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Materials Science and Engineering Education for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology

Abstract

New and diverse materials are being engineered and integrated into micro/nano devices and systems. This has been made possible by interdisciplinary research amongst people from a wide range of engineering and science disciplines. In the field of nanotechnology the boundaries between disciplines fade and new curricula designs become imperative. A novel dual degree program of Bachelor of Science in Microelectronic Engineering and Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering has been developed and instituted at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). It is interdisciplinary between College of Engineering and College of Science. This five-year program consists of completion of 225 quarter credits that include a minimum of 12 months of co-op experience, 36 graduate course credits and 9 credits of research. The first graduates of this program graduated in 2005 and the enrollment is showing a steady increase. The program has received outstanding response from the semiconductor industry. Graduates with hands-on education in semiconductor devices, processes, and materials synthesis and analysis and co-op experience in industry are very attractive for employers in this field.

Introduction

Today’s industrial growth is largely dependent on understanding of the nature of materials, and is driven, in part, by the development of new materials that are engineered at the micrometer and nanometer scales. Semiconductor and electrical engineering technologies have steadily evolved over the past four decades to meet the increasing needs of the information age through the development of advanced device structures, circuit design methodologies, microfabrication techniques, and novel materials and processes. Mainstream semiconductor technology development has spun off new fields of research such as nanotechnology, micro-electro- mechanical devices and systems, photonic devices, bio-chemical devices and systems on a chip.

The objective of this unique educational curriculum is the development of a multidisciplinary work force to address the challenges of integrating new and diverse materials into micro/nano devices and systems. For expanding applications, it is essential to connect them to the macroscopic world by routing through well developed silicon electronics. Some of the most important issues are material patterning, process development, stability and reliability. These issues require fundamental materials understanding and identification of process parameters for a variety of technologies to facilitate integration of MEMS, ceramics, magnetics, spintronics, molecular, polymeric and biomaterials with silicon electronics. The conventional top down methodology for miniaturization has advanced to nanoscales, while bottom up and self assembling methodologies at molecular and atomistic scales are evolving.

The integrated circuit technology began with using essentially a few materials – doped silicon, silicon dioxide and aluminum in 1960s. Subsequently more and more materials have been integrated following extensive materials research. Figure 1 shows that today’s semiconductor technology spans a much larger part of the periodic table. The elements manifest their integration through syntheses of materials with desired properties onto the chips1. Various

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Kurinec, S., & Gupta, S. (2007, June), Materials Science And Engineering Education For Microelectronics And Nanotechnology Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--1482