The software prototype designed so far provides a useful platform in terms of education and relevance to course materials. Its emphasis on education is reflected in advantageous features such as an easily navigable interface, the option of exporting files to other available software, and graphs for easy comparison and visualisation of otherwise abstract concepts in semiconductors. However, due to this emphasis, the program also misses out on useful features such as the inclusion of more components, and more real-time simulations of processes.
There are three distinct areas where the EEVIL system may be compared to other systems available commercially, or as offered by educational institutions; these include the variety of components available for analysis in the program, its effectiveness at providing information and teaching, and usability.
Similar applets are available, such as the "Semiconductor Applet Service" (SAS) at the University of Buffalo in New York, and the simulation of semiconductor doping at the Penn State University, USA.
The EEVIL system suffers from the major disadvantage of having just one component, a PN diode, for analysis. Educational platforms generally offer more devices for analysis, to enable learning over a broader range of components. The SAS has more than 15 types of devices, including the BJT, MOSFET, and JFET for students to try out. These are basic circuit components that are in regular use and it would be useful to learn about their operation.
Some universities offer small-scale Java applets as a course feature. This is what the Penn State University offers, a specialised applet with animations describing the doping of semiconductors by ion implantation. Graphical representations are a good method of teaching concepts that would otherwise be difficult to visualise.
Certain research sites specialising in specific processes are available as well, including tutorials from the National High Magnetic field Laboratory in the US. This is a slide show styled tutorial on how a Field Effect Transistor (FET) is built. With the provided diagrams, it is easy to visualise processes and simplify facts.
As a result, although the EEVIL system describes the operation of a PN diode, an important part of the Semiconductor Devices course, it misses out on the variety usually found on other online sites and programs.
When discussing effectiveness, we refer to the program's adequacy in teaching and emphasising information relevant to the course.
Since EEVIL is primarily aimed at education, the user interface is understandably made to be more useful to students than other systems found online, because it provides specific graphs with relevance to course materials. Due to the layout of the program, information and graphs of particular importance are easily accessible.
Other platforms, such as the commonly used SAS, offer regularly used components with the option of varying inputs. This allows the user to observe certain effects, say for example as a result of varying input voltage, but overlooks the need for the user to modify other base values or materials used to construct the component.
EEVIL proves superior in this category, as it allows changes in base parameters to be made, and is a good applet for visualisation of the specified device. The graphs in the program are also effectively labelled and of good resolution, with the option of image expansion to look at the graphs in detail.
However, EEVIL can benefit from some improvements if it is to prove a necessary tool in understanding devices. With regard to the graphs, it would be more useful if the graphs could be exported to Excel and the values from a simulation exported for use in reports or in a spreadsheet.
Many applets by educational institutions include write-ups on the details of the simulation, and on relevant background knowledge. This can also later double as reference for the user to include in reports. This is where EEVIL is lacking, but it is also easily rectified by including a short write-up on the simulation of the diode.
This relates to the appearance of the interface, and its ease of use.
Most commercially available platforms have very basic user interfaces; usually, the user activates rather than interacts with the program as aforementioned. The parameters are not changeable and so the user merely activates the program by varying inputs to observe the output, without any other variation. Available platforms are also usually function-specific, with specific applets performing operations on a single component, and results are usually also skewed towards one or two emphases. They are predominately stark-looking, and not aesthetically pleasing, or sleek in operation.
The simulations in EEVIL of most importance to the user are those of the cross-section of the diode and the graphs. The diagram of the cross-section of the diode changes real-time as component parameters are changed and this gives a more accessible idea of the physical structure of the device. The graphs, as previously mentioned, can be enlarged for greater resolution and better observation of the pattern. EEVIL also provides side-by-side observation of the graphs relating to the diode, such as that of voltage or electric field distribution, a function not usually found in mono-purpose applets.
The tabs in EEVIL can also be closed, allowing the user to adjust the view of the application to their purposes. The program design is also generally pleasant and allows friendlier usage. These reasons are why EEVIL performs better than many other available programs in terms of user interface.
Areas of improvement include the following: It would be useful for the user to input values in the text box to vary the device’s parameter, since merely adjusting the tabs in the table is a clumsier method. As mentioned previously, it would be better if values in the various graphs could be exported to programs like Excel for concise observation.
It is apparent that our in house software prototype provides a decent platform in terms of education and relevance to course materials. The interface also allows for easy comparison and visualisation of very abstract concepts in semiconductors. However, it will be better to include flow of charge carriers such as holes and electrons, and include them in a real time simulation. Other than that, background information, equations and write-ups based on the course materials will also be useful for easy references and concise understanding.
Platforms with these functions actually useful to education are surprisingly difficult to obtain online. Most websites have very specific applets, such as IBM with an applet of their own chipset or those put up by institutions pertaining only to certain research areas.
Therefore, in general, EEVIL sets a good foundation for a successful virtual teaching lab. However, many applets are readily available online for general purposes, although they need to be sourced for specific purposes. What this translates to is that although there is no one system that encompasses all the functions required by a user, the available systems are complementary and in their entirety will fulfil the needs of the user. Further investigation is needed to determine if it is worthwhile investing in time, effort and money in the full development of EEVIL requires further investigation.