16.2 Workshop 1: An Experience of Elicited Inquiry
Elucidating the Electron Transport in Semiconductor
Crystals
The understanding of semiconductor transport properties is a necessary tool for any
physicist or engineer involved in semiconductor technology. In last years, there has
been a significant attention toward indium phosphide (InP) because of its usage in
several optoelectronic and photonic devices (Persano-Adorno et al. 2015b, 2016a).
Thus, a greater knowledge of the characteristics of the electron transport dynamics in
InP devices is crucial in undergraduate instruction in electronic engineering as well
as in semiconductor science.
16.2.1 Method
A sample of ten undergraduates in electronic engineering at the Laboratory of
Condensed Matter Physics of the Department of Physics and Chemistry, University
of Palermo, Italy, took part in this learning experience. Two tutors, having more than
15 years of expertise in scientific research and on teaching physics at both University
and high-school, supported student scientist-like activities. The undergraduates,
selected among those who attended more than 80% of the traditional lectures on
Physics of Materials for Electronics, were engaged in an inquiry-based learning
environment about the investigation of the carrier dynamics in InP semiconductor
bulk via Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. This method is one of the most powerful
simulative techniques allowing the numerical simulation of the carrier dynamics in
semiconductors, away from the quasi-equilibrium approximation (Moglestue 1993).
The MC technique represents a space-time continuous solution of the Boltzmann
transport equation and provides an exhaustive description of particle motion in a
semiconductor. Therefore, it is appropriate for investigating both the steady state and
the dynamic features of a device (Persano-Adorno 2010). The MC method allows to
account for the main aspects of band structure, scattering processes and heating
effects, device design and material parameters.
16.2.2 Activity Description
The task requested to the students was to investigate the carrier dynamics in an InP
crystal by using MC simulations, with a focus on the role of the effective mass,
intervalley and intravalley scattering, crystal impurities, and lattice temperature on
carrier dynamics (Persano-Adorno et al. 2015a). The final challenge guiding
learners’ inquiry was the exploration of real possibilities of improving the transport
dynamics, in terms of an increase of the signal transmission speed, i.e., the charge
204
D. Persano-Adorno
Elucidating the Electron Transport in Semiconductor
Crystals
The understanding of semiconductor transport properties is a necessary tool for any
physicist or engineer involved in semiconductor technology. In last years, there has
been a significant attention toward indium phosphide (InP) because of its usage in
several optoelectronic and photonic devices (Persano-Adorno et al. 2015b, 2016a).
Thus, a greater knowledge of the characteristics of the electron transport dynamics in
InP devices is crucial in undergraduate instruction in electronic engineering as well
as in semiconductor science.
16.2.1 Method
A sample of ten undergraduates in electronic engineering at the Laboratory of
Condensed Matter Physics of the Department of Physics and Chemistry, University
of Palermo, Italy, took part in this learning experience. Two tutors, having more than
15 years of expertise in scientific research and on teaching physics at both University
and high-school, supported student scientist-like activities. The undergraduates,
selected among those who attended more than 80% of the traditional lectures on
Physics of Materials for Electronics, were engaged in an inquiry-based learning
environment about the investigation of the carrier dynamics in InP semiconductor
bulk via Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. This method is one of the most powerful
simulative techniques allowing the numerical simulation of the carrier dynamics in
semiconductors, away from the quasi-equilibrium approximation (Moglestue 1993).
The MC technique represents a space-time continuous solution of the Boltzmann
transport equation and provides an exhaustive description of particle motion in a
semiconductor. Therefore, it is appropriate for investigating both the steady state and
the dynamic features of a device (Persano-Adorno 2010). The MC method allows to
account for the main aspects of band structure, scattering processes and heating
effects, device design and material parameters.
16.2.2 Activity Description
The task requested to the students was to investigate the carrier dynamics in an InP
crystal by using MC simulations, with a focus on the role of the effective mass,
intervalley and intravalley scattering, crystal impurities, and lattice temperature on
carrier dynamics (Persano-Adorno et al. 2015a). The final challenge guiding
learners’ inquiry was the exploration of real possibilities of improving the transport
dynamics, in terms of an increase of the signal transmission speed, i.e., the charge
204
D. Persano-Adorno