USC: Academic Bulletins

Professors
Roger A. Dougal, Ph.D., Texas Tech University, 1982, Thomas L. Gregory Professor in Electrical Engineering
Paul G. Huray, Ph.D., University of Tennessee, 1968
Asif Khan, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979, Carolina Distinguished Professor
T.S. Sudarshan, Ph.D., University of Waterloo, 1974, Carolina Distinguished Professor, Chair

Associate Professors
Mohammod Ali, Ph.D., University of Victoria, 1997
Charles W. Brice III, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1977, Undergraduate Director
Yinchao Chen, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 1992
Antonello Monti, Ph.D., Politecnico di Milano, 1994, Graduate Director
Enrico Santi, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1993
Grigory S. Simin, Ph.D., Giricond Science and Research Institute, 1979

Assistant Professors
Goutam Koley, Ph.D., Cornell University, 2003
Ferdinanda Ponci, Ph.D., Politecnico di Milano, 2002
Yong June Shin, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 2004

Overview

Graduate programs of the Department of Electrical Engineering emphasize research-oriented graduate study through the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program and professional development through the Master of Engineering (M.E.) program. Some students may also be admitted to the research-oriented Master of Science (M.S.) program, but applicants should be aware that both financial assistance and the availability of faculty to supervise research are decided on a competitive basis. The highest priority will be given to the highest caliber of students pursuing doctoral studies.

APOGEE (A Program of Graduate Engineering Education) provides a mechanism for qualified engineers to earn a graduate-level degree while maintaining full-time employment. The program delivers graduate courses through a media-based system incorporating television, videotapes, the Internet, digital video, and periodic visits to campus.

Graduates in electrical engineering can look forward to competing successfully for careers in academia, industry, and government laboratories.

Admission Requirements

Requirements for admission to graduate degree programs in electrical engineering (M.E., M.S., Ph.D.) include the general admission requirements of The Graduate School as well as more stringent departmental requirements, as described below. In general, the admissions process is highly competitive. Admissions decisions are based on the quality of the applicant's previous university-level academic work (as reflected by grade point average, or GPA), letters of recommendation (at least two letters are required for evaluation), GRE scores, and other evidence of past accomplishments.

For admission to the M.E., M.S., and Ph.D. degree programs in electrical engineering, applicants normally hold the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from an ABET-accredited engineering program. Students holding B.S. degrees may apply for direct admission to the doctoral program; it is not necessary to complete a master's degree first. Applicants with degrees (B.S. or higher) in other engineering disciplines or physics may be admitted with additional remedial course requirements in electrical engineering at the undergraduate level. Remedial courses will typically include the prerequisites for required graduate courses, and may include additional courses in mathematics. The detailed specification of course requirements and substitutions of courses from other universities will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For all applicants: GRE scores must be submitted by all applicants seeking financial aid, as well as all applicants with degrees from undergraduate programs not accredited by ABET. Applicants with undergraduate GPAs less than 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) are normally required to submit GRE scores. International applicants must also submit TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam scores. All applicants should submit a statement of purpose (or similar essay) that describes the applicant's background, research interests, and whether or not financial aid is required. For students seeking a research-oriented degree (M.S. or Ph.D.), a preliminary contact with a research advisor is strongly suggested.

Typical successful students have GRE scores of at least 500 (verbal), 700 (quantitative), and 3.5 (analytical), as well as a TOEFL score greater than 230 (computer-based) or 570 (paper-based) (as required by the Graduate School). The typical overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5.

Research Focus Areas

The department research focuses on electronics. Specific application areas include: wide bandgap microelectronics, power electronics and control, and communication/signal integrity.

Degree Requirements

Master of Engineering and Master of Science

The professional M.E. degree in electrical engineering requires 30 hours of course work beyond the B.S., at least 15 hours of which must be taken in ELCT courses numbered at the 700 level or above. Although the requirements for the M.S. degree correspond in general to those of The Graduate School (24 hours of course work beyond the B.S. plus 6 hours of thesis preparation), it should be noted that at least half of the courses taken must be in ELCT courses numbered at the 700 level or above. The following courses are the required core courses for the M.S. and M.E. programs:

ELCT 572 Power Electronics
ELCT 564 RF Circuit Design for Wireless Communication
ELCT 563 Advanced Semiconductor Materials.

M.S. students performing research in the area of signal integrity are also required to complete 3 credit hours of ELCT 897 Directed Individual Study.

The program of study has to be defined with the agreement of an appropriate advisor. Changes in the program of study are only allowed with the permission of the advisor and the graduate director. The changes have to be made at least one semester before the expected completion of the new program of study. In the preparation of the program of study, the following requirements also have to be considered:

M.S. program

Maximum hours outside of department: 12 hours
Minimum hours at 700 level and above in electrical engineering (including 6 hours of thesis preparation): 18 hours
Maximum number of hours of ELCT 897: 6 hours
ELCT 797 will not count toward the M.S. degree.

M.E. program

Maximum hours outside of department: 12 hours
Minimum hours at 700 and above in electrical engineering: 15 hours
Maximum number of hours of ELCT 897: 6 hours
ELCT 797 will not count toward the M.E. degree.

Students entering the M.S. or M.E. program are also required to pass a written comprehensive examination based on the core courses. This exam will be offered at the end of any semester. Questions will be prepared by the instructors of the core courses in collaboration with the graduate director. M.S. students are required to present and defend their thesis to the thesis committee.

As a summary and guideline, typical programs of study for the M.S. and M.E. degrees are:

M.S. program

Core courses (ELCT 572, 564, and 563): 9 hours
Thesis preparation (ELCT 799): 6 hours
Hours outside the department: 3 hours
700 level and above in electrical engineering: 12 hours

M.E. program

Core courses (ELCT 572, 564, and 563): 9 hours
Hours outside the department or 500 level in electrical engineering: 6 hours
700 level and above in electrical engineering: 15 hours

Doctor of Philosophy

The general requirements for the Ph.D. degree are equivalent to those of The Graduate School. The course work requirement is established by the student's committee, but a minimum of 60 hours (48 hours of course work and 12 of dissertation preparation) beyond the B.S. degree is required. The program of study has to be defined with the agreement of the student's committee. Changes in the program of study are only allowed with the permission of the advisor and the graduate director. The changes have to be made at least one semester before the expected completion of the new program of study.

The following courses are the required core courses for the Ph.D. program:

ELCT 572 Power Electronics
ELCT 564 RF Circuit Design for Wireless Communication
ELCT 563 Advanced Semiconductor Materials
ELCT 530 Industrial Controls.

Ph.D. students performing research in the area of signal integrity are also required to complete 3 credit hours of ELCT 897 Directed Individual Study.

In the preparation of the program of study, the following requirements also have to be considered:

A minimum of 12 credit hours must be completed in the research field;
A maximum of 12 hours of ELCT 797 may be counted toward the Ph.D. degree.

As a guideline, a typical program of study for the Ph.D. is:

Ph.D. Program

Core courses (ELCT 572, 564, 563, and 530): 12 hours
Dissertation preparation (ELCT 899): 12 hours
Hours in the research field: 12 hours
Hours outside the department: 6 hours
Research hours (ELCT 797): 12 hours
ELCT 897 Directed Individual Study: 6 hours

Students entering the Ph.D. program are required to pass a written qualifying examination based on the core courses within 1.5 calendar years since they joined the program. To become Ph.D. candidates, they are also required to present a dissertation proposal within two calendar years since they joined the program. All Ph.D. students are also required to pass a comprehensive examination focusing on their research field administered by their advisory committee.

Course Descriptions (ELCT)

521 -- Introduction to Microwaves. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 361 or PHYS 504) Introduction to plane electromagnetic wave propogation, transmission lines, transmission line equations, input impedance, waveguides and cavities, antennas and antenna arrays, microwave modeling. Restricted to graduate students and senior undergraduate students.
530 -- Industrial Controls. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331) The embedded electronics and software used in data acquisition, and process and instrument control in an industrial or manufacturing environment.
531 -- Digital Control Systems. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331) Analysis and design of discrete-time control systems, implementation of control systems using digital electronic systems. Applications to electrical systems.
540 -- Nanotechnology. (3) Focus on materials and systems whose structures and components exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical, and biological properties, phenomena, and processes due to their nanoscale size.
551 -- Power Systems Design and Analysis. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331) Transmission line design, load flow, and short circuit analysis of power systems.
553 -- Electromechanical Energy Conversion. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331, ELCT 361) Analysis and design of electromechanical energy conversion systems, including electrical machines and electronic drives.
561 -- Advanced Electromagnetics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 362) Applications of electromagnetic concepts in high-frequency systems.
562 -- Wireless Communications. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 332, 361) Second and third generation wireless networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), Bluetooth, cellular concepts, mobile radio propogation, modulation techniques, multiple access techniques, wireless networking, wireless systems and standards. Restricted to graduate students and senior undergraduate students.
563 -- Advanced Semiconductor Materials. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363) Crystal structures, energy-band theory, and charge-carrier physics.
564 -- RF Circuit Design for Wireless Communications. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 361) RF design fundamentals, lumped elements, transmission line theory, transmission lines and waveguides, S-parameters, impedance matching, microwave resonators.
572 -- Power Electronics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 371, ELCT 331) Basic analysis and design of solid-state power electronic devices and circuitry.
573 -- High Speed Digital Systems. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 371, ELCT 361) Introduction to digital system analysis and design.
581 -- Physics of Semiconductor Devices. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363) Physics and characteristics of semiconductor junction and Schottkey diodes, field-effect transistors, including JFETs, MESFETs, and MOSFETs, bipolar junction transistors, light-emitting diodes, and photodetectors.
575 -- Advanced Electronics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 371) Application of electronic design automation tools to the design of electronic circuits.
580 -- Audio Engineering. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 321, 371) Acoustic and electrical fundamentals for the design of systems for detection, measurement, and reproduction of sound with emphasis on high-quality audio systems and their environment.
582 -- Semiconductor Laboratory. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363)
751 -- Advanced Power Systems Analysis. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 551) Network analysis methods suitable for computer implementation. System studies, including load-flow analysis, short-circuit analysis, and state estimation.
752 -- Power System Grounding and Transients. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 551) Modeling and analysis techniques used in the design of electric power grounding systems, power system fault analysis, numerical techniques for power system transient analysis.
753 -- Electrical Drives. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 553) Dynamics of electrical machine and space phasor theory. Analysis and design of control architecture for electrical motors.
761 -- Fundamental Electromagnetics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 361) Theorems and principles of EM theory, Maxwell's equations, vector and scalar potentials. Solution to Maxwell's equation in one-, two-, and three-dimensions. Green's functions and theorems with applications to radiation and guided-wave propagation.
762 -- Signal Integrity for High Speed Circuits. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 561 or equivalent) The concept of signal integrity for high speed circuits, signal parameters, transmission lines, I/O buffer models, clock schemes, serial data, package/die/connector modeling, I/O power delivery, and measurement.
763 -- Semiconductor Device Modeling and Simulation. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 563) Computer-aided semiconductor device modeling and simulation; Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) tools for modern semiconductor devices.
766 -- Solid-State Lighting. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 566) Solid-state light sources converting electricity directly into light and their societal impacts. Includes principles, fabrication, and applications of solid-state lamps and lighting systems.
771 -- Optical Communications: Devices and Systems. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 361, 363, and 581) Principles of optical communications, optical signal modulation, optoelectronic devices for optical communications.
772 -- Advanced Power Electronics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 572) Advanced topics in power electronics to include rectifiers, inverters, resonant and soft switching converters, power converter system stability issues.
774 -- Advanced Semiconductor Characterization. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 574) Advanced semiconductor material characterization; Hall effect and mobility measurements, optical characterization, scanning probe microscopy, electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction techniques; nanoscale characterization techniques.
775 -- Plasma Electronics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363) Gaseous electronics and plasma behavior in electronic systems.
780 -- Semiconductor Physics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363) Properties of semiconductor materials.
781 -- Pulsed Power Systems. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 362, 363) Components and systems for electrical energy storage, pulse forming, energy transport, and shielding. Diagnostic techniques for fast, high-power pulses.
782 -- Power Semiconductor Devices. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 363) The function and theory of operation of power semiconductor devices.
797 -- Research. (1-12) Individual research to be arranged with the instructor. Pass/Fail grading.
799 -- Thesis Preparation. (1-12)
837 -- Modern Control Theory. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331) The analysis and synthesis of linear, nonlinear, and discrete control systems employing the state space approach.
838 -- Optimal Control and Estimation. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 331) Optimal filtering, prediction, and smoothing in the presence of uncertainty.
861 -- Advances in Electromagnetics. (3) Designate as special topics course.
862 -- Antennas and Radiation. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 561) Radiation mechanism and fundamental parameters. Dipoles, monopoles, and loop antennas. Antenna arrays. Microstrip, helical, biconical, sleeve, spiral, and log-periodic dipole antennas. Horn and reflector antennas. Antenna measurement and modeling.
863 -- Computational Electromagnetics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 761 or PHYS 703) Electric and magnetic field integral equations, the moment method (MM). Finite element method (FEM), discretization and interpolation, system of equations. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, stability, dispersion, incident wave, absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs).
864 -- Microwave Devices and Circuits. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 521 and 581) Microwave semiconductor diodes and transistors; active and passive microwave circuits.
865 -- Signal Integrity on System Bus Technology. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 762) System analysis for industry buses, budget making, cost performance trade-off, system bussing block diagrams, case studies for specific bus systems, and industry direction on new buses.
866 -- Laser Physics, Beams, and Dynamics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 766) Basic laser physics and optical beams and resonators, Rabi frequency, nonlinear optical pulse propagation, unstable resonators, mode-locking, Q-switching, hole burning, laser cavity equations.
867 -- Advances in Quantum Electronics. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 766) Current topics in nonlinear optics and laser research.
870 -- Computational Simulation. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 761, 766, 771, 775) Computational tools and techniques for simulation of physical systems with emphasis on excitation, diffusion, and scattering problems.
871 -- Advances in Semiconductor Devices. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 771) Current topics in semiconductor devices.
873 -- Advances in Physical Electronics. (3) Topics of current interest in physical electronics.
874 -- Advanced Semiconductor Materials. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 563) Principles and technology involved in the growth of both bulk and thin films of advanced semiconductor materials used in the fabrication of next generation electronic devices. Topics include principles of crystal growth, types of defects, and defect generation mechanisms.
878 -- High Power Generation and Diagnostic Techniques. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 362) DC power supplies, transformers, pulsed sources, and fast switches. Diagnostics for fast pulsed events. Grounding and shielding considerations.
881 -- Advances in Pulsed Power. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 781) Current topics in pulsed power.
882 -- High-Speed Semiconductor Devices. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 581 or PHYS 512) Physics of Negative Differential Resistance devices, 2D-electron gas and quantum wells; principles and characteristics of heterostructure field-effect transistors and bipolar transistors, heterostructure light-emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors.
883 -- Power Systems Stability and Control. (3) (Prereq: ELCT 751) Power system transient and dynamic stability analysis. Power system control, including excitation systems, automatic generation control and boiler-turbine-generator models.
891 -- Selected Topics in Electrical Engineering. (3)
897 -- Directed Individual Study. (1-3) Approved plan of study must be filed.
899 -- Dissertation Preparation. (1-12)