications