1 Letters in brackets correspond to departmental program objectives

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Topics:

Introduction/PSpice
Semiconductors
Energy band diagrams
Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors
Conductivity, resistivity, and mobility
PN junction characteristics
PN junction biasing
Diode current equation
Diode circuit analysis
Breakdown
Diode applications
Transistor introduction
BJT characteristics, operating states, equations
BJT biasing
BJT small signal model
BJT CB, CE, CC amplifiers
BJT amplifier gain, input impedance, output impedance
JFET characteristic curves and equations
D-MOSFET characteristic curves and equations
E-MOSFET characteristic curves and equations
FET small signal models
FET amplifiers
MESFET
Digital circuits

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Performance Criteria:

for Objective 1:

        a. Students will demonstrate an understanding of basic semiconductor theory, including the concepts of energy band diagrams, mobility, etc.
        b. Students will demonstrate an understanding of pn junction operation, biasing, and current.
        c. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the internal semiconductor characteristics of diodes and BJT/FET transistors.

for Objective 2:

        a. Students will demonstrate an understanding of diode and BJT/FET operating modes.
        b. Students will demonstrate an understanding of electrical modeling of diodes and BJT/FET transistors.
        c. Students will demonstrate an understanding of electrical circuit analysis, as applied to the DC and AC evaluation of circuits containing diodes and
            BJT/FET transistors.

for Objective 3:

        a. Students will demonstrate an understanding of characteristic curves and equations associated with diodes and BJT/FET transistors.
        b. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of BJT and FET operating configurations, including CB, CE, CC, CS, and CD.

for Objective 4:

        a. Students will demonstrate an ability to apply course concepts to the understanding of laboratory circuits, containing diodes and BJT/FET transistors.
        b. Students will demonstrate an ability to simulate, construct, test, evaluate, and troubleshoot circuits in the laboratory environment.
        c. Students will demonstrate the ability to prepare technical reports.

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Course Policies:

Contact Information:

Office : 430 Nichols Hall
Phone : 464-7343 (office)
            464-3961 (home)
E-Mail : addingtonjs@mail.vmi.edu

Office Hours:

Monday : 0900-1100
Tuesday/Thursday : 0930-1100
Wednesday : 0900-1100, 1400-1600
Friday : 0900-1100
(and by appointment)

Lecture Policies:

Homework - Usually assigned once a week
Tests - Three; during regular class time
Final - Comprehensive

No make-up tests will be given.
Late homework will be graded accordingly.

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Grading Policies:

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(1)                "Cadets' Responsibilities"

"Work for grade" is defined as any work presented to an instructor for a formal grade or undertaken in satisfaction of a requirement for successful completion of a course or degree requirement.  All work submitted for grade is considered the cadet's own work.  "Cadet's own work" means that he or she has composed the work from his or her general accumulation of knowledge and skill except as clearly and fully documented and that it has been composed especially for the current assignment.  No work previously submitted in any course at VMI or elsewhere will be resubmitted or reformatted for submission in a current course without the specific approval of the instructor.
In all work for grade, failure to distinguish between the cadet’s own work and ideas and the work and ideas of others is known as plagiarism.  Proper documentation clearly and fully identifies the sources of all borrowed ideas, quotations, or other assistance. The cadet is referred to the VMI-authorized handbook for rules concerning quotations, paraphrases, and documentation.
In all written work for grade, the cadet must include the words "HELP RECEIVED" conspicuously on the document, and he or she must then do one of two things:  (1) state “none,” meaning that no help was received except as documented in the work; or (2) explain in detail the nature of the help received.  In oral work for grade, the cadet must make the same declaration before beginning the presentation.  Admission of help received may result in a lower grade but will not result in prosecution for an honor violation.
Cadets are prohibited from discussing the contents of a quiz/exam until it is returned to them or final course grades are posted.  This enjoinder does not imply that any inadvertent expression or behavior that might indicate one’s feeling about the test should be considered a breach of honor.  The real issue is whether cadets received information, not available to everyone else in the class, which would give them an unfair advantage.  If a cadet inadvertently gives or receives information, the incident must be reported to the professor and the Honor Court.
Each cadet bears the responsibility for familiarizing himself or herself thoroughly with the policies stated in this section, with any supplementary statement regarding work for grade expressed by the academic department in which he or she is taking a course, and with any special conditions provided in writing by the professor for a given assignment.  If there is any doubt or uncertainty about the correct interpretation of a policy, the cadet should consult the instructor of the course. There should be no confusion, however, on the basic principle that it is never acceptable to submit someone else’s work, written or otherwise, formally graded or not, as one’s own.
The violation by a cadet of any of these policies will, if he or she is found guilty by the Honor Court, result in his or her being dismissed from VMI.  Neither ignorance nor professed confusion about the correct interpretation of these policies is an excuse.

Semiconductor Applets