Module overview
This module will introduce the concepts of semiconductor materials, devices and sensors. You will develop a detailed understanding of the design, operating mechanisms and fabrication technology of semiconductor, electronic and optoelectronic devices and sensors. You will also understand the physical principles and electrical characteristics of the semiconductor devices and sensors including the physical chemistry of the electrode-electrolyte interface. This module include practical laboratories where you will explore the operating principles of MOS transistors and characterise a Field Effect Transistor sensors.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Develop critical and analytical skills to evaluate semiconductor devices
- Differentiate the semiconductor devices for different electronic and photonic applications
- Explain the principles of semiconductor sensors and give examples of their use in diagnostics
- Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the many and diverse aspects that relate to the operation and exploitation of semiconductor devices
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Understand the challenge in designing semiconductor sensors
- Demonstrate the basic skills in semiconductor device engineering for integrated electronic or photonic circuit application
- Develop analytical approaches to understanding complex physical systems
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Properties of conductors, insulators and semiconductors
- Device performance under different operating environment
- The operation of semiconductor physics for electronic, optoelectronic and ionic device applications
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Characterise the pH and ion selectivity of ISFETs
- Investigate the characteristics and performance of semiconductor devices
- Design, model and analyse a number of semiconductor device types
Syllabus
1. Conductors, Insulators and Semiconductors
- Crystalline and microcrystalline materials
- Conducting polymers
- Energy levels, bandgaps, electrons and holes
- Fields and potentials
- Drift and diffusion currents
2. p-n junctions
- Band diagrams
- Poisson’s equation
- The Diode equation
- Junction and depletion capacitance
3. Bipolar Junction Transistors
- Device structure and principle
- n-p-n and p-n-p BJT operation
- Gain and frequency response
4. MOSFETs
- Device structure and principle
- Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor and Metal-Semiconductor Interface
- Characteristics: Capacitance, Output Current and Threshold
- Enhancement and Depletion mode operation
- CMOS technology
5. Optoelectronic devices
- Photodiodes
- LEDs and Laser Diodes
6. Semiconductor sensors
- Physical chemistry of the electrode-electrolyte interface
- pH sensing
- ISFETs
- Nanowires and nanoribbons
- The principles of potentiometric sensors
- Nernst equation
- Reference electrodes
- Applications in medicine
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures, laboratories and tutorial sessions.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Tutorial | 6 |
| Lecture | 30 |
| Specialist Laboratory | 4 |
| Revision | 10 |
| Wider reading or practice | 60 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 15 |
| Completion of assessment task | 10 |
| Follow-up work | 15 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Sze. Semiconductor Devices: Physics and Technology.
Eliaz and Gileadi. Physical Electrochemistry: Fundamentals, Techniques, and Applications.
Parker. Introductory Semiconductor Device Physics.
Pethig and Smith. Introductory Bioelectronics.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 85% |
| Coursework | 10% |
| Laboratory Exercises | 5% |