MTRL 478 – Electronic Materials

Assignment 1 – solutions

1. Free-style learning

Solution example 1:

Assume that your product is an iPhone 11. The processor IC is A13 Bionic processor made
from Si (a semiconductor name) by TSMC (company name). The major semiconductor
devices used in this product are MOS transistors (choose from p-n diodes, solar cells, laser
diodes, photodetectors, MOS transistors, bipolar transistors, high electron mobility
transistors, chemical/gravity/mechanical …sensors, light emitting diodes etc.).

Reference link:

https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/10/apple-announces-a13-matrix-chip-with-amx-component/

Solution example 2:

Your product is a desktop computer. One of the ICs in your product is the CPU. It is made
from Si (a semiconductor name) by Intel (company name). The major semiconductor
devices used in this product are MOS transistors (choose from p-n diodes, solar cells, laser
diodes, photodetectors, MOS transistors, bipolar transistors, high electron mobility
transistors, chemical/gravity/mechanical …sensors, light emitting diodes etc.).

For question (b), any other information and question about your product is OK.

2. Please do the following experiment and describe what you see.

Solution:
a) You will see a bright spot from your remote control infrared source, as your digital
camera can detect infrared light as well as visible light. This video demonstrates that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heGzjnTZ_60

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b) Due to the photoelectric effect in semiconductors, free electrons will be generated
when photons of high enough energy hit semiconductors. The common material for the
light sensing devices (CCD imager sensor or CMOS image sensor) in digital cameras is Si.
As the bandgap of Si is less than the photon energy of the infrared light from the remote
control. Si can absorb infrared light quite effectively. Free electrons and holes are
generated as a result of photon absorption. The charges are converted to voltage one
pixel at a time as they are read from the chip. Additional circuitry in the camera converts
the voltage into digital information.

Reference:

http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys314/lectures/cameras/cameras.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge-coupled_device

3. Please read the semiconductor industry overview section in Topic 1

slides and do some search online to answer the following questions:
Solution:
a) List four major semiconductor devices and their applications

PN Diodes: Many semiconductor devices are based on p-n diode structures including solar
cells, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and laser diodes. When the diodes are not for
optical uses, they can be used for the rectification of alternating current (AC) to direct
current (DC), or in DC-DC converters.

Here is an example:

https://www.multisim.com/content/d2e88qRjgcLEh6SRT3PAa3/switched-diode-capacitor-
positive-dc-to-negative-dc-voltage-inverter/

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Bipolar junction transistor (BJT): 1. amplifier; 2. temperature sensor

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_junction_transistor#Applications)

MOSFET: As switches to provide basic switching functions required to implement logic

gates and data storage in microprocessors or memory devices.

LED (light emitting diodes): for illumination and can be used as visual signals to convey a
message or meaning.

IGBT (insulated-gat bipolar transistor): electronic switch in power applications

b) Which is the most important semiconductor device in terms of product market share?
Please explain.

MOSFET based products including microprocessors, microcontrollers … occupy 68.4% of

the market value in 2015. Therefore, MOSFET is the most important semiconductor
device in this sense.

Optoelectronic devices including: LED, laser diodes, solar cells was about 10% of the
whole market in 2015.

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4. Read text 1.4.2 and explain why there was a need for cleanrooms in the
1960’s.
Solution:

Before 1960s, the electrical characteristics of MOS devices were unstable or non-
reproducible. In 1960s, people found out that the reasons were the charges (defects)
present at the Si/SiO2 interface and minute (parts per million) concentrations of alkali
ions in the MOS gate dielectrics. Charges could be minimized by better fabrication
methods. But these contaminations were mainly from human body and the dust in the
air. Only in clean rooms with highly controlled environments and strict attention to
cleanliness can people make possible their large-scale manufacturing MOS devices.

5. Read Hu book 1.1 and answer the following questions:

a) Calculate the atomic density of Si in the unit of cm-3.

Solution:

I use these values as a reference: For one unit cell, we have eight silicon atoms. The lattice
constant is a=5.431 × 10−8cm.

𝑁 8
𝜌= 3
= = 4.997 × 1022 /𝑐𝑚3
𝑎 (5.431 × 10−8 )3 𝑐𝑚3

b) Search the web and find out the lattice structure and the lattice constant of Ge and list
your reference here. How many Ge atoms are there in a single Ge unit cell?

Solution:

I found the properties of germanium here. It is quite clear and easy-reading.

http://www.ioffe.ru/SVA/NSM/Semicond/Ge/basic.html

Basically, under standard conditions, germanium has the same lattice structure as silicon.
It is a face-centered diamond structure with a lattice constant a=5.658 × 10−8 cm. For
one unit cell, we still have eight germanium atoms.

c) using the data in b) to calculate the atomic density of Si0.8Ge0.2 in the unit of cm-3.

Solution:

Lattice constant of Si0.8Ge0.2:

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 a = 0.8 × 5.431 × 10−8 + 0.2 × 5.658 × 10−8 = 5.476 × 10−8cm

Atomic density of Si0.8Ge0.2:

𝑁 8
𝜌= = = 4.872 × 1022 /𝑐𝑚3
𝑎3 (5.476 × 10−8 )3 𝑐𝑚3