Shumin Wang
Email: shumin@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 772 5039
Office:
Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2)
Photonics Laboratory
Kemivägen 9

One half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in year 2000 was awarded to Zh. I. Alferov and H. Kroemer for developing semiconductor heterostructures used for high-speed microelectronics and optoelectronics.
Heterostructures play a pivotal role in many applications, e.g. low-noise high-frequency amplifiers used in satellite communications for improving the signal-to-noise ratio in mobile telephones and as anti-collision radar in a car; heterostructure lasers used in fibre-optical communications, as reading heads in CD players, as sensors for detection of harzardous gases; heterostructure light emitting diodes used for traffic lights, displays and for one day replacing electric bulbs. Heterostructures also have strong impacts on fundamental research, e.g. two-dimensional electron gas, single photon emission and detection etc.

This course will focus on low dimensional semiconductor heterostructure physics and new phenomena, materials, fabrication and characterization techniques, electronic and optoelectronic devices. The low dimension means that the electrons are confined in either one-dimension (quantum well), or in two-dimension (quantum wire), or in three-dimension (quantum dot), such that the electron de Broglie wavelength is comparable with the heterostructure size. In this regime, quantum mechanics is a necessary physical tool.

Through this course, you will learn fundamental principles of quantum and semiconductor physics necessary to treat heterostructures, new phenomena therein, and how to fabricate and assess heterostructures. You will be able to make and evaluate simple designs of heterostructures for certain applications. Through mini-projects and seminars, you will have a chance to gain an overview of some research fronts in this area and to get inspirations or to appreciate how heterostructures can be
engineered in a genius way for practical applications.

The course will start in late October and will take half a year.

Contents:

Focus on semiconductor heterostructures including quantum wells, quantum wires and quantum dots.
1. Introduction and review of fundamental principles of quantum mechanics and solid state physics necessary for heterostructures
2. Physical properties (electronic, transport and optical) of heterostructures
3. Fabrication and characterization of heterostructures
4. Heterostructure devices

Time Schedule:

Requirements:

1. Attending lectures (totally 12 times)
2. Doing home exercises
3. Doing a small project and giving a short presentation
4. Bonus! Finding out printing mistakes in the two books or overheads, giving suggestions to improve the quality of the course

Who should attend?

This course is developed at the PhD level for master students from Physics, Materials, Chemistry and EE. Background knowledge with quantum mechanics and solid state physics (or semiconductor physics) is a plus.

Registration:

No late than 25 October 2009 by e-mail to shumin@chalmers.se.

1. “Electronic and Optoelectronic Properties of Semiconductor Structures” J. Singh, Cambridge University Press 2003
2. “Optoelectronics” E. Rosencher and B. Vinter, Cambridge University Press 2002
3. Overheads, Shumin Wang

Lecturer: Shumin Wang
Room B411 in MC2 building
Tel. 7725039
E-mail: shumin@chalmers.se