142
failure modes, and their key reliability indices as well as
deep sub-micron technology challenges. In conclusion,
the authors emphasize the increasing need and imple-
mentation of the design for reliability methodologies.
Application of fundamental physics of failure methods
and a good understanding of design and business reali-
ties associated with the IC industry are the pathways to
the design of better reliability practices.
In view of the above discussion, this book will be
useful for design and process engineers in manufactur-
ing, as well as for graduate and post-graduate students
0026-2714/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 2 6 - 2 7 1 4 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 2 3 1 - 6
Understanding Semiconductor Devices; Sima Dimitrijev.
Oxford University Press, New York. 2000. ISBN: 0-19-
513186-X
Semiconductor devices appear at the interfaces of
science, technology, and electronic engineering. A tran-
sistor is regarded as an element by circuit designers, yet
it is seen as a complete system by solid-state physicists,
technologists, and material scientists. Because of their
importance, there are quite a few books on semicon-
ductor devices that focus on either application in cir-
cuits, scienti®c fundamentals, or fabrication techniques.
Understanding Semiconductor Devices by Sima Dimi-
trijev is a unique book, linking all the related areas to-
gether. The unique approach of the material
presentation in this book is described as ``electronics to
physics'' approach by the author. It appears that the
author's main intention has been to enable electronic-
engineering students and circuit designers to genuinely
grasp the underlying physical principles. However, this
approach equally well enables scientists to genuinely
grasp the subtleties that make devices more or less
suitable for real-world applications.
For example, the ®rst chapter of the book is entitled
Resistors: Introduction to Semiconductors. It begins with
a cross-section of an IC resistor and the concept of sheet
resistance, as used to design IC resistors. From the
components of the sheet resistance, as well as from the
elegantly introduced di€erential form of Ohm's law
(drift current), it becomes obvious that all the techno-
logical parameters are lumped into the conductivity (r).
Therefore, the subsequent section is entitled Insight into
Conductivity Ingredients: Chemical Bond Model to in-
troduce the concept of free electrons, holes, their mo-
bility, and concentration …r ˆ qln n ‡ qlp p†. This book
introduces the new concepts as they are needed, pro-
viding immediate application of the introduced con-
cepts. Therefore, the section explaining that the doping
Book reviews
for understanding the management of silicon chip reli-
ability. In addition, the book is a stimulus for re-
searchers to ®nd new methods of managing the
reliability of semiconductor products.
M. Jevtic
Institute for Physics,
Pregrevica 118, 11080
Zemun, Yugoslavia
Tel.: +381-11-3160-260;
fax: +381-11-3162-190
determines the carrier concentration (and consequently
the sheet resistance) is followed by a section describing
how doping is used to make IC resistors. This section
not only e€ortlessly introduces lithography, but also the
di€usion as a current mechanism independent of the
drift (Ohm's law). The ®nal two sections describe carrier
mobility in more detail, and introduce the energy-band
model as the tool that will be powerfully used
throughout the book to elucidate various device phe-
nomena.
The title of the second chapter, Capacitors: Reverse-
biased P±N Junction and MOS Structure, makes quite
obvious what structures are used as capacitors in inte-
grated circuits. The need to explain capacitance±voltage
characteristics is utilized to introduce the concepts of
built-in voltage, depletion, and inversion layers, as well
as to demonstrate how Poisson equation is solved to
determine the depletion-layer width. The concept of
energy barrier at the P±N junction (built-in voltage) is
consolidated in the third chapter (Diodes: Forward-
biased P±N Junction and Metal±Semiconductor Contact)
by applying it to the case of forward-biased P±N junc-
tion and to the case of a barrier achieved in an alter-
native way (metal±semiconductor contact). The models
presented in this chapter, as well as in the whole book,
are derived from the introduced principles and directly
linked to the pragmatic equations used in circuit simu-
lators (SPICE).
The fourth chapter, Basics of Transistor Applications is
a unique description of the fundamental functions of a
generic transistor in both digital and analog circuits. For
scientists, it de®nes the preferred characteristics (ideal
transistor) from the circuit perspective. For engineers, it
provides natural framework for the introduction of the
two most important solid-state implementations of the
transistor functions: MOSFET (Chapter 5) and BJT
(Chapter 6). Both transistors are covered with balanced
descriptions of all the relevant aspects: principles, tech-
nology, modeling, and SPICE equations and parameters.
 Book reviews
The ®rst six chapters are grouped in Part I: The
Fundamentals. Part II: Advanced Topics covers the spe-
ci®cs of deep submicron MOSFET, photonic, micro-
wave, and power devices and introduces advanced
technologies, device reliability, and quantum mechanics.
This is the very ®rst textbook on semiconductor devices
to devote a chapter on device reliability issues. The
chapter covers the fundamental reliability concepts, re-
liability screening, reliability measurement, and failure
mechanisms (purple plague, electromigration, corrosion,
oxide-charge/interface-trap creation, oxide breakdown,
activation of parasitic structures, and soft errors). I am
sure the readers of Microelectronics Reliability will agree
that this is a commendable move, given the growing
practical importance of reliability issues for both the
integrated-circuit designers and users.
An extremely interesting supplement is provided on a
CD enclosed with the book: Interactive MATLAB Ani-
mations. It is designed to enable a quicker and deeper
introduction to and understanding of the underlying
theoretical concepts. There is no need to know or learn
MATLAB ± you just click to make a selection, and start
exploring device characteristics and/or underlying
physical phenomena. A particularly powerful animation
relates to the MOSFET ± animated 3D view of the
conduction energy band visualizes a MOSFET in satu-
0026-2714/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 2 6 - 2 7 1 4 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 0 2 - 5
143
ration as a waterfall, or ``electron-fall'' (source of mov-
ing electrons, the channel region, the ``electron-fall'',
and the drain at the bottom). There are also diode/BJT/
MOSFET calculators, where you enter SPICE parame-
ters, and the corresponding I±V and/or C±V character-
istics are displayed automatically. Computer Exercises
Manual: Device Parameters in SPICE is an additional
supplement provided on the CD. It includes 90 pages of
exercises, complete solutions, and PSPICE instructions,
illustrating the e€ects and meaning of the SPICE
parameters described in the text.
Understanding Semiconductor Devices is an excellent
textbook, supported by a variety of problems, review
questions and exercises. However, it is also an important
reference, providing unique SPICE material. Finally, the
topic selection and the excellent explanations make it a
superb reading for engineers (to consolidate and deepen
their understanding of the physical principles) as well as
scientists (to gain knowledge of the features that make a
device successful in practical and commercial terms).
Ninoslav Stojadinovic
Faculty of Electronic Engineering, University of Nis,
Beogradska 14, 18000 Nis, Yugoslavia
Tel.: +381-1852-584; fax: +381-1846-180
E-mail address: nino@unitop.elfak.ni.ac.yu