Courses

• ENG EC 771: Physics of Compound Semiconductor Devices
  Physics of present-day compound devices, and emerging devices based on quantum mechanical phenomena. MESFETs, Transferred Electron Devices, avalanche diodes, photodetectors, and light emitters. Quantum mechanical devices based on low dimensionality confinement through the formation of heterojunctions, quantum wells, and superlattices. High electron mobility transistors, resonant tunneling diodes, quantum detectors, and lasers. Materials growth and characterization are integral to the course.
• ENG EC 772: VLSI Graduate Design Project
  EC772 is a project-oriented course that demonstrates the use of high-level design techniques. There are lectures, milestone presentations, and a final presentation. The lectures, interleaved with tutorials showing the utilization of Verilog, the Cadence RTL compiler, and Silicon Encounter, define the general design flow. Additional design issues are also elaborated in the form of classroom lectures, which take up a fraction of the course class time. Student groups of 2-5 define their own projects, which are scrutinized by the entire class as to difficulty and possibility of success. Milestones entail both oral (presented in class times) and written components. Typically, by the time of the final presentation, the milestone documents can be simply, with test results (not necessarily simple), are combined to demonstrate the veracity of the final chip design. Pay special attention to prerequisites. Verilog is at the heart of almost everything. EC311 and EC413 or equivalent courses can provide the minimal Verilog proficiency for LEAP students. These courses do not qualify for grad student credit, so EC551 (Verilog: may be co-req) or equivalent Verilog skill is necessary. EC571 VLSI Design or strong equivalent proficiency in digital circuits at the transistor level is also essential.
• ENG EC 773: Advanced Optical Microscopy and Biological Imaging
  This course will present a rigorous and detailed overview of the theory of optical microscopy starting from basic notions in light propagation and covering advanced concepts in imaging theory such as Fourier optics and partial coherence. Topics will include basic geometric optics, photometry, diffraction, optical transfer functions, phase contrast microscopy, 3D imaging theory, basic scattering and fluorescence theory, imaging in turbid media, confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT), holographic microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET), and nonlinear-optics based techniques such as two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy. Biological applications such as calcium and membrane-potential imaging will be discussed. A background in optics is preferable. A background in signals and analysis is indispensable. In particular, the student should be comfortable with Fourier transforms, complex analysis, and transfer functions. Meets with ENGBE773. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 774: Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Photonic Devices
  Optical properties of semiconductors: interband optical transitions; excitons. Low-dimensional structures: quantum wells, superlattices, quantum wires, quantum dots, and their optical properties; intersubband transitions. Lasers: double-heterojunction, quantum-well, quantum-dot, and quantum-cascade lasers; high-speed laser dynamics. Electro-optical properties of bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors; electroabsorption modulators. Detectors: photoconductors and photodiodes; quantum-well infrared photodetectors. Same as ENG MS 774. Students may not receive credit for both.
• ENG EC 777: Nanostructure Optics
  Discussion of the fundamental physical aspects and device applications of optical fields confined and generated in nanoscale environments. Review of classical electrodynamics and angular spectrum representation of optical fields, classical and quantum models for light-matter interaction, light emission from semiconductor quantum dots and wires, surface-plasmon polaritons and sub-wavelength light transport/localization in metal nanostructures, slot waveguide structures, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and SERS-based sensors, light scattering in complex photonic structures such as: metal-dielectric photonic crystals, fractal structrures, random lasers.
• ENG EC 782: RF/Analog IC Design - Advanced Applications
  Selected topics in advanced RF/Analog integrated circuit design based on high frequency BiCMOS technology. Topics to be covered include oversampling (Sigma Delta) A/D converters, RF phase-locked loops, low voltage RF frequency synthesizers, printed circuit board design for RF applications, antennas and signal propagation, PCB filters, and other mixed-signal topics. The course will utilize selected readings from the technical literature, as well as a number of RF measurement and RF design lab assignments.
• ENG EC 892: Seminar: Electro-Physics
  A weekly two-hour seminar on recent research topics in the area of electro-physics, including solid state materials and devices, photonics, electromagnetics, computers in physics, and other related areas. Speakers include faculty and graduate students in the area.
• ENG EC 900: PhD Research
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation and defense of a PhD prospectus.
• ENG EC 901: Thesis
  By petition only. Preparation of an original MS thesis carried out under the guidance of a faculty member. Variable cr.
• ENG EC 902: MS Project
  MS research project under the supervision of an ECE faculty member. Student must participate in end-of-semester ECE Research Symposium. Final report required. Student must submit proposal for ECE Graduate committee approval prior to the semester in which the MS research project is to be carried out. Variable cr.
• ENG EC 951: Independent Study
  By petition only. Under faculty supervision, graduate students may study subjects not covered in a regularly scheduled course. A final report and/or written examination is required. Variable cr.
• ENG EC 952: Directed Group Project
  A semester long engineering project with significant graduate-level design and implementation elements is carried out by a team of 1 to 4 graduate students under the supervision of an ECE faculty member. Required deliverables include a written proposal, an end-of-semester project report, and an end-of-semester oral/poster presentation. The project proposal must be approved by the faculty supervisor before project team members may register for this course. Variable cr.
• ENG EC 953: MS Project
  MS research project under the supervision of an ECE faculty member. Student must participate in end-of-semester ECE Research Symposium. Final report required. Student must submit proposal for ECE Graduate committee approval prior to the semester in which the MS research project is to be carried out.
• ENG EC 954: MS Thesis
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation of an original MS thesis. For students pursuing an MS thesis to satisfy the practicum requirement for the MS degree.
• ENG EC 991: PhD Dissertation
  Participation in a research project under the direction of a faculty advisor leading to the preparation and defense of an original PhD dissertation.
• ENG EK 100: Freshman Advising Seminar
  This first-year experience course introduces students to Boston University,the College of Engineering, and the field of engineering. Students meet with faculty and student advisors and attend lectures to broaden their knowledge of the inner workings of the College and to gain a better understanding of engineering as a discipline and the ethical responsibilities of an engineer. Includes academic policies and special programs along with support services.
• ENG EK 102: Introduction to Linear Algebra for Engineers
  Systems of linear equations and matrices. Vector spaces and linear transformation using matrix notation, determinants, and eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Examples drawn from engineering applications. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS MA 142 or MA 242.
• ENG EK 125: Introduction to Programming for Engineers
  An introduction to programming concepts and modern computational environments used to solve engineering problems. Basic procedural programming concepts including input/output, selection, looping, functions, data structures (arrays, strings, structures), pointers, and memory management. Introduction to object-oriented programming concepts and terminology and event-driven programming. Emphasis on programming style, debugging, top-down design and modular code. Introduction to matrix operations and matrix properties. Introduction to a command line interface and a high-level language.
• ENG EK 127: Engineering Computation
  An introduction to engineering problem solving using a modern computational environment. Basic procedural programming concepts include input/output, branching, looping, functions, file input/output, and data structures such as arrays and structures. An introduction to basic linear algebra concepts such as matrix operations and solving sets of equations. Introduction to numerical methods, for example least squares solutions and their use for curve fitting. Programming projects provided by all College of Engineering departments will reinforce these concepts and introduce engineering freshmen to the various disciplines.Students completing ENG EK 127 will not receive additional credit for ENG EK 128 and/or CAS CS 111.
• ENG EK 131: Introduction to Engineering
  Introduction to engineering analysis and/or design through a sequence of two modules or minicourses chosen from a selection of modules offered by participating engineering faculty. Each module presents students with key concepts and techniques relevant to an applied area of engineering. Limited to freshmen and sophomores (students with less than 64 credits toward degree requirements). 2 cr, either sem.

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