PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY OF SEMICONDUCTORS

Review of the crystal structure of the main semiconductors. Elementary semiconductors , compounds and alloys.
Review of solid state basic concepts ( Bloch theorem , effective mass , concept of hole ) .
Origin and specificity of semiconductors band structure. The real bands (examples: GaAs , Si, Ge, AlGaAs ) .
The envelope function method for the calculation of quantum states generated by aperiodic potential.
The mechanism of doping. The carriers in a homogeneous semiconductor as a function of doping and temperature ( semic. non-degenerate, intrinsic, ionized , partially ionized , in saturation). The compensation by deep level.
The semiconductor non-homogeneous equilibrium. The case of the p-n junction .
Charge transport in semiconductors. Drift -diffusion equation. Intraband scattering phenomena and mobility in a semiconductor.

The mechanisms of generation and recombination in a semiconductor.
The equation of continuity. The case of the p-n junction under polarization.
The heterojunction joints metal / semiconductor , metal / oxide / semiconductor.
The quantum confinement in semiconductor quantum well , quantum wire , quantum dot .
LEDs , GaN based LED, photodetectors. Solid state laser architectures, quantum confinement effect on lasering. Photovoltaic cells. Different architectures and materials for photovoltaics. Efficiency. Mechanisms of loss of efficiency . Thin-film cells.
Produttive.Transistor bipolar and FET technologies . MOS structure.
Doping techniques. Ion implantation. Diffusion and defect .
Insulation, thermal oxidation.
Moore's Law and scaling. Issues and new materials.