There was a long felt need for this book in industrial and academic
institutions. It provides new engineers, as well as practicing engineers
and advanced laboratory personnel in the field of semiconductors a clear
and thorough discussion of state-of-the-art silicon devices, without
resorting to the complexity of higher mathematics and physics. This
difficult task was made possible by detailing the explanation of
equations that describe the device operation and characteristics without
endeavoring their full derivation. This is reinforced by several
problems which reflect practical cases observed in the laboratory. The
problems are given after introducing a major equation or concept. They
are arranged in the order of the text rather than in the order of
difficulty. The answers to most of the problems are given in order to
enable the student to "self-check" the method used for the solutions.
The illustrations may prove to be of great help to "newcomers" when
dealing with the characterization of real devices and relating the
measured data to device physics and process parameters. The new engineer
will find the book equivalent to "on the job training" and acquire a
working knowledge of the fundamental principles underlying silicon
devices. For the engineer with theoretical background, it offers a means
for direct application of solid state theory to device analysis and
synthesis. The book originated from a set of notes developed for an
in-house one-year course in Device Physics, Technology and
Characterization at IBM.