In the summer of 2008, Dr Paul Mitcheson, Dr Kristel Fobelets and research student James Dickens of Imperial College's Electronic and Electrical Engineering (EEE) Department collaborated with Dr Robert Di Napoli from the Centre for Educational Development with a vision to develop a virtual interactive lab. The purpose of this lab was to simulate semiconductor devices, and improve students' understanding, knowledge, and educational experience. Dubbed EEVIL (Electronic Engineering Virtual Interactive Lab), it is aimed at being a useful, informative, and intuitive learning tool for students reading EEE.
Semiconductor devices is a subject taught in both the EEE first and second year courses, which explains how crucial it is to optimise resources for students to adequately understand the subject. Furthermore, a firm understanding of the topic will also facilitate informed decision-making with regard to specialisation in the third year. As second year students, we acknowledge that there are many useful textbooks relevant to the field; but with EEVIL, students can use the information that they have been taught to engage with the system, and optimally in an enjoyable and interactive way.
At the moment, EEVIL only simulates a p-n diode; but further funding is being requested for the implementation of more devices. With this forecasted funding, the design team, which now includes final year student Gary Furlong, hopes to broaden the existing scope by adding components and other semiconductor devices. Improvements to the user interface, students' educational experience, and cross-system compatibility are another desired objective.
Consequently, our project team has been set the task of evaluating the software to determine its merits, drawbacks, and future scope. This report sets out our findings, including a comprehensive evaluation of EEVIL and comparisons to other available packages; as well as suggested improvements to the software.