Introduction
Understanding the fundamental Basics of semiconductors and their role in the electronics industry is paramount in today’s technologically advanced world. The course offered by NUS is designed to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of semiconductors, shedding light on their intrinsic properties and how they contribute to modern electronics.
Course Overview:
This course offered by NUS aims to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of semiconductors and their significance in the electronics industry. It delves into the properties of materials, explaining why some are insulators while others are conductors, and why some materials exhibit transparency while others are opaque. The objective is to elucidate how electrons move within materials, especially highlighting scenarios where insulator conductivity undergoes significant changes, such as in lightning and basics of semiconductors.
Unlike traditional semiconductor physics textbooks that heavily rely on mathematics and solid state physics, this course adopts an intuitive approach. It emphasizes understanding the inherent properties of materials at a conceptual level. For example, the course clarifies the exceptional importance of silicon in the electronics industry without delving extensively into complex mathematical formulations.
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Target Audience:
This course is tailored for first-year university undergraduate students and older learners without a background in electrical engineering or materials science. The assumed prerequisite knowledge is at the high school-level physics.
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Learning Objectives:
Students completing this course will achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Understanding the causes of static electricity and the electrification of insulators.
- Explaining ionization and the transformation of insulators into conductors.
- Grasping the mechanisms inside a bolt of lightning.
- Distinguishing between good and poor conductors of electricity and the factors influencing conductivity in materials.
- Understanding the principles behind light emission in various materials and how gas discharge lamps operate.
- Exploring the emission of electrons from solids.
- Learning to calculate conductivity and comprehend its determining factors in a material.
- Defining the bandgap of a semiconductor and comprehending its significance.
- Understanding doping and its effect on material conductivity.
- Appreciating the paramount importance of semiconductors, particularly silicon.
- Gaining insights into the functioning of solar cells.
Course Structure:
The course instructor divides the course into four sections.
- Introduction
- Electrons on the move
- Electricity and light
- Crystals and Semiconductors
Each section covers specific topics that gradually build a comprehensive understanding of semiconductors and related concepts. The goal is to equip learners with fundamental terminology and essential knowledge in the semiconductor industry, enabling them to perform basic calculations and appreciate the critical role of semiconductors in modern electronics.
