The use of electronic spreadsheet programs in semiconductors and solid state devices courses

The author attempts to show the ability and potential of electronic spreadsheet programs to investigate important parameters of semiconductor materials and solid-state devices by describing an academic experiment that included the use of Lotus 1-2-3 in introductory courses on electronic materials and semiconductor devices. The spreadsheet concept proved to be a useful tool for the students' learning process and for the assignment of open-ended problems. Most of the students liked the use of spreadsheets in the course, and some enthusiastically expanded them to provide different graphical representations for the parameters studied. The use of spreadsheets was also well received because of the ease in which certain parameters can be changed and because of the ability to obtain an organized plot of the output(s). The class procedure and implementation using Lotus 1-2-3 are described.<>