Teaching microelectronics at Olin College

Abstract

In this paper, I describe the curricular context and some of the distinctive features of the required sophomore/junior-level required course in microelectronic circuits that I have developed and taught at Olin College over the past eleven years. These features include the use of low-cost portable USB instrumentation for the labs, the coverage of CMOS at all levels of inversion right from the start using a simple, three-parameter Enz-Krummenacher-Vittoz (EKV) model of the long-channel MOS transistor, an emphasis on design-oriented driving-point impedance circuit analysis techniques, and the development of students' circuit reasoning abilities.