EE4505 Review (AY21/22 Special Term 1)

Taken during AY21/22 Special Term 1

Fully Physical Lessons

Under A/Prof Liang Y.C.

Assessments:

- Assignment 1 (8%)

- Assignment 2 (15%)

- Assignment 3 (12%)

- IGBT design work report (20%)

- Lab measurement session + report (25%)

- GaN power device paper report (20%)

Expected Grade: B+

Actual Grade: B (sigh...)

Do not ever take this mod alone without friends! Due to the small class size this year (about 20+ people this year, when previous years had 50+), the Prof emphasised many times that there is no bell curve and no moderation of marks. I guess it was a big hint. All assignments are take-home and individual submission. There was no class test this year. Hence, if you are able to collaborate for all the assessments, you will be able to score. Unfortunately, I joined this module alone without knowing anyone in the class.

I emphasise that collaborating with friends is necessary because there may be different perspectives when doing the question which you may miss out if you do it by yourself. I believe some people had access to past year assignments too, it will be an advantage since it is similar in concept and you will be able to do the assignments more accurately. Sadly, I did the assignments by myself without any help, nor any resources. 

Unlike the other review, the module pace has been adjusted. The lessons are from week 1 to 5, with the last week being "consultation". In fact, I went to class during week 6 but no one was inside throughout. But that means that the work is spread out evenly across all the weeks. The three assignments were released every week at the start of the term (week 2, 3, and 4). Workload is high because the assignments must be submitted in hardcopy within 72 hours after he emailed it to us. So I stayed up really late every weekend mostly just reading the Prof's recommended textbook since not all concepts required to do the questions are covered in the lecture. For all marked assignments he returned to us, I caught a glimpse of other people's marks. Shockingly, almost everyone got full marks while I typically got around 70% of the marks. There were some concepts which I missed out which I heard from others that they found from reading some other textbooks or papers. There are two rounds of marking, the GA marks the assignments first then the Prof checks the marking, the latter of which is more strict.

About week 3, we got into a clean room to do measurements on a IGBT silicon device and a galium nitride wafer. The GA was really nice and taught us how to do operations on the machine. The GA also speaks relatively good English despite coming from a foreign country. I can tell why the Prof speaks well of the GA for her skills. The lab was done in groups of 3 which were randomised groupings in the order of the namelist. We saved the data collected on a USB thumbdrive and the analysis is to be done at home. It is mostly basic linear regression in Excel and after which you analyse it and calculate the parameters. The report submission is individual work but it helps to compare answers with your group members. After the lab session as I was about to leave, my group member decided to stay behind to speak casually to the GA. Even though I scored poorly in my second language classes during secondary school, I tried my best to interpret their conversation amidst the heavy accent. From then, it has come to my understanding that they were closely acquainted. Evidently, I lost out right from the very start due to my lack of connections.

I also realised that my lab member always sits together in the class with a group of people who speaks a common language. One of them always asks questions in class. However, the Prof could barely understand her English and had to ask her to repeat 2-3 times. Sometimes, I wonder how they can manage to write the 5-page report. I struggled even though the report is in my first language and even though I do well in writing mods. Nevertheless, I am sure they scored well because they had direct access to a key resource.

In terms of prerequisites, I will recommend doing Semiconductor Physics on Coursera (University of Colorado Boulder). As others mentioned too, NTU H3 Semiconductor Physics or NTU EE2003 Semiconductor Fundamentals also covers the basics needed (you can find the notes on Reddit). Note that none of the EE 2k modules will prepare you for this module. I am not sure about the EE 3k mods because I did not take them. I started the Coursera course a few weeks prior and it has helped me to understand most stuff easily in class.

Objectively speaking, I did learn a lot from this module and I am proud I managed to cope even though my foundation was built up only through a few Coursera videos. Lessons were interesting and the Prof explains concepts clearly and I understood most of the things he said. Perhaps you are taking this module simply to clear your last few MCs to graduate. If your CAP has enough leeway and don't care about scoring well, definitely go ahead. It is a useful module especially with the increasing interest in the semiconductor industry. 

However, the whole experience of lacking of connections in this module ended my term with a bittersweet feeling. Pragmatically speaking, I wouldn't recommend this module if you are joining alone; while I feel that the content is useful for a career in the semiconductor industry, it is not a fun experience at all when virtually everyone around you is working together. The fact that the assessments are 100% take-home means that grading is questionable too. But unfortunately this is a glimpse into the real working world: hardwork means nothing if you don't have connections. I somewhat regret not withdrawing from the module by Week 3, which was when I already got back my first assignment marks. But it is imposible to stop other students from collaborating, so if you cannot beat them, you *must* join them. Good luck!