Microelectronics

The research in this area spans the spectrum from growth of nanoparticles by solution-based methods and chemical vapor deposition, to growth of continuous ultra-thin films, to multiscale modeling of growth, etching and interfacial reactions, to modeling of process flows, to next generation lithographic patterning and printing technologies. The research encompasses electronic, optoelectronic, and organic electrically-active and magnetic materials classes. There is an exciting mix of experimental programs that make and characterize the materials and of modeling studies that describe how they function. Many of the programs are interdisciplinary, involving more than one faculty member in Chemical Engineering as well as faculty in Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineering. There is also a strong connection to industry and it is not uncommon for students to have an opportunity to explore a summer internship that builds on or is directly related to their dissertation research. More information can be found on each of these programs by clicking on the faculty working in this area.

New lithographic approaches are being explored that can enable features as small as 20 nm to be defined and that can enable printing on flexible surfaces. Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (SFIL) is being explored as one way to allow the fabrication of high resolution, high aspect ratio images that can be aligned with precision. Figure 1 presents an overview of the process and Figure 2 shows the first working CMOS device fabricated with this approach. Other patterning and printing processing technologies, especially those that are compatible with organic and polymeric materials, are also being explored in the Department. Figure 3 shows portions of a water-proof organic circuit that was printed on a plastic substrate.

The focus of several groups is on electronic materials chemistry, and surface and interface reaction chemistry. These programs employ the tools of surface science to probe how molecules adsorb and interact at surfaces, how ultra-thin continuous films (<2-10 nm thick) are formed and how they bind to a substrate so the film stays continuous with thermal cycling, how nanoparticles of semiconductors form and evolve during chemical vapor deposition, how these nanoparticles bind to and interact with dielectrics, how defects evolve in heteroepitaxy, and how self-assembled monolayers bind and order on surfaces. Figure 4 illustrates films grown using chemical vapor deposition that are designed to prevent copper diffusion into the active regions of devices.

Microelectronics manufacturing is an area where process modeling and control are receiving increased attention in order to maximize yields and reduce the number of test wafers, and graduate students have carried out a number of modeling and control projects in cooperation with semiconductor companies such as AMD, Motorola, Texas Instruments, Tokyo Electron America, and Yield Dynamics. In these plants run-to-run dynamic behavior can be influenced by reactor aging, first wafer effects, and other non-uniform processing conditions. In one project they modeled the run-to-run dynamics of etch processes and utilized that information to improve the performance of the run-to-run controller using an adaptive control algorithm. In another project they are evaluating controller performance monitoring for a large number of interconnected semiconductor processes. Recent applications of dynamic modeling and control have studied plasma etching, chemical-mechanical planarization, rapid thermal annealing and lithography processes.

Faculty
Thomas F. Edgar
John G. Ekerdt
Gyeong S. Hwang
Keith P. Johnston
Brian A. Korgel
Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo
C. Buddie Mullins
S. Joe Qin
John M. White
Grant Willson

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