Introducing undergraduate students to simulation of semiconductor doping techniques

This paper presents some of the techniques used to introduce simulation of semiconductor fabrication processes to undergraduate electrical engineering students at the American University of Sharjah. Students use Silvaco Athena process simulator and Atlas device simulator to perform experiments on semiconductor fabrication processes. Simulation results are compared with the theoretically expected results. As semiconductor process simulation tools can respond to user initiated actions in real time, breaking the process at any point of time permits the visual inspection of the intermediate and final results. Therefore, these tools are found to be effective in the learning process. A survey is conducted at the end of each semester to assess the ability of the students to perform semiconductor process simulation. Experience indicates that there is considerable increase in the confidence level of the students in terms of their understanding of semiconductor processes and devices. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.