Semiconductor Electronics

Classifications of semiconductors. Doping. Carrier generation and recombination. Transport phenomena, electric current. Built-in electric field.  

The pn junction diode: ideal and nonideal current-voltage relationship, junction breakdown, diode transients, small-signal model of the pn junction, diode capacitance. Special diode types: the tunnel diode, the Schottky barrier diode, hetero-junction diode. Examples of the use of diodes. 

The bipolar transistor: current-voltage relationship, the modes of operation, equivalent circuit models, frequency limitations, amplification with bipolar transistors, large-signal switching, examples of the use of bipolar transistors. 

Unipolar transistor: JFET and MOSFET, current-voltage relationship, small-signal equivalent circuit, examples of the use of unipolar transistors, the CMOS digital logic inverter. 

Semiconductor power devices: pnpn diode, diac, thyristor, triac, IGBT. 

Optical devices: optical absorption and emission, light emitting diodes, laser diodes, photodetectors: photoconductor, photodiode, pin photodiode, avalanche photodiode, phototransistor, solar cells. 

To comprehend structures, basic principles of operation and properties of semiconductor devices and demonstrate the main application cases based on basic configurations.

Knowledge of semiconductor devices is important for the understanding of the analog and digital electronics, power electronics, optoelectronics, photonics and emerging nanoelectronics. 

The lectures provide the theoretical background on particular subjects. Solving of concrete problems is demonstrated at the auditory tutorials. Practical work is undertaken in the scope of laboratory assignments.