NEEI 6301 Integrated Circuit Devices (3 sem. cr.)
This course covers basic solid-state physics concepts involving crystal structure and the principles of quantum physics as it applies to semiconductor devices. It covers the essentials of semiconductor physics, including band diagrams, electrons and holes, density of states, Fermi statistics, carrier drift, and diffusion. Students apply these concepts to pn junction diodes and metal-semiconductor junctions. This course also provides an overview of MOS and bipolar devices in terms of current-voltage and capacitance-voltage behavior, as well as scaling issues. It covers basic circuit models and reliability physics. It also describes the operation and design issues of Si integrated circuits, points out applications, and discusses some process integration, reliability, and testing issues. It also describes the operation and design issues of optoelectronic detectors and sources.

 

NEEI 6302 Solid-State Devices (4 sem. cr.)
This course helps students build a strong theoretical foundation as well as an intuitive understanding of the most important behaviors of MOSFETs. Topics are chosen to highlight the limitations and promises of aggressively scaled MOSFETs; many examples are taken from the critical issues facing the semiconductor industry. Content of the course emphasizes the physical principles and operational characteristics of semiconductor devices and modeling for circuit design, high-field, and hot carrier effects. There is advanced discussion of Field Effect Transistors with an emphasis on the behavior dictated by present and probable future technologies. The course is suitable for junior as well as experienced engineers.

 

NEEI 6311 Semiconductor Device Modeling (3 sem. cr.)
This course offers an introduction to numerical modeling of semiconductor devices. Today, computer-aided design has become an affordable and, in fact, necessary tool for designing contemporary semiconductor devices. With emphasis on numerical methods, this course provides basic concepts and design tools for analyzing discrete two-dimensional devices such as Schottky diodes, MESFETs, MOSFETs, BJTs, and HBTs.

 

NEEI 6321 Analysis of Electronic Circuits (3 sem. cr.)
In the past, analog and mixed-signal electronic circuits have been designed and built with discrete components. As demands for small, low-power battery-operated devices like mobile phones increase, however, the trend is to design these circuits so that they are integrated into a microchip. Whether electronic circuits are built with discrete components or an integrated form, one must learn how to successfully design them to meet certain prescribed design specifications. A central part of the design flow process is the ability to perform analysis of a given circuit and gain the necessary insights into its operation. This course focuses on the analysis of analog and mixed-signal electronic circuits, both discrete and integrated. Students analyze basic amplifier circuits like Op-Amps, single stage bipolar, and MOS amplifiers, followed by basic analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits such as differential pairs, comparators, sample and hold circuits, switched capacitor circuits, and data converters.

 

NEEI 6331 Linear Integrated Circuits (4 sem. cr.)
This course covers the fundamentals of the analysis and design of analog integrated circuits. It begins by reviewing transistor device models, progresses to single and two-stage amplifiers, and moves on to multi-stage amplifiers. A variety of techniques for implementing current sources and temperature- and supply-independent bias sources are covered, as well as the trade-offs between them. The class then focuses on feedback theory and application, and frequency response of linear analog circuits and the design of operational amplifiers. MOS is the primary focus; there is also some discussion of bipolar. By the end of this course, students should have a firm grasp of fundamental analysis and design techniques required for the proper design and implementation of analog integrated circuits.

 

NEEI 6332 Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits (3 sem. cr.)
While basic theory is reviewed in this course, emphasis is placed on the practical design issues that face today’s analog design engineers. The text forms the nucleus of the course content, with additional material drawn primarily from journal papers, to demonstrate advanced and innovative design techniques.

 

NEEI 6341 Introduction to Digital Integrated Circuits (4 sem. cr.)
This course highlights the challenges and opportunities of digital integrated circuit design in today’s rapidly evolving technology scene. It covers CMOS devices and manufacturing technology along with CMOS inverters and gates. Other topics include propagation delay, noise margins, power dissipation, and sequential circuits. Students look at various design styles and architectures as well as the issues that designers must face, such as technology scaling and the impact of interconnect. Examples presented include arithmetic circuits, semiconductor memories, and other novel circuits. The course starts with a detailed description and analysis of the core digital design block, the inverter. Implementations in CMOS are discussed. Next, students discuss the design of more complex combinational gates, such as NAND, NOR, and EXORs, looking at optimizing the robustness, speed, area, and/or power. Students apply the techniques they learn on more evolved designs, such as adders and multipliers. The influence of interconnect parasitics on circuit performance and approaches to cope with them are treated in detail. Substantial attention is devoted to sequential circuits, clocking approaches, and memories. The course concludes with an examination of design methodologies. CAD tools for layout, extraction, and simulation are used for assignments, labs, and projects.

 

NEEI 6342 Advanced Digital Integrated Circuits (3 sem. cr.)
The advent of deep sub-micron technologies poses a number of profound challenges to the designer of advanced digital integrated circuits such as microprocessors, wireless communications, multimedia processors, and ASICs. This course identifies the compelling issues facing the designer of the next decade and presents both analysis and solution techniques. Topics include the perspective and impact of technology scaling, high-performance and low-power design, timing and synchronization techniques, signal integrity, interconnect, reconfigurable logic, and memory design. Extra focus is given to the following topics: low power and low voltage, process variations and robustness, and memory design in the nanoscale era.

 

NEEI 6351 Analysis and Design of VLSI Analog-Digital Interface Integrated Circuits (3 sem. cr.)
This course covers many of the design aspects of integrated analog and analog-digital interface electronics in CMOS technology at the block and system levels. Specific topics include continuous-time and sampled data filters, oversampled analog-digital converters, and Nyquist rate analog-digital and digital-analog converters. Problem-specific CAD tools such as MATLAB (filter design), Simulink (conversion system simulator), and HSPICE are used extensively. The course covers the specification, design, and test of analog-digital and digital-analog converters. Both system- and circuit-level issues are addressed, and several sample converter implementations are analyzed in detail. Extensive use is made of system- and circuit-level simulations in assignments.

 

NEEI 6361 Integrated Circuits for Communications (4 sem. cr.)
This course covers analog circuits for communications, with primary emphasis on nonlinear analog integrated circuits. The course begins by reviewing transistor devices and the distortion caused by them. More general distortion analysis techniques are developed, and the various types of distortion are analyzed. The latter portion of the course is an in-depth analysis of nonlinear circuits with applications in the communications domain, and the design thereof, including various oscillators, mixers, multipliers, phase-locked loops, detectors, and rectifiers. At the end of the course, students should have a good understanding of basic distortion analysis techniques and should demonstrate good fundamentals in the analysis and implementation of nonlinear analog circuits for communications applications.

 

NEEI 6362 Advanced Integrated Circuits for Communications (3 sem. cr.)
This course covers analog integrated circuits for communications applications with a particular emphasis on nonlinear circuits. Basic theory is reviewed briefly; the bulk of the course is spent evaluating and designing circuits, covering a broad spectrum—from desirable nonlinear functions to ultra-linear design to oscillators. A substantial portion of the course is spent developing theory for distortion. The material covered is predominantly lecture material.

 

NEEI 6401 Introduction to Semiconductors (3 sem. cr.)
This course covers basic solid-state physics concepts including classical electromagnetics, principles of quantum physics, atomic structure, crystal structure, and material band structure. These concepts are applied directly to semiconductor devices including pn-junctions, MOSFETs, and Bipolar Junction Transistors. The course focuses on understanding the physics concepts and how to apply them. Students are asked to develop many of the application ideas through guided homework.