Lecturer: Lodovico Ratti   Guido Torelli  

Course name: Electronic Instrumentation And Technologies
Course code: 504243
Degree course: Ingegneria Elettronica
Disciplinary field of science: ING-INF/01
L'insegnamento è caratterizzante per: Ingegneria Elettronica
University credits: ECTS 6
Course website: n.d.

Specific course objectives

The main objective of the course is to provide the student with the basics of silicon monolithic integrated circuit fabrication technology and of specialized instrumentation for device and circuit characterization. At the end of the course, the student is expected to know the basics of monolithic integration technology (in particular, of CMOS technology) and be able to evaluate the impact of integration technology over the design and the performance of integrated circuits. The student is also expected to be capable of understanding the main specifications of advanced electronic instrumentation and the most critical points in their design and of selecting a measuring instrument for a given application. The course is intended for students who will carry on their future professional activity in the areas of design, production, application, and management of integrated circuits and devices, equipments, and systems including such circuits, as well as in those areas which involve the design and/or use of electronic instrumentation.

Course programme

Silicon planar technology
Semiconductors. Silicon ingot fabrication and wafer preparation. Basic processing steps for silicon planar technology: thermal oxidation; thermal diffusion; ion implantation; chemical vapour deposition; physical vapour deposition; epitaxy; annealing: gettering; lithography (selective exposure, exposure techniques, mask making; selective etching). Planarization.

Integrated circuit packaging
Production flow from fabricated wafer to packaged die. Yield; yield at the wafer level. Testing (wafer sort; final testing). Packages for integrated circuits: metallic, ceramic, and plastic packages. Assembly and packaging process. Use of non encapsulated devices. Multi-chip modules.

Monolithic integration technologies
MOS technology; CMOS fabrication process. Bipolar fabrication technology. Mixed fabrication technologies. Electrostatic discharges and latch-up in CMOS integrated circuits.

Instrumentation for noise measurement in single devices
Noise sources in electronics devices. Noise measurement in single devices. Instrumentation for noise measurement in field-effect transistors. Instrumentation for noise measurements in bipolar transistors.

Instrumentation for charge measurement from capacitive detectors
Capacitive detectors. Optimum chain for processing the charge signal from capacitive detectors: charge preamplifier and shaper. Equivalent noise charge (ENC). Equivalent noise charge measurement. Shaping filter optimization. Minimum noise design of charge preamplifiers.

Instrumentation for device testing and circuit analysis in the time and frequency domain
Semiconductor parameter analyzers. Semi-automatic bridges for impedance measurement. Digital storage oscilloscopes. Real-time (multichannel) spectrum analyzers. Signal analyzers. Swept-frequency (tunable filter or superheterodyne) spectrum analyzers.

Instrumentation and methods for event timing and time interval measurements
Systematic and random errors in event timing: time walk and jitter. Techniques for event timing: leading edge, constant fraction and zero crossing triggering. Time interval measurement. Direct digitization. Time to voltage conversion. Time to voltage conversion with time expansion. Time vernier.

Course entry requirements

Basics of: Physics and Thermal Sciences; Chemistry; Electronics; Electronics Technology.

Course structure and teaching

Lectures (hours/year in lecture theatre): 38
Practical class (hours/year in lecture theatre): 14
Practicals / Workshops (hours/year in lecture theatre): 4

Suggested reading materials

Handouts and transparencies of the course.

R. C. Jaeger. Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication, 2nd Edition. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2002. For better detail of the part of the program regarding integrated circuit technologies.

J. D. Plummer, M. D. Deal, P. B. Griffin. Silicon VLSI Technology: Fundamental, Practice and Modeling. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA, 2000. For more details on integrated circuit technology.

C. Y. Chang, S. M. Sze. ULSI Technology. The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, NY, USA, 1996. For more details on integrated circuit technology, together with the textbook below.

S. M. Sze. VLSI Technology. McGraw-Hill International Editions, 1988. For more details on integrated circuit technology, together with the textbook just above.

C. F. Coombs, Jr. Editor. Electronic Instrumentation Handbook. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1999.

J. J. Carr. Elements of Electronic Instrumentation and Measurements. McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1996.

W. D. Cooper, A. D. Helfrick. Electronic Instrumentation and Measurements Techniques. Prentice-Hall International, Inc., 1985.

N. Kularatna. Digital and Analogue Instrumentation. The Institution of Electrical Engineers, London, 2003.

Testing and exams

Oral examination (during the exam, some components and/or electronic parts will be provided to the student for discussion). The Examination Commission can decide that the oral examination be preceded by a written examination.