ECE 695C - Low Dimensional Nanoelectronic Devices

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3

Counts as:

Experimental Course Offered:

Spring 2009

Catalog Description:

This course focuses on the device physics of electronic devices, including transistors, based on low-dimensional nanostructures. The course will describe relevant materials and device structures, the impact of dimensionality on the materials and device properties, quantum-mechanical phenomena responsible for various device characteristics, and typical experimental techniques for characterizing devices.

Required Text(s):

None.

Recommended Text(s):

  1. Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors , J. Knoch and J. Appenzeller
  2. Electronic Transport in Mesocopic Systems , S. Datta , Cambridge University Press , ISBN No. 9780521599436
  3. Physics of Semiconductor Devices , 3rd Edition , S.M. Sze , John Wiley & Sons , ISBN No. 9780471143239
  4. Towards Nanowire Electronics , J. Appenzeller , IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices , 2008

Lecture Outline:

Topics
3 Reviewing semiconducting materials, insulators and the concept of switching in MOSFETs. Review of fabrication approaches.
3 Connecting material properties and device performance (band gap and making contact)
5 The impact of dimensionality ... on the material properties (DOS, dispersion, strain)
5 The impact of dimensionality ... on the device properties (electrostatics, screening, mesoscopic transport)
5 Carbon nanotubes as an example of a one-dimensional system (connecting material and electrical properties)
2 Characteristic length, energy and other scales
2 Nano-FETs as Schottky barrier devices
2 Comparing theory and experiment - examples from the current literature
4 Student project on data extraction and critical evaluation of a representative state-of-the-art article on nanoelectronics devices
5 Quantum mechanics tunneling (gate leakage, Schottky barrier tunneling, Band-to-band tunneling, Fowler Nordheim tunneling...)
5 Quantum mechanics Interference related effects (phase coherence length, conductance fluctuations, weak localization...)
3 Devices from nanowires - including 2D effects (transport, electrostatics)
2 Exams/Project reports

Assessment Method:

none