MSE 697C

Materials Issues in Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics

Fall Semester, cr.3. Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Engineering or Science.

MSE 697C is a seminar course on the relationship between materials structure, performance and reliability of microelectronics and nanoelectronics as seen from an interdisciplinary science and engineering viewpoint.  Students will be introduced to fundamental concepts in materials science, mechanics, and electronics that will subsequently be applied to a wide variety of current research topics.  A range of speakers from Purdue and elsewhere will present cutting-edge research problems in microelectronics and nanoelectronics that require a multi-disciplinary approach for their solution.  The class will review and analyze relevant papers for each of the topics presented so that students may gain a deeper understanding of topics outside their primary fields.  By the end of the course students are expected to be able to i) identify a multi-disciplinary research problem in microelectronics and nanoelectronics from the literature, class lectures, or their own research, ii) develop a critical analysis of the problem using science and engineering concepts appropriate for the problem at hand, and iii) critically read the scientific literature relating materials structure, performance, and reliability.

Goals:

The primary goal of this course is for the students to develop theoretical insights and skill in analyzing multidisciplinary problems in microelectronics and nanoelectronics.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this course students are expected to: i) be familiar with a variety of concepts relating materials structure, performance, and reliability concepts as articulated in different science and engineering disciplines  ii) be able to identify and integrate the required concepts in an analysis of an open research problem in microelectronics or  nanoelectronics, iii) recognize the approximations and limitations in the theories and concepts being applied, and iv) be able to critically read the scientific literature relating materials structure, performance, and reliability of microelectronic and nanoelectronic devices and systems.

Strategies:

Two one-and-a half hour lectures plus homework reading assignments, a 10-page paper and presentation of an in-class seminar based on the paper.

Instructors:

Carol Handwerker (MSE), Ganesh Subbarayan (ME), and William Chappell (ECE).