MS4602: Fundamental of Semiconductor Devices

Course Instructors

Assistant Professor Chae Sanghoon

Course AIMS

This course aims to provide students with a foundational knowledge of semiconductor devices, preparing them for specialization in semiconductor materials and devices. It focuses on the principles of operation behind modern semiconductor devices, including p-n junction diodes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), MOS transistors, bipolar transistors, Laser, photodetectors, solar cells, and photonic devices. By leveraging knowledge from prior courses such as MS2018: Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials and MS3012: Micro/Nanoelectronics Processing, this subject serves as a critical stepping stone for advanced studies on semiconductor devices. The knowledge gained through this subject will be useful in understanding other subjects, such as Fundamentals of Integrated Circuit (IC) Processing, LCD display, Photonic materials and devices, Failure Analysis and Reliability Studies of microelectronics.

The course will feature two technical lectures. The first one will include a video on wafer processing, along with a briefing on cleanroom safety rules and protocols. Students will have the opportunity to see various wafer processing equipment used across different process modules. By the end of this lecture, students should have a solid understanding of cleanroom safety and operational protocols related to wafer processing. The second lecture will introduce the characterization facility, focusing on the atomic-scale study of semiconductor materials. This session will cover the structure, properties, behaviour, and processing of these materials, emphasizing their applications in engineering. Atomic-level crystallographic, structural, and chemical analyses using electron and X-ray probes are critical for optimizing materials and discovering new ones. These analyses provide essential insights for the design, development, and validation of semiconductor devices.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you (as a student) would be able to:

1. Identify atom, crystal structure, energy band, intrinsic and extrinsic carriers in semiconductors.
2. Evaluate the number of electrons and holes in a semiconductor in equilibrium.
3. Identify how electrons and holes move in semiconductors when a semiconductor in non-equilibrium.
4. Solve p-n junction diode theory and operation mechanisms.
5. Design the transistor action and device characteristics of bipolar junction transistor (BJT).
6. Synthesis the basic concepts of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) diode and transistor action and device characteristics of MOS Field-Effect-Transistor (MOSFET).
7. Identify the principle of other semiconductor devices and operation mechanism.
8. Synthesis the basic concepts of photolithography and wet/dry etching. Design PVD and CVD film deposition techniques, and thermal oxidations (wet and dry). Solve the mechanisms, key parameters and applications of thermal diffusion and ion-implantation.
9. Design the state-of-the-art CMOS processing techniques including interconnects and advanced packaging.
10. Evaluate the clean room environment, safety protocols, fabrication tools, and procedures for semiconductor device fabrication.
    

Course Content

1.  Principle of Semiconductor: Recap of electron, atoms and Quantum Mechanism; Crystal and Energy Band; Intrinsic and Extrinsic Carriers, Semiconductor in Equilibrium.
2. Carrier transport in Semiconductors: How do electrons and holes move in semiconductors? What happens when a semiconductor in non-equilibrium?
3. P-N Junction: Flat-band diagram, thermal equilibrium condition, depletion region, depletion capacitance, current-voltage characteristics, charge storage and transient behavior, junction breakdown, hetero-junction, metal semiconductor ohmic contact, light emitting diodes, semiconductor laser, photoconductor, photodiodes, solar cell.
4. Bipolar Junction Transistors: Basic concepts and structures of bipolar junction transistors; minority carrier in a bipolar junction transistor; characteristics of bipolar junction transistors; frequency response and switching of bipolar transistor; the hetero-junction bipolar transistor, the thyristor and related power devices, bipolar junction transistor in integrated circuits, phototransistor.
5. MOSFET and Related Devices: The ideal metal oxide semiconductor capacitor and diode; Fundamentals of metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs); Principle of operation;
6. Other Semiconductor Devices: Tunneling diodes; Light-emitting diodes (LEDs); Lasers; Photo detectors, Solar cells, Si photonic devices, etc;
7. Semiconductor processing: Introduction to Lithography; Etching; Deposition Techniques; Diffusion and thermal oxidation; Ion implantation;
8. Advanced Semiconductor processing: Introduction to state-of-the-art fabrications including interconnects, advanced packaging, etc.

Reading and References

The listing below comprises the foundational readings for the course and more up-to-date relevant readings will be provided when they become available.

Textbook

1. S M Sze, Semiconductor Devices - Physics and Technology, Wiley, 2002
2. S. M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 1981
3. B. L. Anderson, Fundamentals of Semiconductor Devices, McGrawHill, 2005
4. Campbell Stephen A, Fabrication Engineering at the Micro- and Nanoscale, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013. (TK7871.85.C191F 2013)

References

1. N. G. Streetman, Solid State Electronic Devices, Prentice Hall, 1995
2. G. Parker, Introductory Semiconductor Device Physics, Prentice Hall, 1995
3. Michael Shur, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, Prentice Hall 1990Jaegar Richard C, Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication: Vol 5 of Modular Series in Solid State Devices, 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall, 2002. (TK7874.J22 2002)
4. Quirk Michael and Serda Julian, Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Prentice-Hall, 2001 (TK7836.Q93)