Knowledge of elements of crystal structure. Knowledge of alternative approaches to the theoretical determination of the energy bands in semiconductors. Knowledge of scattering mechanisms in semiclassical theory of charge transport. Knowledge of the electronic and transport properties of polymeric and organic materials. Ability to use the empirical pseudopotential method to compute the electronic structure of crystalline semiconductors. Ability to solve the Boltzmann transport equation by means of a Monte Carlo particle-based approach. Ability to understand and analyze/design polymeric and organic (opto)electronic devices.

Basics of quantum mechanics and solid-state physics. Operating principles of the most important electronic semiconductor devices. Fundamentals of numerical analysis.

Review of the crystal, electronic and transport properties of semiconductor materials and their alloys and heterostructures. Introduction to the empirical and ab initio approaches to the computation of the electronic structure of semiconductors. Details on the use of the empirical pseudopotential method for the approximation of the electronic structure of crystalline semiconductors (1 ECTS). Scattering theory: impurity scattering, carrier-phonon scattering, impact ionization scattering, radiative processes. Carrier transport in semiconductors, the Boltzmann transport equation, particle-based device simulation methods, the Monte Carlo approach (3.7 ECTS). The numerical solution of the drift-diffusion equations (0.3 ECTS). Electronic properties of amorphous and crystalline polymers, conjugated polymers, organic conductors and semiconductors. Transport properties of organic semiconductors. Introduction to organic and polymeric based electronic devices. Inkjet printing technology of polymers (1 ECTS).

The theory presented in class will be further illustrated through two numerical laboratories: (a) calculation of the electronic structure of crystalline semiconductor compounds and alloys with the empirical pseudopotential method; (b) development of a Monte Carlo simulation code for the study of electronic transport in semiconductors. Each laboratory will be organized in several sessions; the lab reports and the numerical codes written by the students will be discussed during the oral exam.

Detailed week-by-week syllabus, lecture notes, and laboratory/homework assignments will be posted on the course website. Supplementary texts include: M. Fischetti and W. G. Vandenberghe, Advanced Physics of Electron Transport in Semiconductors and Nanostructures, Springer 2016. C. Jacoboni and P. Lugli, The Monte Carlo Method for Semiconductor Device Simulation, ser. Computational Microelectronics, Springer 1989. D. Vasileska, S. M. Goodnick, and G. Klimeck, Computational Electronics. Semiclassical and Quantum Device Modeling and Simulation, CRC Press 2010. Ioannis Kymissis, Organic Field Effect Transistors: Theory, Fabrication and Characterization, Springer 2009.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group essay; Paper-based written test with video surveillance of the teaching staff;

The exam includes a written test focused on organic semiconductors in the form of four open questions, and an oral discussion about the electronic structure and transport properties of crystalline semiconductors, based on the reports of the numerical laboratories that have to be submitted by the students during the course. The written test is closed-book (no use of any course material is allowed) and has a duration of 90 minutes; the objective of the oral test is to assess the capability of the student to explain the numerical results obtained with the empirical pseudopotential method and the analytic-band Monte Carlo code developed in the laboratories. Percentage-type breakdown of the course grades: completeness/correctness of the written test (20%), quality of the lab reports (40%), ability of the student to discuss her/his approach to the numerical laboratories during the oral discussion (40%).

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group essay; Paper-based written test with video surveillance of the teaching staff;

The exam includes a written test focused on organic semiconductors in the form of four open questions, and an oral discussion about the electronic structure and transport properties of crystalline semiconductors, based on the reports of the numerical laboratories that have to be submitted by the students during the course. The written test is closed-book (no use of any course material is allowed) and has a duration of 90 minutes; the objective of the oral test is to assess the capability of the student to explain the numerical results obtained with the empirical pseudopotential method and the analytic-band Monte Carlo code developed in the laboratories. Percentage-type breakdown of the course grades: completeness/correctness of the written test (20%), quality of the lab reports (40%), ability of the student to discuss her/his approach to the numerical laboratories during the oral discussion (40%).