Solid State Device Animation Laboratory

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This project supports the creation of a Solid State Device Animation laboratory (SSDAL) that will make it possible to accomplish a number of pedagogical goals by improving instruction and providing a rich context for student learning and practice. With simulations tools available, the facility is able to accommodate a large number of students in concrete and relevant activities. Students are then better able to visualize abstract concepts and engage in more productive collaborative learning. Additionally, students are exposed to a variety of hands-on learning opportunities through multiple educational media, which enables students of varying learning styles or with special needs to take better advantage of the programs. Also, the facility allows students to record and disseminate their projects, which in turn helps the faculty develop and improve the overall curriculum. Dissemination of projects also gives students practical experience presenting findings in classrooms, at conferences, and over the World Wide Web (WWW), all of which increase a sense of professional self-efficacy among prospective graduates. The SSDAL is based on Hewlett-Packard workstations, Macintosh-based animation and video capture, and device and process simulation software to augment required junior- and senior-level courses in the form of interactive animated tutorials that can be accessed at SSDAL or on the WWW. SSDAL also supports senior projects and classes, allowing combining simulations and animations as investigative tools and where computer science and electrical engineering students can work in team projects. To accomplish this objective, the laboratory uses device and process simulation software developed by Silvaco, along with two- and three-dimensional graphics interface, and Macintosh-based animation and visualization tools for generating animated tutorials and projects. The software includes Atlas II, which is a framework for device simulation that includes PISCES, BLAZE, TFT, LUMINOS, and GIGA, and the Athena framework, with one- and two-dimensional process simulation capability.