ECE 4070

Physics of Semiconductors and Nanostructures

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Covers basic solid state and semiconductor physics relevant for understanding electronic and optical devices. Topics include crystalline structures, bonding in atoms and solids, energy bands in solids, electron statistics and dynamics in energy bands, effective mass equation, carrier transport in solids, Boltzmann transport equation, semiconductor homo- and hetero-junctions, optical processes in semiconductors, electronic and optical properties of semiconductor nanostructures, semiconductor quantum wells, wires, and dots, electron transport in reduced dimensions, semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics, high-frequency response of electrons in solids and plasmons.

Prerequisites ECE 4060 or a course in basic quantum mechanics.

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2024SP, 2023SP, 2021SP

Outcomes

• Learn basic principles of solid state and semiconductor physics needed to understand modern electronic and photonic devices.
• Learn how engineering materials and structures at the nanoscale enables novel electronic and photonic properties for a wide variety of engineering applications.
• Learn the relationship between basic science and engineering applications.

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