Physics for electronics

Physics for Electronics is designed to provide future electronics engineers with a solid grounding in semiconductor physics. The course also covers the operating principle of the PN junction at equilibrium and non-equilibrium bias, and introduces the operation of the Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor, an essential element in understanding the MOS transistor.

Chapter I: Semiconductor structure.

General information on materials for microelectronics.
Energy levels of the atom
The silicon atom and crystal
Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors.
Fermi level.
Energy band diagram

Chapter II: Transport phenomena in semiconductors.

Electrical conduction of carriers, notion of carrier mobility
Carrier diffusion

Chapter III: Semiconductors out of thermal equilibrium.

Injection levels
Semiconductor out of equilibrium
Continuity equations.
Return to equilibrium in time and space

Chapter IV: The PN junction

Physical structure of a PN diode
Notion of concentration profile
Thermal equilibrium junction.

Studies of the space charge zone and neutral zones (charge density, potential, electric field)
Carrier distribution in the junction
Qualitative study of diffusion and conduction currents
Energy band diagram


Junction out of thermal equilibrium

Carrier distribution in forward and reverse bias
Energy band diagram out of equilibrium
Current calculation
Capacitive effects



Chapter V : The MOS structure

structure overview
operating regimes.
Manufacturing processes for CMOS technology

2 hole-punched course booklets containing all the materials shown in class
1 TD booklet.
Taught in French.