Undergraduate Instruction in Bipolar Integrated Circuit Design and Fabrication Using "Masterslice" Integrated Circuits

Abstract

Few undergraduate students have the opportunity for actual laboratory experience fabricating solid-state devices. In this paper we describe the integrated circuit fabrication technique used in our undergraduate integrated electronic circuit design course which allows students to not only learn the theory of integrated circuit design but to actually implement their own designs as integrated circuits; all in a one-quarter three-credit course. Thus, valuable industrially relevant experience is obtained by these undergraduate students at a reasonably low cost to the department.