Classes Taught by Dr. Karthik Shankar
Nonlinear circuit analysis. Diodes: ideal and simple models, single phase rectifiers. Ideal and finite gain op-amps. Treatment of RLC circuits in the time domain, frequency domain and s-plane. Two port networks. Prerequisites: ECE 202, MATH 102 and 201. Corequisite:ECE 240.
ECE 203 is a core course for students in the EE, EE Nano, CompE, CompE Nano, Eng Phys and EngPhys Nano programs and is typically taught in the winter term. Due its importance as a foundational course for several more senior courses, the course as taught by Prof. Shankar emphasizes solving a large number and variety of problems as a means to develop intuition for complex circuit analysis and design. In addition to problems solved in-class and during the seminar, problem-solving videos are posted on the course website. Assignments consisting of ten problems each are handed out every week of the term and are each due one week after being handed out. Lecture summaries available online will assist in recapping key concepts discussed in class.
No single textbook covers all the topics in ECE 203 and consequently, the course does not follow any one textbook very closely. However, Irwin's Basic Engineering Circuit Analysis is the best among the widely used testbooks with the clearest explanation of most concepts-so it is highly recommended that students purchase a copy of this textbook.
ECE 458: Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Overview of microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems, applications of MEMS technology to radio frequency, optical and biomedical devices. Basic MEMS building blocks, cantilever and clamped-clamped beams. Actuation mechanisms of mechanical microdevices, thermal and electrostatic. The thin film fabrication process, deposition, lithography, etching and release. MEMS in circuits, switches, capacitors, and resonators. Prerequisites: ECE 203 or consent of Instructor.
ECE 458 is a relatively new course having been taught for the first time by Prof. Shankar in Winter 2011. MEMS involves integration of several concepts from Mechanics and Materials Science with Electrical Engineering. Such concepts include stress, and strain, free body diagrams, spring constant, piezoelectricity, piezoresistance, crystal planes and Miller indices, etc. Students would ideally have taken one or both of Mec E 250 and Mat E 201 or equivalent.
The course will closely follow the textbook, namely Foundations of MEMS by Chang Liu. Assignments and exams will have three kinds of questions :1) Theory : multiple choice questions that test knowledge and understanding of MEMS concepts, devices and processes 2) Design : questions that require students to design a process flow to fabricate a particular MEMS device or find flaws in an existing proces flow and 3) Analytical Problem-solving which requires making connections between the different phenomena underlying the operation of MEMS sensors and actuators.
(Offered for the first time in Winter 2012 as ECE 750 Lec B4)
Chemical structure, nomenclature, crystal structure and electronic structure of organic semiconductors. Charge carriers and charge transport in crystalline organic semiconductors, amorphous small molecule organic semiconductors and conjugated polymers. Luminescence and energy transfer in organic semiconductors. Device applications including organic field effect transistors, organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells. Characterization of organic semiconductors and devices.
ECE 770: Advanced Topics Course
(Offered for the first time in Fall 2016)