Example:
Arizona State University Students Link Electromagnetics and Electronics
Materials
Electromagnetics and properties of electronic materials are
two of the most challenging areas of electrical engineering. At ASU, Professor
Ronald Roedel and coworkers use wave phenomena to integrate the material and offer
students challenging and more realistic problems. Roedel unites concepts, like
matter waves, electromagnetic waves, and lattice vibrations, to create a strong,
interdisciplinary foundation. Example Problem: Develop
a nondestructive technique to examine regrowth kinetics of a silicon wafer implanted
with silicon ions and the interface between the thin amorphous layer near the
top of the wafer and the crystalline region below. Because amorphous and crystalline
silicon have different relative permitivities, consider using a He-Ne laser to
illuminate the wafer. As the interface moves, the thickness of the amorphous layer
changes, and the reflectance should change. Set up the wave equations for normal
incidence reflection from a two interface dielectric system and solve these equations
to determine the thickness of the amorphous layer. Then find the velocity of the
amorphous/crystalline interface. Instead of compartmentalizing material
into either "solid state" or "electromagnetics" arenas, students
who tackle problems like the one above see the need for thinking and problem solving
skills at the analysis and synthesis levels. [1] Roedel developed
the Wave Concepts Inventory (WCI) [2] to measure students' conceptual
understanding of the material. Using the WCI, Roedel has shown that students who
have taken the integrated course have a stronger conceptual understanding of electromagnetics
and electronic materials than students who take the separate courses. Back | 
