NSF IRES China 2017
Week 2
July 2st 2017
Today was a rest day. We napped, did laundry and escaped the heat.
July 3rd 2017
Today we started off our week back in the lab to focus on our research. When we got to the lab we downloaded a software called Xmanager and got to play around with it for the morning. In the afternoon, we reviewed a PowerPoint on p-n junctions. The PowerPoint went over p and n doped semiconductors as well as why the p-n junction has the characteristic of single conduction. We also reviewed how the electric field size can effect the p-n junction. Then we concluded the day by talking about the electric density, field and potential after looking at some sample data graphs.
July 4th 2017
Today was a relatively simple day as we did not do much in the lab today except for familiarize ourselves all day by doing tutorials on how to use the Xmanager software to access a program called Sentaurus Workbench and Editor. Apparently, this program will allow us to not only visualize data, but it can also allow us to simulate sample experiments before putting it into actual practice. Also, today wa the first day of rain during our stay here in China
July 5th 2017
Another day down during our stay here in Beijing. Today was another learning and review day as we went over another PowerPoint. The PowerPoint was on MOSFETs and the uses that they hold. Some of the background information on MOSFETs is that all MOSFETs are transistors that contain a metal, oxide and a semiconductor and that some off the common materials that go into MOSFETs are silicon (Si) since it crystallizes into a diamond structure making very stable, as well as the native oxide of silicon, silicon oxide (SiO2). When going over MOSFETs the host students gave us the analogy that the source and the drain of the MOSFET are water reservoirs, while the gate is the gate between the two reservoirs. We also learned about three types of regimes, specifically the Cut-off, Linear, and Saturation regimes. And to end they gave us some key points to remember with one of them being the amount of charge in the inversion layer is controlled by the field-effect action of the gate. In the afternoon, we took a trip to Peking University. Peking University seems to be a lot smaller in comparison to Tsinghua University in terms of size, however, the two universities differ in their architecture as Tsinghua follows a more modern architecture, whereas Peking follows a more cultural architecture. One interesting fact about Peking University is that the campus surrounds several small lakes which in turn with the whole cultural architecture create this serene atmosphere.
July 6th 2017
Today was another rainy day that exceeded the amount of rain on Tuesday by huge amount. Luckily, we got to spend the day inside in the lab doing more doing more tutorials on the Sentaurus to continue familiarizing ourselves with the Workbench and Editor in preparation for some basic simulations tomorrow.
July 7th 2017
Today we spent the day in the lab on our task, which was to design a p-n junction as well as a MOSFET, dope the two pieces and then run some simulations on the two pieces. The task took us the whole day as we are still new to Sentaurus but in the end we were able to complete most of the task assigned to us. Afterwards we went to a new cafeteria for dinner and found a new market underneath it to explore. We spent a good amount of time browsing aroung.
July 8th 2017
In the morning, we went to visit Prince Gong Mansion. The mansion is an enormous estate that was owned by the renowned leader, Prince Gong. What is interesting to note about this place is that although the Prince Gong made many contributions his success became too great and the emperor considered him a threat, so he was forced to commit suicide by the emperor via an imperial writ. After our stay, at Prince Gong Mansion we stopped for lunch at a place called Wang Ping Zi where we tried donkey meat for the first time. Afterwards we went to South Lougu Lane, Qianhai and Houhai for some sightseeing as well as some shopping in the streets, where we found many interesting and unique shops were we were able to pick up some interesting souvenirs.