EE 436 : Course information

Gary Tuttle

247 ASC I or 335 Durham
294-1814

Office hours in 335 Durham:

Mon 2:10 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tue 10:00 a.m. - noon
Wed 2:10 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Thu 10:00 a.m. - noon
Fri 2:10 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

The lecture meets on Mon, Wed, and Fri from 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. in Hoover 1322.

homework - 30%
quizzes - 30%
three exams - 30%
project - 10%

Homework - will be assigned weekly. Typically, it will be due on Friday at class time. Each student must submit their own homework solution. Some homework will involve the use of SPICE. Some work will involve lab measurements using the semiconductor parameter analyzers.
Quizzes - are done in class. Each quiz consists of one numerical problem and/or one short-answer question. Each quiz should require about 10 minutes to complete. The quizzes are closed-book, but necessary formulas and data will be provided. There will be on-line practice problems that can be used to prepare for the quiz problems. The lowest two quiz scores will dropped when determining final grades. There are no make-ups for missed quizzes.
Exams - There will be three exams, held approximately every 5 weeks. Exams will be one hour in length and will be closed-book and closed-notes. A formula sheet will be provided.
Project - Every student will prepare and give a presentation on a transistor-related topic. Presentations will be given during the last two weeks of class.

There is no required text for EE 436. However, it is recommended that you obtain a text for reference, particularly if you are interested in working in the semiconductor industry in some fashion. All of the books listed below are pretty good. The older ones will not have the most recent technologies, but the fundamental knowledge described in them is still valuable.

The links are not an endorsement for Amazon - they are provided simply to help you get more information.

Integrated Microelectronic Devices, J.A. del Alamo, McGraw-Hill, 2018.
Author is from MIT. Intended for use in a first-year graduate level class, but certainly accessible to senior-level undergrads. Looks to be well-written. Focuses on silicon devices in integrated circuits. There is no coverage of heterojunction devices.
Semiconductor Physics and Devices: Basic Principles, Donald A. Neaman, McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Author was at the University of New Mexico. (Now retired.)
Devices for Integrated Circuits, H. Craig Casey, Wiley, 1998.
Author was at Duke and Bell Labs before that. (Now retired.) Intended for first-year graduate level class, but accessible to senior-level undergrads. Three chapters of semiconductor review, with the bulk of book focusing on devices. Gives a good coverage of heterojunction transistors as well as conventional silicon devices.
Semiconductor Device Fundamentals, Robert F. Pierret, Addison Wesley, 1996.
Author was from Purdue. (Now retired.) Intended as an undergraduate-level text. (I used it once when I taught EE 332.) The focus is strictly on silicon BJTs and MOSFETs. No heterojunctiondevices.