Spring 2017,
Cornell University
Instructor
Instructor: Prof.
Departments of ECE and MSE, Cornell
University
Office: Phillips Hall 428B
Teaching
Assistant
Reet Chaudhuri (rtc77@cornell)
Class
Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:40 am –
12:55 pm @ Hollister 312
Office hours: Thursdays 5:00 –
6:30 pm @ Phillips 428B
Prerequisites
AEP 3610 and AEP 4230
or permission of instructor.
Assumes
basic exposure to quantum mechanics and statistical physics.
Course
Contents
Covers basic solid state and
semiconductor physics relevant for understanding electronic and optical
devices. Topics include crystalline structures, bonding in atoms and solids,
energy bands in solids, electron statistics and dynamics in energy bands,
effective mass equation, carrier transport in solids, Boltzmann transport
equation, semiconductor homo- and hetero-junctions, optical processes in
semiconductors, electronic and optical properties of semiconductor
nanostructures, semiconductor quantum wells, wires, and dots, electron
transport in reduced dimensions, semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics,
high-frequency response of electrons in solids and plasmons.
Outcomes
+ Learn basic principles of solid
state and semiconductor physics needed to understand modern electronic
and
photonic devices.
+ Learn how engineering materials and structures
at the nanoscale enables
novel electronic and photonic properties for a wide variety of engineering
applications.
+ Learn the relationship between basic science
and engineering applications.
Course calendar
[planned]
Course slides
for reference
Course Notes
Lecture Videos
(posted on Youtube)
Piazza link for
discussions
The periodic
table
The Semiconductor Properties Database
Topics:
Handouts and course slides are required reading materials, [rest are
supplementary]
0) Course
Information [History
of Semiconductors]
1) Classical
free-electron models of solids
2) Quantum
mechanics of electrons in atoms to nanostructures to bulk solids
3) Crystals, bandstructure of metals, semiconductors, insulators [e.g.
Si, graphene, 2D atomic materials, nanotubes…]
4) Electron
statistics, Doping and dynamics in bands
5) Quantum/ballistic
electron transport, conductance quantization
6) The
effective mass theorem, semiconductor heterostructures:
Designer quantum wells, wires, dots
7) Nanoelectronic
device example: The ballistic field-effect
transistor
8) The
Boltzmann transport equation, Phonons, Scattering, and Fermi’s golden rule
9) Electron-photon
interaction, optical interband and intraband processes
10) Nanophotonic device
example(s): LEDs, Lasers, Photovoltaics
Assignments
1 - pdf posted: 02/04/2017 due: 02/14/2017
2 - pdf posted: 02/17/2017 due: 02/27/2017
3 - pdf posted: 03/02/2017 due: 03/14/2017
4 - pdf posted: 03/19/2017 due: 03/31/2017
5 - pdf posted: 04/11/2017 due: 05/03/2017
6 - pdf posted: 05/02/2017 due: 05/15/2017
Exams and Grades
Other than the assignments, there will be two written prelim
exams, and a written final exam. Here is the approximate breakup of scores that
will go towards your final grade:
35% Assignments
15% Prelim
1 [Tuesday, February 28th, 2017]
20% Prelim
2 [Tuesday, April 11th, 2017]
30% Final
[Monday, May 22nd, 2017]
Demonstrations and Laboratories
A few demonstrations will be performed in the course. Some of the
course assignments include laboratory components or demonstrations.
Textbooks
The required reading will be the posted handouts. No text
is required, but you are strongly encouraged to refer to the following texts:
-Ashcroft and Mermin (Solid State
Physics)
-Kittel (Introduction to Solid State
Physics)
-Davies (The Physics of Low Dimensional Semiconductors)
-Kroemer (Quantum Mechanics)
-Griffiths (Quantum Mechanics, if you have not had quantum before)