Foreword

Since the 1960s, numerous works on the subject of semiconductor device physics and modeling have appeared in print. Most of these were intended for use as textbooks at either the undergraduate or graduate levels, or both. Some were written for practicing engineers in the semiconductor industry, although a few, notably the one by Grove (1967), found its way into many classrooms as well as bookshelves in company offices. While device operational principles are based on solid-state physics and statistical mechanics, understanding of these principles for technology and product development (especially in the case of silicon integrated circuits) requires mastery of only a few fundamental concepts such as bandgap and Fermi level. Thus device physics can be learned by students in the classroom without a deep knowledge of quantum and statistical mechanics, and more important, by practicing engineers from a broad range of academic disciplines and training.

Dr. Kunihiro Suzuki has recognized the reality of teaching and learning transistor physics and modeling, based on his intimate working knowledge of the subject as a researcher with a prolific publication record in a leading industry laboratory for the past three decades. His recently published three-volume treatise on ion implantation is yet another testimony to his breadth and depth in the field of semiconductor device physics and technology.

While the overall organization of this book is not unique, the treatment of each topic spans from elementary concepts to advanced developments that are not present in most other similar publications. The book is suitable for experts as a reference, and for someone with a basic science background to learn a few things about this important technology, the recognition of which is increasingly supplanted by fascination with other non-science-based areas. Further, the book is especially useful for one without a strong device background but working on some aspects of 3-D silicon-based device technologies, as it provides the necessary prerequisite knowledge and nomenclature for understanding the operations of such devices.

I applaud the phenomenal effort put into the preparation of this book and look forward to using it for both teaching and as a reference. The dedication of Dr. Suzuki to his profession and his intense passion for device physics were apparent to me when we first met at Fujitsu Atsugi Laboratories in the late eighties, where he subsequently hosted one of my former graduate students (currently an executive at Intel) for one year working on short-channel effects. I expect such passion to be also apparent to readers from a broad range of educational and professional backgrounds, who, like Dr. Suzuki, wish to continue to contribute to device technology developments as far and as long as Moore’s Law remains relevant in some form.