Nanotechnology Engineering program invests in cutting-edge equipment for student use
The Nanotechnology Engineering (NE) program is investing in new cutting-edge equipment for undergraduate student use. The NE program focuses on experiential hands-on learning on the latest equipment for its undergraduate students. The program recently purchased an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) with glancing-incidence capabilities to characterize thin films even down to 100 nanometers thick.
Housed alongside a powder-only XRD instrument in NE’s Davis Centre labs, this new model will serve as an educational resource for undergraduate students in the program. With a price tag of approximately $120,000 the XRD represents a substantial investment in the NE program. This will allow students to access technology which combines research-level capability with hands-on learning.
The XRD will be useful for fourth-year students working on their Capstone projects. They can incorporate thin-film characterization to evaluate the materials they create. Using this equipment, students have the potential to validate the chemical and structural integrity of the films before integrating them into devices they create in the microfabrication facility.
This new piece of equipment will allow students to analyze each step of the fabrication process confirming that materials are properly layered for microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS) devices. This will reinforce their understanding of how devices are built from the atomic level up to the final device.
The investment in this state-of-the-art equipment opens an entirely new dimension of samples that students can study as part of the NE program. For example, students could use the XRD to assist in making carbon nanotube transistors. These devices are made by growing carbon nanotubes on a silicon substrate, a process that requires precise control over the thickness and quality of the thin films used in their fabrication.
“It's a step up that students can really examine the different components. Now we can teach the students in second year or third year about all the different components. It's a great teaching model as well,” said Professor Howard Siu.
This integrative approach allows students to see the connections between the theoretical knowledge gained in chemistry, characterization, polymers, cleanroom-based courses and electronics courses as well as the practical applications in microelectronics and nanotechnology. The XRD is an exciting new addition to the toolbox that is provided for students in NE.
This state-of-the-art new equipment is in the Nanotechnology Engineering Clean Room and Metrology Suite, which also includes the Additive Manufacturing 3D Printing Lab and the Scanning Electron Microscope.