ECE 230L – Spring 2018

Introduction to Microelectronic Devices and Circuits

Instructor: Dr. April S. Brown, John Cocke Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday (10am – 11am) and Wednesday (1pm – 2pm), F-CIEMAS 3573
Class Time & Location: Tuesday & Thursday (1:25pm – 2:40pm), Teer 203
Lab Times & Location: Monday, 1:25–4:25pm, Monday, 4:40–7:40pm, Tuesday, 3:05–6:05pm,
Friday,1:25-4:25 Hudson Hall, 02G (students must attend their scheduled lab section time)
Course Website: piazza.com/duke/spring2018/ece230l002sp18/home for Q&A, discussions, files, etc.)
UGTAs: Neil Dhar ([email protected]) (Lecture, office hours: tbd)
Savini Prematilleke ([email protected]) (Lecture, grader, office hours: tbd)
David Haotian Zheng ([email protected]) (Lecture, grader, office hours: tbd)
Lab Instructor: Kip Coonley, Undergraduate Laboratory Manager ([email protected]), Hudson 02C

Course Description:
Introduction to semiconductor materials characteristics and their electronic properties, microelectronic
devices, and integrated circuits.

Objectives:
Through this course the students will:
 Understand how the crystal structure of solids relates to the their electrical characteristics
through solid-state quantum theory, with an emphasis on understanding the energy band
structure of semiconductors.
 Understand carrier transport in semiconductors and how such transport is controlled in junction-
based devices.
 Analyze the behavior of p-n junction devices, including their operation and performance.
 Analyze the operation of MOS capacitors and MOSFETs, including extraction of key parameters
and how they affect device performance.
 Understand and describe the operation of MOSFETs: from band diagrams to circuit models.
 Understand and analyze how MOSFETs are used in basic digital and analog circuits, including their
operation and performance. Be able to design a digital logic gate using MOSFETs.
 Develop a conversational understanding of the field of micro/nanoelectronic devices and circuits,
from Silicon-based devices to the future digital/analog device options.

Textbook:
Required textbook:
E-Book – Introduction to Microelectronic Devices and Circuits. ISBN – 9781121962194.
o Students can purchase the e-book directly from McGraw-Hill using a credit card by logging
into https://create.mheducation.com/shop/ and searching by ISBN (note that the
instructor name listed may not be accurate, but if the School is “Duke University” and the
title is correct, then it is the right book).
o Note that this is a combination of the following two textbooks:
 D. Neamen, Semiconductor Physics and Device Physics—4th Edition, McGraw-Hill,
2012. (Chapters 1-9)
 D. Neamen, Microelectronics: Circuit Analysis and Design—4th Edition, McGraw-
Hill, 2010. (Chapters 10-22)
Additional useful textbooks for reference:
 R. F. Pierret, Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, Addison Wesley Longman, 1996.
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 A. S. Sedra and K. C. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, Oxford University Press, 1998.

Communication:
All questions on homework and lectures should be posted to Piazza for open discussion. It is ok for the
post to be kept as “anonymous.” If students email the professor or TAs with questions on the homework
or lecture, they will likely be asked to post the question to Piazza to be answered on the website for the
entire class to access.

Grading Criteria:
Homework 20 %
Quizzes 10 %
Labs 20 %
Exam 1 15 %
Exam 2 15 %
Final Exam 20 %

Homework (20%):
A homework assignment will be given each week. The assignments are intended to help the student
solidify the important concepts of each principle/topic that is covered and will often require further
textbook reading beyond what is included in our limited lecture time. Some of the problems will come
from the course textbook while others will be created specifically for this course.

Homework Formatting Guidelines

Each assignment should follow these guidelines:
1) Use standard 8.5” x 11” paper (blank, college-ruled, or graph paper all work).
2) Staple the upper left corner with your name legibly in the top right corner of the first page, along
with the date and assignment number.
3) Keep the problems in the order they are given in the assignment (in other words, don’t put
problem #3 on the first page with problem #1 on the second page—place them in order!).
4) If you use both sides of the paper, indicate when a problem continues on the reverse side.
5) Draw a box around (or clearly highlight) your final answer to each problem, with all needed work
for arriving at the answer shown clearly and legibly. Points will be taken away for sloppy work!

Attendance and Late Homework Policy:

Attendance to the lectures is crucial to succeeding in this course. Homework will be due each week
and must be turned in at the beginning of class – late homework will not be accepted except with
written approval from the professor (and even then, only once/student per semester for extenuating
circumstances). Note that between the weekly homework and quizzes, it will be crucial for students
to be punctual and in attendance for every lecture!

Collaboration Policy:
Students are allowed to work together on homework, keeping in mind that the Duke Community
Standard (http://www.integrity.duke.edu/new.html) applies to all assignments. Each student must
personally work each problem, legibly write up his or her solutions, and submit his/her own solutions.
This applies to all assignments, including computer simulations (e.g., MATLAB) and laboratory
projects. Generally, it is suggested that you work through all problems on your own before discussing
them with another student. Remember that you are just as responsible for the academic dishonesty
if you allow someone to copy your original work as you would be if you did the copying yourself. The
use of solution manuals or other sources of solutions is not allowed. Any student who copies (or

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allows copying of) any assignment or report will receive a failing grade for the assignment. If you have
any questions regarding what is allowed and what is considered cheating, please ask.

Quizzes (10%):
There will be quick quizzes given at the beginning of lecture almost every week of the course. Quizzes will
typically cover the material that students should have read in preparation for the lecture that will be given
that day (based on the reading list in the course outline on the last page of the syllabus), or some recently
taught material per the instructor’s discretion. All quizzes will be administered via the program Socrative,
which is accessible via any mobile device or computer as will be discussed in lecture. There will be
absolutely no make-up quizzes, including if you are tardy!

Missed Quizzes/Homework and Dropping of Lowest Scores:

As there will be absolutely no make-up quizzes or homework extensions, the single lowest quiz score
and the single lowest homework score will be dropped. The scores that are dropped are based on
percentages as the assignments/quizzes may be worth a different point total. This allows for you to
miss a class or homework for personal reasons.

Laboratory (20%):
The laboratory component of ECE 230L consists of a Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMiF)
portion where students will design and fabricate their own Silicon wafer, 8 microelectronics laboratory
experiments, and a final lab project. Each lab is designed to provide a hands-on experience with electrical
and computer engineering concepts presented in lecture. Attendance at each laboratory during your
assigned group time is required. If you must miss a lab due to an illness or injury that prevents you from
attending your assigned laboratory section, you must submit a Short-Term Illness form prior to the
absence to your course Instructor (https://tts-fm-admin01.trinity.duke.edu/stinf/). Your instructor in
conjunction with the laboratory manger (Kip Coonley, Hudson 114, (919) 660-5186
[email protected]) will make arrangements with you to attend another lab section or otherwise
make-up the work. If you must miss a lab for any other reason, you must notify your Instructor
immediately so that arrangements can be made for you to complete the work. No student is allowed to
attend another lab section without prior approval.

Midterm Exams (15% each) and Final Exam (20%):

The midterm exams and final exam problems will be very much like the homework problems, so that any
student who has completed (and understood) all of the homework should be very familiar with what to
expect on the exams. The final exam will be comprehensive, covering all material from the course. All
exams will be closed book and closed notes. Further details to help you prepare for the exams will be
given in lecture.

Grading Scale:
A+: 98-100 B+: 87-89 C+: 77-79 D+: 67-69 F: < 60
A: 93-97 B: 83-87 C: 73-76 D: 63-66
A-: 90-92 B-: 80-82 C-: 70-72 D-: 60-62

Academic Integrity:
Academic integrity is expected as part of the community to which you belong and each student will be
held accountable for upholding the standard. University policy will be enforced in the case of any
dishonest conduct.

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Anticipated Course Outline:

Th, 1/11 Semiconductor Course Overview

T, 1/16 Crystal Structure of Solids pg. 9-32
Th, 1/18 Class Cancelled - Snow
Materials

T, 1/23 Quantum Theory of Solids (bandstructure) pg. 34-48

Th, 1/25 Quantum Theory of Solids (transport and Quiz 1, HW 1
bandstructure) due
T, 1/30 Transport and Thermal Equilibrium pg. 82-131
Th, 2/1 Carrier Transport (drift) pg. 132-147 HW #2 due
T, 2/6 Carrier Transport (diffusion) pg. 148-155 Quiz #2
Th, 2/8 pn Junction Diodes (junction under zero-bias and pg. 169-190 HW #3 due
reverse-bias)
T, 2/13 EXAM 1 – Semiconductor Materials
Th, 2/15 pn junction Diodes (forward bias, ideal diode) Pg. 204-232, Quiz #3
290-296
T, 2/20 pn Junction Diodes (small-signal equivalent pg. 232-245, HW #4 due
Devices

circuit, diode transients) 425-430

Th 2/22 pn Junction Diodes (large-signal analysis, half- pg. 416-425, Quiz #4
wave rectifier) 449-453
T, 2/27 MOSFETs (MOS capacitors) pg. 313-336 HW#5 due
Th, 3/1 MOSFETs (capacitance-voltage characteristics) pg. 336-345 Quiz #5
T, 3/6 MOSFETs (basic MOSFET operation) pg. 345-364 HW #6 due
Th, 3/8 MOSFETs (small-signal equivalent circuit, CMOS pg. 363-373, Quiz #6
technology, circuit symbols) 519-523
T, Th (3/13 and Digital (NMOS inverters) pg. 547-550, HW #7 due
3/15) 836-850
T, 3/20 Spring Break
Th, 3/22 EXAM 2- Devices
T, 3/27 Digital (CMOS inverters and logic gates) pg. 860-885 Quiz #7
Th, 3/39 Analog (dc biasing of MOSFET circuits) pg. 528-547 HW #8 due
T, 4/3 Analog (common-source MOSFET amplifier) pg. 550-551,
587-608
Circuits

Th, 4/5 Analog (common-drain, common-gate MOSFET pg. 609-620 Quiz #8

amplifiers)
T, 4/10 Analog (single-stage MOSFET IC, multistage pg. 620-626, HW #9 due
amplifiers) 629-640
Th, 4/12 Analog (operational amplifier) pg. 672-692 Quiz #9
T, 4/17 Analog (operational amplifier applications) pg 692-708 HW # 10 due
Th, 4/19 Future Directions Quiz #10
S, 4/21 Course Review for Final Exam HW # 11 due
T, 4/24 Course Review for Final Exam
Th, 5/3 FINAL EXAM, Comprehensive Teer 203 9-12 AM