EE 2250 Microelectronics I

Lecture 1: Introduction

National Tsing Hua University

Department of Electrical Engineering
Prof. Shuohung Hsu (徐碩鴻)
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 5731278, office: 台達 858

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 1/23

 Course Information
• Main objective of this course
This course serves as the first semester of an introductory course
in microelectronics. We will focus on the fundamental knowledge of
microelectronic devices and circuits and emphasize the design-
oriented approach. This course introduces the most important
concepts for analog circuit design, including semiconductor
transistors, equivalent circuit model, various amplifier configurations,
and single-stage amplifiers. By developing a solid understanding of
basic knowledge, learning microelectronics could be enjoyable!

• Textbook
Behzad Razavi, “Microelectronics,” International student version,
Wiley.

• Reference
A. Sedra and K. Smith, “Microelectronic circuits”, Oxford University
press

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 2/23

 Course Information (con’t)
• General topics to be covered
− Introduction to microelectronics
− Basic physics of semiconductors
− Diodes and their equivalent circuit models
− Basic physics of transistors and their equivalent circuit models
− Single-stage amplifiers

• Grading policy
− Homework (25%, ~ 5 to 6 times)
− Quiz (20%, ~ 3 to 4 times)
− Midterm (25%)
− Final (30%)
− Bonus (if you attend all the quizzes and turn in all the homework !)
− Simulation tool for homework: LT-SPICE

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 3/23

 Course Information (con’t)

• Teaching assistants
− To be determined
• Lectures (台達館 216)
− 10:10 AM-12:00 PM, Tuesday; 10:10 AM-11:00 AM, Thursday
• Office hours (Prof. Hsu, 台達館 858)
− 1:30-2:30 PM, Friday
• TA office hours (資電館 513 and 515)
− 07:00-8:30 PM, Monday and Wednesday
• TA Q&A and discussion
− by appointment

• Course website
https://eeclass.nthu.edu.tw/course/21597

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 4/23

 Relation to Other EE Courses
• Prerequisite: EE2210 (Electric Circuits)

EE 3230

EE 2250 direct link to

EE2210 EE 3235
EE 2260 EE2260

EE 3350 EE 4250 ENE 5250

EE 3230: Digital circuit analysis and design

EE 3235: Analog integrated circuits analysis and design
EE 4250: Introduction to microwave circuits
EE 3350: Introduction to solid-state electronic devices (very useful for
advanced circuit courses)

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 5/23

 Syllabus
Schedule Topic Content
Week 1 Introduction Fundamental of microelectronics
(09/01-09/07) Technology now and then

Week 2 Examples of Analog vs. digital

(09/08-09/14) electronic systems Basic circuit theorems

Week 3 Basic physics of Semiconductor materials

(09/15-09/21) semiconductors Transport of carriers
09/17: holiday (make-up class
online)
Week 4 PN junction PN junction under different biases
(09/22-09/28) I-V characteristics of PN junction
Diode equivalent circuit model
Week 5 Diode model and Transfer function
(09/29-10/05) circuit applications Large-signal vs. small-signal
(1/2) Rectifiers and limiters

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 6/23

 Syllabus (con’t)

Schedule Topic Content

Week 6 Diode model and Transfer function
(10/06-10/12) circuit applications Large-signal vs. small-signal
10/10: holiday (2/2) Rectifiers and limiters
(make-up class
online)
Week 7 Basic physics and Transistor structure of BJT
(10/13-10/19) circuit model of I-V characteristics of BJT
transistors (1/3)

Week 8 Basic physics and Equivalent circuit model of BJT

(10/20-10/26) circuit model of Transistor structure of MOSFET
transistors (2/3)

Week 9 Basic physics and I-V characteristics of MOSFET

(10/27-11/02) circuit model of Equivalent circuit model of MOSFET
transistors (3/3) Midterm (7:00-9:00 PM, Thursday, 10/31)

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 7/23

 Syllabus (con’t)
Schedule Topic Content
Week 10 Design of single- General considerations
(11/03-11/09) stage amplifiers Biasing of transistors
(1/2)

Week 11 Design of single- General considerations

(11/10-11/16) stage amplifiers Biasing of transistors
(2/2)

Week 12 Common-emitter Emitter/source degeneration

(11/17-11/23) and common- Input/output impedance
source amplifiers

Week 13 Common-base and Characteristic of CB/CG topologies

(11/24-11/30) common-gate Impedance transformation
amplifiers (1/2) Bias considerations

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 8/23

 Syllabus (con’t)
Schedule Topic Content
Week 14 Common-base and Characteristic of CB/CG topologies
(12/01-12/07) common-gate Impedance transformation
amplifiers (2/2) Bias considerations

Week 15 Common-collector Characteristic of CC/CD topologies

(12/08-12/14) and common-drain Impedance transformation
amplifiers Bias considerations
Multi-stage amplifiers
Week 16 Final exam Final exam
(12/15-12/21) (10:00-12:00 AM, Tuesday, 12/17)

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 9/23

 Why Microelectronics?
Silicon technology Transistor IC
• Over the past few decades (first transistor in ~ 1950), microelectronics
has revolutionized our lives
− cellular phones, digital cameras, laptop computers,…

Digital
blocks

Analog blocks

Digital + Analog

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 10/23

 Technology Now and Then

Then (1948) Now

Gate

(2010 Nobel Prize in Physics)

1st transistor in the world Graphene substrate:
the thinnest material in the world
⟹ smaller and faster transistor!
EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 11/23
 Technology Now and Then (con’t)

Then (1958) Now

multi-core GPU

(2000 Nobel Prize in Physics)

1st Si integrated circuit in the world Several hundred billion
with 6 transistors only ! transistors !

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 12/23

 Technology Now and Then (con’t)
Then (1948): 1st electronics computer in the world
(From IBM)
 occupied a
whole room!

Now

5 cm  5 cm  5 cm, 90 grams,
~ 100 US dollars
EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 13/23
 Technology Now and Then (con’t)

• Then (1880): 1st wireless telephone

(1880, Bell Labs) Optical approach
Now

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 14/23

 Basic Components for Microelectronic
Circuits
no signal amplification amplify signal

• Passive components • Active components

𝑉
= 𝑅 (ohm′ s law)
𝐼
+ V −
Resistor MOSFET
I
+ V −
Capacitor
I

Inductor BJT

Microwave circuits
(ENE 5250)

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 15/23

Discrete vs. Integrated Components (passive)
discrete integrated

MIM Cap.

spiral
inductor
L

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 16/23

 Discrete vs. Integrated Components (active)

Discrete
transistor Layout
of IC

NMOS PMOS

Transistors

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 17/23

 Board Level Circuits vs. Integrated Circuits (IC)

IC

Chip

Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 18/23

 Si Wafer for ICs
• 12-inch (300-mm) Si wafer is in the production line

silicon wafer

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 19/23

 Progress in Microelectronic Circuits
in Recent Years
• Scaling of transistors
− more transistors on a chip
− high speed operation

the number of transistors per

integrated circuit would double
every 18 months

[Ref.] https://transportgeography.org/

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 20/23

 What’s next? (1/2)
2D ⟹ planar
• Continuous scaling of the transistors will eventually reach the
physical limitations (Quantum effects, leakage current, lithography, Vth variation, …)
• How could we keep improving the performance of transistor,
circuit, and even system?
 going three dimensional (3D) could be a solution!
 FinFET and 3D IC
3D (Channel)

Gate

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 21/23

 What’s next? (2/2)

[Ref.] D. Verreck, “The promise of 2-D materials for scaled digital and analog applications” ISSCC 2022.

EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 22/23

 Starting from Fundamentals
This was rightly envisioned and pointed
out by Richard Feynman, physicist and
Nobel Laureate, when he delivered a talk on
“Computing Machines in the Future” in
Japan in 1985; his original text reads:
“Another direction of improvement (of
computing power) is to make physical
machines three dimensional instead of all
on a surface of a chip. That can be done
in stages instead of all at once – you can
have several layers and then add many
more layers as time goes on”.

 Learning microelectronics can be fun. You can understand how circuits

and systems are built. Most importantly, you can have the knowledge to
design your own.
 Even the IC technology moves toward 3D, the basic principles for circuit
design are the same. You must start from the fundamentals: EE2250 !
EE2255 Microelectronics, S. Hsu, EE NTHU Lecture_1 23/23