Objective
This course introduces solar cell and other technologies for low-carbon energy systems. It starts with a review of semiconductors, with a focus on the fundamentals for solar cell development. The content covers such as electron and hole, Fermi energy, generation and recombination, p-n junction, and the optical and optoelectronic properties. The course then elaborates the solar cell technology in-depth – covering (i) the basic principles of photovoltaic devices, including absorption, photo-electric conversion, conversion efficiency, loss mechanism, carrier collection and device characterization; (ii) the four generations of solar cell technology, e.g., monocrystalline solar cells, thin-film solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells; and (iii) other related engineering topics such as concentrated solar power, management techniques, manufacturing systems, reliability, life-cycle analysis, markets and policies. Beyond the solar cell technology, the course continues with discussions on other low-carbon energy technologies, for instance, thin-film transistors, ultralow-power flexible electronics, light-emitting diodes, and nanoenergy harvesting technologies. In the end, the course concludes with fabrication towards large-scale, low-cost and green manufacturing, including the key considerations in developing large-scale, flexible devices and the emerging printing techniques.

Syllabus
Review of Semiconductors:

• Basics: Semiconductor crystals, two types of current carriers in semiconductors: intrinsic and doped semiconductors, electron and hole generation and recombination in thermal equilibrium; modelling the diffusion: diffusion-current equation, continuity equation, and doping profiles; drift current.
• Carrier mobility: Effective mass, thermal velocity and drift velocity; mobility; scattering: dependence of mobility on temperature and doping concentration; mobility versus diffusion coefficient: Haynes-Shockley experiment and Einstein relationship.
• Energy-Band model: Energy bands – quantum mechanics background; the population of energy bands: Fermi-Dirac distribution and Fermi level; energy bands with the applied electric field. Solar cell technologies:
• Introduction to solar irradiation; basic principles of photovoltaics, theoretical efficiency limit, and light management; crystalline solar cells, thin-film solar cells, organic and nanostructure-based solar cells, material factors, device design and fabrication methods. Module design and manufacturing, solar panels, system components and building (or grid) integration, scaling, life cycle assessment, and cost. Low-carbon energy technologies beyond solar cells
• Technologies beyond solar cells, including thin-film transistors, flexible and wearable electronics, light-emitting diodes, and nanoenergy harvesting;
• Manufacturing: Materials and the fabrication considerations and methods for large-scale, low-cost and green manufacturing;
• Printed electronics: Printable electronic materials, inks and formulations, printing technologies, and printable applications.

Learning Outcome
By the end of the course, students should be able to

• Gain the fundamental knowledge and skills in understanding the operation principles of solar cells and other related low-carbon energy technologies,and note the scope and limitation of the solar cells and beyond technologies.
• Apply the learned knowledge and skills in solid state devices for analysis in various types of solar cells and devices and their basic functionalities, basic device characterization techniques, and advanced device fabrication methods.
• Understand the technological impact of low-carbon energy technologies to the society.
• Understand the basic physical principles and the engineering know-how of low-carbon energy technologies for further specialization in areas related to display technology, solid state lighting technology, photovoltaic technology.

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Objective

Syllabus
Background review. Transmission of digital baseband signals, PCM, ▲M, ▲PCM, ISI, pulse shaping, partial response. Least square optimal and adaptive filtering, LMS and RLS algorithms, adaptive equalizer and echo canceller. Bandpass data transmission, binary and M-ary ASK, FSK, PSK, DPSK. Statistical detection theory, the matched filter. Multiplexing and multiple access.

(Original Course Code: ELE7100)

Learning Outcome

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Objective & Syllabus
This course starts with a review of semiconductor fundamentals such as electron and hole, Fermi energy, carrier generation and recombination, p-n junction, metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes, carrier mobility, effective mass. The course content covers conventional semiconductor properties, namely electronic structures, optical and electrical properties, metal-oxide capacitors, junction field effect transistors (JFET), metal-oxide-semiconductor field transistors (MOSFET), NMOS technology, basic CMOS technology, charge coupled devices and sensors, MOS transistor modeling, simulation, and design, advanced MOS transistors. Fabrication methods for MOSFETs, including sputtering, CVD, VPD, oxidation, ion implantation, etching, photolithography, metallization, silicon wafer fabrication technology, transistor on-wafer test, etc. will be introduced. The course also covers the basic principles of deep submicron devices: down-scaling benefits and rules, current issues and trends, FinFETs; memory devices; RAM and ROM; SOI technology, BiCMOS technology, thin film transistor (TFT), non-volatile memory devices, device characterization. Other topics may include neuromorphic transistors, system on chips (SoCs), electronic packaging technology, fabrication systems, reliability, life-cycle analysis, markets and policies. Students will learn not only the conventional device physics and fabrication technologies, but also the state-of-the-art device technologies.

Learning Outcome
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Gain fundamental knowledge about the operation principles of commonly used MOSFET devices, their derivatives, and other advanced variations
2. Note the scope and limitation of CMOS technology and Moore's Law
3. Learn the main-stream fabrication technologies for mass manufacturing of semiconductor devices to realize functionalized circuits and/or systems on silicon
4. Apply the learned knowledge and skills to the analysis of field-effect transistors
5. State the technological impact of MOS transistors to the society
6. Explain basic physical principles and the engineering know-how of MOS technology
7. Establish a general view of MOS transistors and fabrication technologies in the past, present and future

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Objective

Syllabus
The course is designed for students to learn advanced image processing techniques and video technology. The topics cover characteristics of human visual system, imaging systems and color representation, image restoration, image enhancement, image and video segmentation, image and video understanding, motion analysis and relevant applications. Background knowledge on random processes and digital signal processing is required.

Learning Outcome
By the end of the course, students will be able to

• Understand the characteristics of human visual system the principle of imaging systems.
• Design and implement algorithms for image analysis.
• Design and implement algorithms for image restoration.
• Design and implement algorithms for image enhancement.

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