Basic Information
- Course Code: EE 728
- Course Name: Growth and Characterization of Nanoelectronic Materials
- Course Offered In: 2023-2024
- Semester Season: Spring
- Instructors: Prof. Apurba Laha
- Prerequisites: None as such. Basic device courses like EE207 or EE733 might help gain familiarity. Course covers everything from scratch, more or less.
- Difficulty (1 being easy and 5 being tough): 3
Course Content
The course is divided into two broad modules : growth of materials (covered pre-midsem) and characterisation techniques (post midsem). Growth of materials starts from a basic principles approach, covering the thermodynamics and kinematics (Phase diagrams, Ellingham plots, Gibbs Phase Rule). Covers modes of epitaxial growth based on contact angle. Discusses various types of growth techniques (PVD, CVD, MBE, MOCVD, Sputtering etc.). Post midsem, the focus entirely shifts to characterisation. Techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photolectron Spectroscopy (XPS), RHEED etc. are discussed. Types of microscopy (SEM, TEM, Atomic Force etc.) are briefly covered.
Feedback on Lectures
The lectures delivered complemented the slides. Lectures were interesting if one kept pace with the class and aided in learning the content. Professor is willing to address doubts, and tries to engage the class. I would recommend attending the lectures. A lot of material was based off the texts that professor recommended.
Feedback on Evaluations
Evaluations were divided as: Homeworks/Class Interaction/Attendance* - 15% Midsem - 25% Endsem - 35% Project** - 25%
*Homeworks were short questions with one page explanations. These were very straightforward, with answers available either in slides or texts. Professor had set a minimum 25% attendance for avoiding DX (attendance was later however taken into consideration while alloting the 15% marks, alongside homeworks).
**Project was done in teams of 3. Involved performing simulations on MATLAB/COMSOL/nanohub etc., and finally submitting an IEEE format paper. A list of project topics were provided to choose from on fcfs basis. TAs were really chill with the project deadlines.
Exams were a mix of objective and subjective questions, though heavy on the latter. Both memorisation of the details as well as conceptual understanding was tested, though they were overall easy to navigate and ultimately score in.
Evaluations were pretty lenient, with most people receiving AAs and ABs.
Study Material and Resources
The Materials Science of Thin Films by Milton Ohring is an invaluable resource, especially for the growth module. Professor provides papers/texts at times which are essential to solve homework questions.
Lecture slides provided are more or less complete by themselves, but reading the given texts is highly recommended.
Follow-up Courses
Courses on material growth from any department can be taken after this. It provides a conceptual foundation/introduction for the kind of work that is done in nanofabs.
Final Takeaway
This is a great course to do if:
- You’re interested in material science and growth techniques, and you are looking to take similar courses or pursue research in related domains
- You want to get a basic idea of what goes on in nanofabrication labs and the operating principles behind them
- You want to take a relatively “chill” EE elective that covers a unique multidisciplinary area not touched upon by most other EE courses (this would not work, however, if you’re entirely disinterested in the course content)