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Design of a Microelectronic Manufacturing Laboratory Abstract

The design of an undergraduate microelectronic manufacturing laboratory for teaching will be described in the following paper. This laboratory emphasizes learning the processes of semiconductor manufacturing and clean room protocol. The laboratory is housed in a 500 square foot, class 10,000 facility.

In the laboratory the students, with a junior standing and a science based background, will use a pre-made six mask set to create P and N type transistors as well as inverters and diodes. The students will be conducting oxidization, RCA clean, photolithography, etching, diffusion, metallization and other processes. A brief description of these processes and the methods used to teach them will also be described. In addition to these processes students will also learn about clean room protocol, chemical safety, and testing devices. All of these skills will be marketable to future employers and graduate schools. These same skills and processes will be covered in a seminar course for educators, with the main purpose of inspiring the high school teachers to teach about semiconductor manufacturing.

The cost effective design is what makes the laboratory unique. The expenditure control is important due to the size of the Electrical Engineering department. The department has only 250 undergraduates and 40 graduate students, thus internal funding is difficult to obtain. A user fee paid by the students will cover the funding. This fee will be small and manageable for any college student.

Introduction

Microfabrication is the cornerstone of many important research and industry areas. It is fundamental in the design and building of electronic devices, directly coupled to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and instrumental in nanotechnology. Introduction to the basic concepts of microfabrication as an undergraduate is imperative. The learning experience is enhanced if the student has the opportunity to learn the fundamentals while concurrently being exposed to the actual microfabrication processes in a hands-on laboratory setting. A laboratory of this type will not only be useful for future engineering jobs/training, but will also stimulate interest in graduate study of microelectronics and microfabrication fields. Many higher education institutions have successfully implemented microfabrication courses for undergraduates into their curricula. A common factor in these programs is a laboratory component where students are able to reinforce the theoretical principles learned in the classroom. This practical experience creates an improved understanding of the fundamental issues and creates a well-rounded engineer or scientist. This experience also prepares the graduating engineers to meet the demands of research and industry.

Supported research programs and the need for training demonstrated that there was a real need for a curriculum that includes microfabrication technologies in the state.

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Kaiser, T., & Applin, S. (2006, June), Design Of A Microelectronic Manufacturing Laboratory Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--937