Introduction: Objectives, organization, examination.

1. Semiconductor Physics.

Energy band diagrams, drift and diffusion currents, mobility, temperature effects.

2. MOS Field-Effect Transistors.

Weak inversion, down scaling, high electric field, bipolar transistor mode of operation, effects of hot carriers.

3. Compound semiconductors, hetero-junctions and devices:

Equilibrium, current-voltage characteristics, capacitance, FETs, HEMT, heterojunction bipolar transistor, electrical models.

4. Bipolar Junction Transistors.

Basic BJT, scaling down, ballistic transport, high frequency structures.

5. Electronic Noise.

Thermal noise, shot noise, generation-recombination noise, 1/f noise and noise in integrated circuits and systems.

6. Passive Devices and Parasitic Effects.

Passive IC components: R, C, L, diodes, interconnections. Parasitic resistances, capacitances and inductances, leakage currents, hot carrier effects, breakdown, parasitic transistors, latch-up.

7. CMOS digital and analog integrated circuits.

Principal building blocks and functions. CMOS Digital: delay and transition times, ring oscillator, buffer. CMOS analog: differential amplifier - gain, slew rate, noise.

8. Memories.

Principles and structures of ROM, PROM, OTP, EPROM, DRAM, SRAM and Flash.

9. Yield and Reliability.

Defect density, relation with design rules, yield statistics; Reliability, failure rate, failure mechanisms due to high electric field effects, electro-migration, heat dissipation, and packaging stress.

10. Integrated Circuit Design.

Design methods: project outline, schematic, layout, design rules, numerical modeling and circuit simulations.

11. Integrated Sensor Microsystems.

Integrated optical detector – photodiode, biasing circuit, amplifier, offset and noise.

12. CMOS Scaling down.

Current trends in microelectronics: State of the art and scaling down.