UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING Explanations of prerequisites and exclusions can be found on page 23
ELEC 501 VLSl Design I [2-0-3:3]
CMOS transistor theory and processing technology; circuit characterisation and perform- ance estimation; CMOS circuit and logic design; structured design and testing; layout techniques; subsystem design; VLSl system studies; CAD tools.
ELEC 502 VLSl Design I1 Continuation of ELEC 501.
ELEC 503 ASIC Design with Field Programmable Gate Arrays [2-0-3:3]
ASlC design cycle using Field Programmable Field Arrays (FPGA); specification, design, implementation and testing. Basics of FPGA's; design implementation; verification using industrial standard logic simulators; testing strategies and test vectors generation.
ELEC 504 Analog VLSl 13-0-0:3]
Analysis and design of monolithic operational and wide-band amplifiers; noise in inte- grated circuits; voltage reference circuits; switched capacitor filters; AID and D/A convert- ers. Analog Application Specific ICs.
ELEC 505 Advanced Semiconductor Device Design and Simulation [3-0-3:4]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5211
Semiconductor physics and devices with emphasis on bipolar and MOS devices; device structure parameters; terminal characteristics; high current and high frequency effects;
transient analysis; numerical analysis and CAD models; device simulators;: BIPOLE and PISCESIIB.
Postgraduate Course Descriptions
ELEC 506 Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5221
Overview of semiconductor optics and optoelectronic devices; optical processes in semiconductors; electromagnetic principles of optoelectronic devices; photovoltaic ef- fects; semiconductor lasers; light-emitting diodes; photodetectors; solar cells; quantum optoelectronic devices.
ELEC 507 Microelectronics Fabrication Technology [3-1-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5231
Process technologies in IC fabrication: epitaxial growth; chemical vapour and physical vapourdeposition of films; thermal oxidation; diffusion; ion implantation; microlithography;
wetldry etching processes; technical subjects common to individual processes such as vacuum technology.
ELEC 508 Integrated Circuits Process Integration [3-1-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5241
Combination of individual fabrication modules to produce integrated circuits. IC sub- process integration; isolation structures; metal-silicon structures; metal-silicon contacts;
device-interconnection structures. Full-device-type technologies for NMOS, CMOS, bipolar and BiCMOS.
ELEC 509 Modern Optical Devices and Systems [2-0-3:3]
Fourier-optics-based devices and systems: diffraction theory and approximations; optical transfer functions and signal processing; holography and optical computing systems.
Optical waveguides and fibres: dispersion; mode coupling; loss mechanisms; fibre fabrication and characterisation; integrated optics; fibre-optic communication systems.
ELEC 513 Semiconductor Device modelling and Scaling Theory [3-0-0:3]
Derivation of the onedimensional device models for semiconductor devices; the impact of two dimensional device phenomena; component reliability on the scaling of semi- conductor devices; survey of current issues in device physics; numerical device simula- tion.
ELEC 514 Power Electronics [3-0-0:3]
Design of monolithic power integrated circuits and devices for consumer and industrial intelligent control applications: integratable power bipolar and MOS devices; power controlling circuitries; fabrication technology; limitations and protection; packaging;
reliability; consumer and industrial applications.
Prerequisite : Undergraduate electronic circuit and device courses
ELEC 515 Advanced Semiconductor Device Theory [3-0-0:3]
Review of soild state theory and simple statistical mechanics; band structure of Silicon;
occupation functions; Boltzmann equation and its application to electron transport in solids; effective, mass; scattering processes, mobility; recombination processes; carrier life-times.
Postgraduate Course Descriptions
ELEC 517 Physics of Semiconductor Devices [3-0-0:3]
Physics of semiconductor devices, device characterisation and modelling. Analysis, operation and modelling of pn junctions, bipolar transistors, Schottky barriers and MOSFETs.
ELEC 519 Advanced Semiconductor Fabrication Laboratory [2-0-3:3]
A laboratory course in which transistors and other semiconductor devices are fabricated and tested. Typical processes used in the fabrication sequence such as photolithography, cleaning, oxidation, doping, etching, CVD deposition, sputtering are covered. The course is conducted in the Microelectronics Fabrication Centre.
ELEC 530 Introduction to Probability, Random Variables and [3-0-0:3]
StochasticProcess [Previous Course Code : ELEC 5101
Axioms of probability; Bayes theorem; random variables; distribution and density func- tions; conditional distributions; moments; functions of random variables; stochastic processes; stationary processes; ergodicity; mean square estimation; filtering and predic- tion; Kalman filters.
ELEC 531 Advanced Digital Signal Processing 13-0-0:3]
Fundamentals of digital signal processing; parametric signal modelling; spectral estima- tion; multirate processing; efficient Fourier transform and convolution algorithms; short- time Fourier transform; wavelet representation of signals; wavelet signal processing filter design.
ELEC 532 Multidimensional Digital Signal Processing [34-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 51 11
Sampling geometry and spectral replications; multidimensional Fouriertransforrns; Fourier series, DFT and FFT; multidimensional sampling theorem; z-transform; impulse re- sponse; convolutions; FIR and IIR filter fundamentals and feasibility.
ELEC 533 Image and Video Processing [3-0-0:3]
Characteristics of image and video signals; compression techniques; vector quantization;
transform coding; subband coding; predictive coding; differential pulse code modulation;
motion estimation techniques; phyramid coding; entropy coding; coding standards; real- time video signal processing; system examples and applications.
Prerequisite : ELEC 530 Background : ELEC 331
Postgraduate Course Descriptions Post~raduate Course DesmiDtions
ELEC 534 Speech and Audio Processing [3-0-0:3]
Time-frequency speech representation; vocal tractlear model; language phonetics;
speech quality measurements; digital speech coding (ADPCM, CELP, MPLPC, SBC, LD- VXC); Mozer technique; speech synthesis; speech recognition; room acoustics.
Prerequisite : Background in digital signal processing.
ELEC 535 Adaptive Digital Signal Processing [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5121
Discrete-time stationary processes and models; FIR adaptive filtering: gradient based adaptation, steepest descent ; linear least squared estimation, eigenvector based projection, recursive least-squared estimation, fast RLS algorithms, lattice filters; blind signal processing.
Prerequisite : ELEC 530
ELEC 536 Principles of Communication Engineering [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 5141
Optimum receiver principles; efficient signalling; efficient signal selection; channel capac- ity; coding theory; channel modelling; random amplitude and phase; fading channels;
modulation; conventional PCM and PCM with error correction.
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ELEC 537 Computer Communication Networks [3-0-0:3]Overview of telecommunication networks: networkarchitecture and switching techniques.
lntroduction to queueing theory. Study of OSI model. Physical layer: transmission media and data communications. Data link layer: protocols and performance. Network layer:
X.25, flow and congestion control, and routing. Transport layer: TCPIIP, TP. Local area networks: random access, polling, ring and bus networks.
Prerequisite : Undergraduate probability theory
ELEC 538 Digital CircuitSwitched Networks [3-0-0:3]
Current topics in digital circuit switching: introduction to circuit switching, elements of telephone traffic engineering, space and time switching, call processing in digital circuit- switched systems, overload control mechanisms, non-hierarchical routing, common channel signaling. Introductory ISDN and B-ISDN. Emphasis on modelling and quanti- tative performance analysis.
Prerequisite : ELEC 537
ELEC 539 Advanced Topics in Telecommunications [3-00:3]
lntroduction to the architectures and protocols of integrated broadband cornrnunication networks. Topics include: network services and requirement, networking and switching architectures for high-speed cornrnunication, traffic characterization, performance evalu-
ELEC 540 Artificial Neural Networks [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code : ELEC 51 61
Theory and applications of neurocomputing. Artificial neural networks as biologically inspired computational modelsfor supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforce- ment learning, associative memory, optimisation, etc. and their theoretical foundations.
ELEC 541 Neuronal Fuzzy Logic Control [2-0-3:3]
Fuzzy logiccontrol and extension of neural networkcapability to fuzzy logic control. Fuzzy set theory; fuzzy logic; fuzzy logic control; extension of neural network to fuzzy logic control. Students are required to carry out a project.
ELEC 542 Data and Image Compression [3-0-0:3]
Lossless and lossy compression techniques: Huffman coding; arithmetic coding; LZW algorithm; predictive coding; transform coding; subband coding; and vector quantisation.
Compression standards: JPEG, MPEG, JBlG etc. Applications in speech, telemetry, television, image and data base management.
ELEC 543 Information Theory and Error-Correcting Codes [3-0-0:3]
lnformation theory: self and mutual information measures; Shannon's theory on source coding and channel coding; discrete memoryless channel models; channel capacity;
Huffman code. Algebric block codes: Hamming, BCH, Reed-Solomon, et al. Burst error- correcting codes and convolutional codes.
ELEC 544 Signal Detection and Estimation [3-0-0:3]
lntroduction to detection and estimation theory, with applications to communication, control and radar systems; decision-theory concepts and optimum-receiver principles;
detection of random signals in noise; coherent and noncoherent detection; parameter estimation; linear and nonlinear estimation.
ELEC 545 Electromagnetic Wave Theory and Applications [3-0-0:3]
This course provides an advanced treatment of electromagnetic wave propagation, radiation and scattering. The objective is to describe some techniques and applications such as microstrips, geometrical theory of diffraction, time-domain finite difference techniques, radio astronomy, numerical techniques, Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction and inverse scattering.
ELEC 560 Linear System Theory [3-0-0:3]
Introduces modern system theory, with applications to control, signal processing and related topics. Basic system concepts; state-space and I10 representation; properties of linear systems; controllability; observability; minimality; transfer function matrices; state ation techniques, protocol issues, and case studies.
Prerequisite : ELEC 537
and output feedback; stability; observers; optimal regulators.
Background : MATH 151, MATH 152 and ELEC 21 1
Postgraduate Course Descriptions Post~rduate Course DesmiDtions
ELEC 561 Multivariable Feedback Systems [3-0-0:3]
Analysis and synthesis techniques for multi-input and multi-output (MIMO) control systems; singular value decomposition and applications; matrix fraction description;
stabilisation, tracking and disturbance rejection. Two degrees of freedom design;
robustness; linear quadratic optimal control.
ELEC 562 Nonlinear Systems: Analysis, Stability and Control [3-0-0:3]
lntroduction to nonlinear dynamical systems; differential equations; second-order sys- tems; index theory; ~oincare-~endixs6n theorem; stability by direct and indirect methods of Lyapunov; input-output stability; geometric theory of control for nonlinear systems;
exact linearisation by nonlinear feedback.
ELEC 563 Advanced Digital Control System Design [3QO:3]
Intensive introduction to digital control systems design. Students are expected to attend ELEC 377 course lectures but work on advanced problem sets and laboratory experi- ments.
Background : ELEC 102, ELEC 112, ELEC 305 or MECH 102 and MECH 261.
ELEC 564 Robot Manipulation [3QO:3]
Extensive introduction to robot manipulation theory from a geometric viewpoint. Rigid body kinematics; spatial and body representation of rigid body velocities; coordinate transformations; forward kinematics of openchain manipulators; solution of inverse kinematics; robot workspaces; nonlinear decoupling control and force control.
ELEC 565 Robot Motion Planning [3-0-0:3]
Kinematics of multifingered robotic hands: grasp statics, planning and constraints;
geometry of surfaces; kinematicsof contact. Robot handdynamics. Control of multifingered robotic hands. Robot motion planning: holonomic constraints versus nonholonomic constraints; holonomic and nonholonomic motion planning.
ELEC 690 Independent Study [1-3 credits]
[Previous Course Code: ELEC 5901
Selected topics in electrical and electronic engineering under the supervision of a faculty member.
ELEC 691 Special Topics [1-3 credits]
Selected topics of current interest. May be repeated for credit, if different topics are covered.
ELEC 695 Departmental Seminar [lQO:l]
Series of seminar topics presented by students, faculty and guest speakers; may be repeated for credit.
ELEC 698. MSc Project [3 credits]
[Previous Course Code: ELEC 6901
Compulsory course to be taken by MSc students in their last semester. An independent project carried out under the supervision of a faculty member.
ELEC 699 MPhil Thesis Research
Students are required tocomplete a master's research thesis. Asuccessful defence of the thesis leads to the grade Pass or Pass with Distinction. No course credit is assigned.
ELEC 799 Doctoral Thesis Research
Students are required to complete an original and independent doctoral research thesis.
A successful defence of the thesis leads to the grade Pass or Pass with Distinction. No course credit is assigned.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Explanations of prerequisites and exclusions can be found on page 23.
FlNA 512 Corporate Finance [3-0-0:3]
lntroduction to financial management. Valuation of cash flows, capital budgeting, risk and return of assets, capital structure and dividend policy, and mergers and acqusitions. (MBA core course)
Prerequisites : Introductory courses in financial accounting, microeconomics and business statistics.
FlNA 520 Cases in Corporate Finance [4-0-0:4]
Application-oriented course building on the introductory Corporate Finance course.
Cases in working capital, capital budgeting analysis and planning, corporate valuations, mergers, and financial strategies.
Prerequisite : FlNA 51 2
FlNA 521 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management [4-0-0:4]
The analysis of management of common stocks and fixed income securities; modern portfolio theory and asset pricing models; and an introduction to derivative securities.
FlNA 531 Financial System and Markets [4-0-0:4]
Organisation and functions of money and capital markets. Interest rates, financial innovation, market microstructure and effects of government regulation on financial markets.
Prerequisites : ECON 51 1 and FlNA 512
Postgraduate Course Descriptions Postm-aduate Course Descrihtions
FlNA 532 Financial Institutions [e0-0:4]
Management issuesforfinancial institutions, with emphasisoncommercial banks. Capital adequacy, liquidity and interest rate risk management; market structure; regulatory issues of financial intermediaries.
Prerequisite : FlNA 51 2
FlNA 541 International Finance [4-0-0:4]
The international money and capital markets. Currency options, futures and swaps as means for currency risk management. Financing and investment decisions of multina- tional corporations.
Prerequisites : ECON 51 1 and ECON 512
FlNA 551 Options and Futures Markets [4-0-0:4]
Organisation and functions of options and futures markets. Pricing and analysis of futures and options contracts; spot and futures price relationships; speculation, arbitrage and hedging strategies; financial engineering.
Prerequisite : FlNA 51 2
FlNA 561 Real Estate Investments [4-0-0:4]
Real estate economics and investment strategies; elements of real estate appraisal, development, finance, and law; pricing of mortgage-backed securities.
Prerequisite : FlNA 51 2
FlNA 571 Financial Management of Insurance Companies [4-0-0:4]
Functions and operations of insurance industry. Design and pricing of insurance contracts. Optional management of insurance company portfolio.
Prerequisite : FlNA 51 2
FlNA 588 Field Study I [2-0-0:2]
A supervised study of an organisation, including the establishment of client-consultant relationship, identification of strategicquestions, design of studies, collection and analysis of data, development and reporting of recommendations. (MBA core course)
FlNA 589 Field Study II
Continuation of FlNA 588. (MBA core course)
FlNA 790 Doctoral Seminars [2-4 credits]
Current research topics in corporate finance, investments, financial markets and institutions, derivative securities, and empirical research in financial economics.
FlNA 799 Doctoral Thesis Research
Students are required to complete an original and independent doctoral research thesis.
A successful defence of the thesis leads to the grade Pass or Pass with Distinction. No course credit is assigned.
DIVISION OF HUMANITIES
Explanations of prerequisites and exclusions can be found on page 23.
HUMA 502 Contemporary Chinese Poetry [34-0:3]
A critical investigation of modern Chinese poetry in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong from the late 1970s to the present, with emphasis on literary and historical contexts and comparative studies of poetics and artistic expressions.
HUMA 503 Modern Literary Theory [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 600e]
A historical and critical survey of major literary theories of the twentieth century: American formalism, archetypal criticism, Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, Russian formal- ism, structuralism, semiotics, phenomenology, hermeneutics, reader-response, femi- nism, the Frankfurt school, deconstruction, and new historicism.
HUMA 506 Theories of Discourse [3-0-0:3]
A one-semester course on modern and contemporary theories of language, culture and textuality as embodied in such disicplines as hermeneutics, archaeology/genealogy of knowledge and deconstructionism.
HUMA 509 Modernity and Postmodernity [3-0-0:3]
Examines the range of meanings of these concepts and their various uses within avariety of disciplines, including: literary theory, philosophy, political theory, religious studies, aesthetics. etc.
FlNA 690 Special Topics [2-4 credits]
Current developments in the field of finance. Topics to be selected by the instructor.
Postgraduate Course Descriptions
HUMA 510 Relativism and Dialogue i n Crosscultural [3-0-0:3]
Interpretation
Focuses on the problem of understanding between groups with divergent world-views.
Theories discussed range from arguments for the total incommensurability of different cultures, to programmes for genuine intercultural dialogue.
HUMA 511 Comparative Philosophy of Religion [3-0-0:3]
Examines Eastern and Western works of philosophy of religion, and discusses conflicting claims about religious experience, myth, ritual and ethics.
HUMA 512 Hindu and Buddhist Philosophical Debates [3-0-0:3]
Studies classic works on epistemology and metaphysics created in debates between South Asian Buddhists and Hindus, and interprets the relevance they still have for contemporary thought.
HUMA 513 Religious Theories of Language [3-0-0:3]
Discusses theories of language of Eastern and Westem religious thinkers, including such topics as the natures and relations of ordinary, scriptural and philosophical language.
HUMA 514 Studies i n Chinese-American Literature [3-0-0:3]
This postgraduate seminar focuses on a close study of one or more major Chinese- American writers, with consideration of critical, cultural and historical contexts.
HUMA 515 Traditional Chinese Literary Theory and Criticism [300:3]
The aim of this course is to familiarise students with the traditional Chinese theories and criticism of literature. The advantages and limitations of the various modes of discourses such as prefaces to books, poetry-talks, poems on poetry, literary anthologies, stray remarks and commentaries will also be dealt with.
HUMA 516 Women and Religion [3-0-0:3]
This course will explore the various roles and activities of women in religious traditions around the world, including Hindu, Buddhist (in India, Tibet, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and North America), Judaic, and Christian.
HUMA 517 Modem Chinese Literary Criticism [3-0-0:3]
Examines the transformation of Western literary theories in the Chinese context. Focuses on practices of individual Chinese literary theorists and the relationship between literary criticism and socio-cultural criticism from historical and comparative perspectives.
Postmaduate Course DesdDtz'ons
HUMA 518 Women and Literature [3-0-0:3]
An examination of roles, identity, and social construction of women in literature and feminist theories.
HUMA 519 Buddhist Scriptures and Chinese Classics [3-0-0:3]
Critical reading of a selected number of canonized texts in Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. Special emphasis will be placed on the transplantation of Indian Buddhism to Chinaas an alternative mode of thought and its encounters with Confucianism and Taoism as a hermeneutical experience in intercultural interpellation.
HUMA 521 Chinese Popular Religion [3-0-0:3]
Chinese popular religion is considered from a cultural anthropology perspective. The interplay between popular religion and the social, economic, political, and folk-medical systems is explored.
HUMA 522 Field Research : Theory and Practice [3-0-0:3]
Theories, methods, and techniques in ethnographic field research are explored. Students are expected to conduct individual and group research projects.
HUMA 523 Hermeneutics [3-0-0:3]
A study of the later works of Martin Heidegger and the writings of Hans Georg Gadamer as well as the interpretation and application of hermeneutics in a variety of disciplines.
HUMA 524 Philosophy of Technology [3-0-0:3]
The course will lookatthe various philosophies of technology ranging from the early works of Ellul, Mumford and the Frankfurt School to the contemporary thinkers such as Durbin, Jonas and Borgman.
HUMA 600 Special Topics [3-0-0:3]
This course focuses on a coherent collection of topics selected from the humanities. A student may repeat the course for credit if the topics studied are different each time.
HUMA 610 Independent Study [3 credits]
With the approval of the Head of Humanities Division or the Chinese Studies programme directors, students may take this independent study on a particular subject under the supervision of a faculty member. The course will require readings, tutorial discussions, and submission of one or more research papers.
Postgraduate Course Descriptions Postgraduate Course Descriptions
HUMA 631 Seminar on Comparative Literature [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 5011
Directed research in literary topics that relate texts from at least two cultural traditions; the goal of the seminar is to establish certain methods through which literature is read affirmatively with critical sophistication.
HUMA 632 Seminar : History of the Pearl River Delta [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 5041
In this seminar, discussions will focus on those institutions and civilisational achievements which fostered political, cultural, and economic unlty in the area.
HUMA 633 Topics in Ming-Qing Social and Economic History [300:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 5051
This course will examine the contemporary scholarship on the topics such as 'the Sprout of Chinese capitalism', 'technology and agricultural development', 'land tenancy', 'com- merce and urbanisation', especially the factors which contributed to the Ming-Qing socio- economic developments.
HUMA 634 Seminar on Early Modern Chinese Thought I [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 5071
A two-semester course on Neo-Confucianism as a revivalist movement, both intrasystemically as a dynamic mode of thought and intersystemically in terms of its interactions with Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity.
HUMA 635 Seminar on Early Modern Chinese Thought II [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 5081 Continuation of HUMA 634.
HUMA 636 Seminar on Family and Lineage in South China [3-0-0:3]
[Previous Course Code: HUMA 600fl
This course studies the basic social structure of South China in its cultural context. It focuses on the creation of descent groups and their interaction with local societies and the State. Field research is required.
HUMA 637 Seminar on Lineage and Business in Modern China [3-0-0:3]
HUMA 637 Seminar on Lineage and Business in Modern China [3-0-0:3]