CORE & ELECTIVE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

• EE 507/MT 507/PEP 507 Introduction to Microelectronics and Photonics

  Close Introduction to Microelectronics and Photonics An overview of microelectronics and photonics science and technology. It provides the student who wishes to specialize in their application, physics or fabrication with the necessary knowledge of how the different aspects are interrelated. It is taught in three modules: design and applications, taught by EE faculty; operation of electronic and photonic devices, taught by Physics faculty; fabrication and reliability, taught by the materials faculty.

• PEP 503/EE 503/MT 503/NANO 503 Introduction to Solid State Physics

  Close Introduction to Solid State Physics Description of simple physical models which account for electrical conductivity and thermal properties of solids. Basic crystal lattice structures, X-ray diffraction and dispersion curves for phonons and electrons in reciprocal space. Energy bands, Fermi surfaces, metals, insulators, semiconductors, superconductivity and ferromagnetism. Fall semester. Typical text: Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics.

• PEP 515/EE 515/MT 515 Photonics I

  Close Photonics I This course will cover topics encompassing the fundamental subject matter for the design of optical systems. Topics will include optical system analysis, optical instrument analysis, applications of thin-film coatings and opto-mechanical system design in the first term. The second term will cover the subjects of photometry and radiometry, spectrographic and spectrophotometric systems, infrared radiation measurement and instrumentation, lasers in optical systems and photon-electron conversion. Typical texts: Military Handbook 141 (U.S. Govt. Printing Office); S.P.I.E Reprint Series (Selected Issues); W.J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering .

• PEP 516/EE 516/MT 516 Photonics II

  Close Photonics II This course will cover topics encompassing the fundamental subject matter for the design of optical systems. Topics will include optical system analysis, optical instrument analysis, applications of thin-film coatings and opto-mechanical system design in the first term. The second term will cover the subjects of photometry and radiometry, spectrographic and spectrophotometric systems, infrared radiation measurement and instrumentation, lasers in optical systems and photon-electron conversion. Typical texts: Military Handbook 141 (U.S. Govt. Printing Office); S.P.I.E Reprint Series (Selected Issues); W.J. Smith, Modern Optical Engineering .

• PEP 561/EE 561/MT 561 Solid State Electronics for Engineering I

  Close Solid State Electronics for Engineering I This course introduces fundamentals of semiconductors and basic building blocks of semiconductor devices that are necessary for understanding semiconductor device operations. It is for first-year graduate students and upper-class undergraduate students in electrical engineering, applied physics, engineering physics, optical engineering and materials engineering, who have no previous exposure to solid state physics and semiconductor devices. Topics covered will include description of crystal structures and bonding; introduction to statistical description of electron gas; free-electron theory of metals; motion of electrons in periodic lattice-energy bands; Fermi levels; semiconductors and insulators; electrons and holes in semiconductors; impurity effects; generation and recombination; mobility and other electrical properties of semiconductors; thermal and optical properties; p-n junctions; metal-semiconductor contacts.

• PEP 562/MT 562/EE 562 Solid State Electronics for Engineering II

  Close Solid State Electronics for Engineering II This course introduces operating principles and develops models of modern semiconductor devices that are useful in the analysis and design of integrated circuits. Topics covered include: charge carrier transport in semiconductors; diffusion and drift, injection, and lifetime of carriers; p-n junction devices; bipolar junction transistors; metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors; metal-semiconductor field effect transistors and high electron mobility transistors, microwave devices; light emitting diodes, semiconductor lasers, and photodetectors; and integrated devices.

• PEP 595/MT 595/EE 595 Reliability and Failure of Solid State Devices

  Close Reliability and Failure of Solid State Devices Treatment of the electrical, chemical, environmental, and mechanical driving forces that compromise the integrity and lead to the failure of devices. Both chip and packaging level failures will be modeled and quantified statistically. On the packaging level, thermal stresses, solder creep, fatigue and fracture, contact relaxation, corrosion and environmental degradation will be treated.

• PEP 596/MT 596/EE 596/NANO 596 Micro-Fabrication Techniques

  Close Micro-Fabrication Techniques Discussions of aspects of the technology of processing procedures involved in the fabrication of microelectronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Topics with respect to IC fabrication include crystal growth, epitaxy, silicon oxide growth, impurity doping, ion implantation, photo and electron beam lithography, etching, sputtering, thin film metallization, passivation and packaging. Students will also learn that MEMS are sensors and actuators that are designed using different areas of engineering disciplines and they are constructed using a microlithographically-based manufacturing process in conjunction with both semiconductor and micromachining microfabrication technologies.

• PEP 626/EE 626/NIS 626/MT 626 Optical Communication Systems

  Close Optical Communication Systems Topics covered include components for and design of optical communication systems; propagation of optical signals in single mode and multimode optical fibers; optical sources and photodetectors; optical modulators and multiplexers; optical communication systems: coherent modulators, optical fiber amplifiers and repeaters, transcontinental and transoceanic optical telecommunication system design; optical fiber local area networks.

• PEP 685/EE 585/MT 685 Physical Design of Wireless Systems

  Close Physical Design of Wireless Systems Physical design of wireless communication systems, emphasizing present and  next generation architectures.  Impact of non-linear components on  performance; noise sources and effects; interference; optimization of receiver  and transmitter architectures; individual components (LNAs, power amplifiers,  mixers, filters, VCOs, phase-locked loops, frequency synthesizers, etc.);  digital signal processing for adaptable architectures; analog-digital  converters; new component technologies (SiGe, MEMS, etc.); specifications of  component performance; reconfigurability and the role of digital signal  processing in future generation architectures; direct conversion; RF  packaging; minimization of power dissipation in receivers.

• PEP 690/CPE 690/MT 690/EE 690 Introduction to VLSI Design

  Close Introduction to VLSI Design Introduction to the principles and design techniques of very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI). Topics include: MOS transistor characteristics, DC analysis, resistance, capacitance models, transient analysis, propagation delay, power dissipation, CMOS logic design, transistor sizing, layout methodologies, clocking schemes, case studies. Students will use VLSI CAD tools for layout, and simulation.