The faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering offer graduate programs leading to the M.S., the Master of Science in Engineering, and the Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering.
The faculty also participate in offering the interdisciplinary program leading to the Ph.D. degree in the Science and Engineering of Materials. See “Science and Engineering of Materials” for program description.
Admission. See the general requirements for admission to the Graduate College. In addition, a student whose undergraduate degree is not based on an ABET-accredited program must submit scores on the Graduate Record Exam and must have earned the equivalent of a 3.50 GPA in the last two years of study. All applicants must submit a short statement of purpose to the department. This statement must include the desired area of study within electrical engineering.
MASTER OF SCIENCE
See “Master’s Degrees” for information on the M.S. degree.
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING
See “Master of Science in Engineering” for information on the M.S.E. degree.
A final written comprehensive exam is required for option 2 in this program. Most master’s degree students are admitted to the M.S.E. program, option 2. Only those who are offered financial support or who are outstanding students showing research potential are admitted to the M.S. program.
DOCTOR OF PHILSOPHY
The Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering is awarded based upon evidence of excellence in research leading to a scholarly dissertation that is a contribution to knowledge.
See “Doctor of Philosophy” for general requirements.
Program of Study. The program of study should be filed soon after the student has been admitted to the program and the supervisory committee has been formed.
Foreign Language Requirements. None.
Qualifying Examinations. Every student must pass a qualifying examination consisting of a short research paper and an oral presentation of the research. The exam must take place before the end of the second semester in attendance at ASU.
Comprehensive Examinations. Written and oral comprehensive examinations are required before the student is admitted to candidacy. The examinations are administered by the supervisory committee.
Dissertation Requirements. A dissertation based on original work demonstrating creativity in research and scholarly proficiency in the subject area is required.
Final Examinations. A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is required.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Opportunities at the level of the master’s or doctoral degree are offered to students whose goals are research, development, design, manufacturing, systems, engineering management, teaching, or other professional activities in electrical engineering or related disciplines.
Research opportunities in the Department of Electrical Engineering are available in a broad spectrum of subjects encompassing traditional as well as new specialties. Significant research activity exists in solid-state electronics, power systems, electromagnetic, communications, signal processing, control systems, and coherent optics, reflecting the continuing strong interest and cooperation of local industry in these disciplines. Solid-state electronics, telecommunications, and power systems have been selected for support by industry as part of a program establishing excellence centers for engineering at ASU.
The list that follows provides an indication of the breadth of subjects available for research in the department. A research project may embrace more than one of the topics listed and may involve cooperative activity with local industry. The list is not meant to be exhaustive; topics other than those shown may also be suitable.
Solid-State Electronics. Semiconductor crystal growth: Czochralski bulk, epitaxial, (LPE, VPE, MOCVD, and MBE) and thin films. Processing: oxidation, diffusion, ion-implantation, rapid thermal processing, low-pressure CVD, reactive ion etching, evaporation, and optical and electron beam lithography. Devices: quantum functional devices, neural network circuits, discrete and integrated circuits, thin film devices, solar cells, lasers, microwave devices, and integrated optical circuits. Characterization: electrical, optical, physical, and chemical measurements, SEM, STM/AFM, Auger surface analysis. Modeling: heterojunction device modeling, MOSFET and bipolar transistor modeling, charge carrier ballistics, Monte Carlo simulations, quantum device modeling, quantum transport, theory of optical processes and effects, and VLSI circuit design and novel architectures.
Power Engineering. Research efforts in power engineering are coordinated through the facility for advanced control of energy and power systems. Power systems: operation analysis, transient stability and reliability analysis, generation and transmission planning, system protection, and application of expert system. Transmission and distribution: electric power quality, distribution system design, load management, and automation. Power electronics: rectifiers and inverts, high-power switching devices, power supplies for fusion devices, accelerators, and power conditioning. High-voltage DC (HVDC): multi-terminal system control and operation analysis. High-voltage techniques: electrical strength of dielectric, insulation coordination, aging of nonceramic insulators, electric field distribution, and high-altitude corona studies. Computer applications: software development for analysis and control, real-time computer control, large network analytical techniques, and neural networks. Solar energy: photovoltaic system design, analysis of dispersed generation, harmonics effect, and system interface. Nuclear plant diagnostics. Power generation: power plant dynamics, modeling, and diagnostics. Advanced instrumentation.
Control Systems. Nonlinear systems analysis and control; adaptive control; robust control; sampled-data and real-time digital control, virtual instrumentation in control; neural networks; system identification and model validation; control of distributed parameter systems; modeling, simulation, and graphical visualization of dynamical systems. Applications to aerospace, robotics, semiconductor process, manufacturing systems, and power systems.
Communications. Digital communications: modulation, coding equalization, wireless communications, multiple access; communications networks: wireless networks, quality of service, integrated services.
Signal Processing. Detection and estimation; signal processing architectures; nonlinear signal analysis; statistical decision theory; spectral estimation; image processing and compression; speech compression, coding and recognition; adaptive signal processing.
Antennas, Microwaves, Computational Electromagnetics, and Radar. Antennas: antenna analysis, design, and measurements; electromagnetic wave radiation, propagation, scattering, and reception; slotted waveguides; patch antennas; antenna broadbanding techniques. Microwaves: microwave circuits, devices, and systems; microwave, millimeter wave, and optical integrated circuits and transmission lines; transient analysis of striplings and microstrips; printed lines on anisotropy substrates; microwave solid-state circuits and devices and measurement techniques. Packaging of microwave integrated circuits. Computational electromagnetics: Geometrical and physical theories of diffraction; moment method; finite-difference time-domain; finite element. Radar: wideband radar techniques, radar cross section, radar multipath, and tracking.
Lasers and Coherent Optics. Fiber optics: communications, active and passive components, networks, sensors, and system analysis; lasers, optical processing, and holography.
In addition, students are encouraged to undertake interdisciplinary research projects encompassing several technical areas in electrical engineering, as well as other areas of engineering, science and mathematics.
Omnibus Graduate Courses: See omnibus graduate courses that may be offered.
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