NSF: Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)
Division of Materials Research Grant #0316916
Investigators: R.F. Reidy*, M.J. Kim**, D.W. Mueller*, P.D. Matz***
*University of North Texas, **University of Texas-Dallas, ***Texas Instruments
from left to right: Phil Matz of Texas Instruments (its his wafer so he gets to hold it),
Dennis Mueller, Rick Reidy and Moon Kim
Research Mission: To meet demands
for faster, smarter, and smaller electronic devices, the semiconductor industry
must continue to shrink features in integrated circuits. As metal connections
within microcircuits become thinner and closer together, better insulators
must be developed. Improving insulating capabilities requires the incorporation
of pores into these materials, consequently, weakening the films. This
work focuses on understanding the properties of these porous low-k materials
and on developing methods of enhancing their strength to withstand assembly
and everyday use.
Educational Mission: To provide an integrated academic and industrial experience for our students and postdoctoral researchers.
In our first year, one undergraduate (Janet Trammell), four graduate students (Rosa Orozco-Teran, Zhengping Zhang, Pawan Nerusu, Dongkyu Cha, Poonam Kadam), and one research scientist (Pete Capani) have contributed to this work. Students regularly meet and discuss relevant project issues with faculty and Dr. Matz of Texas Instruments maintaining awareness of industrial priorities. Three students from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) (Michael Lin, Eugene Cheung, and David Lin) are also be working on this effort.
Educational Developments: Zhengping Zhang graduated with his PhD in May of 2004 and currently works at Ferro, Inc. developing CMP materials and methods. Rosa Orozco-Teran had a summer internship at Texas Instruments in 2004, defended her PhD thesis, and joined Texas Instruments as a full time employee in February 2005. Dr. Matz became an adjunct professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UNT so that he could be a member of student thesis committees.
Outreach Developments: In addition to TAMS involvement, plans are underway to conduct demonstrations at a local high school and at a local elementary program. The investigators have given several interviews for articles in the Dallas-Fort Worth media and spoken for local business groups discussing the importance of semiconductor challenges and advancements in nanotechnology. Dr. Reidy testified to a Congressional hearing of the House Subcommittee on Research (Sciecne Committee). His testimony stressed the need for teacher re-education and community educational outreach to meet the needs of a future nanotechnology workforce.
Recent Publications:
Educational Mission: To provide an integrated academic and industrial experience for our students and postdoctoral researchers.
In our first year, one undergraduate (Janet Trammell), four graduate students (Rosa Orozco-Teran, Zhengping Zhang, Pawan Nerusu, Dongkyu Cha, Poonam Kadam), and one research scientist (Pete Capani) have contributed to this work. Students regularly meet and discuss relevant project issues with faculty and Dr. Matz of Texas Instruments maintaining awareness of industrial priorities. Three students from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) (Michael Lin, Eugene Cheung, and David Lin) are also be working on this effort.
Educational Developments: Zhengping Zhang graduated with his PhD in May of 2004 and currently works at Ferro, Inc. developing CMP materials and methods. Rosa Orozco-Teran had a summer internship at Texas Instruments in 2004, defended her PhD thesis, and joined Texas Instruments as a full time employee in February 2005. Dr. Matz became an adjunct professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UNT so that he could be a member of student thesis committees.
Outreach Developments: In addition to TAMS involvement, plans are underway to conduct demonstrations at a local high school and at a local elementary program. The investigators have given several interviews for articles in the Dallas-Fort Worth media and spoken for local business groups discussing the importance of semiconductor challenges and advancements in nanotechnology. Dr. Reidy testified to a Congressional hearing of the House Subcommittee on Research (Sciecne Committee). His testimony stressed the need for teacher re-education and community educational outreach to meet the needs of a future nanotechnology workforce.
Recent Publications:
- Supercritical Silylation of Ashed Si-O-C Low-K Films to Limit Changes in Critical Dimensions, R.F. Reidy, R.A. Orozco-Teran, Zhengping Zhang, Pawan K. Nerusu, P.D. Matz, D.W. Mueller, Advanced Metallization Conference, ed. G.W. Ray, T. Smy, T. Ohta, M. Tsujimura, 2003, p. 513-518.
- Rapid Repair of Plasma Ash Damage in Low-k Dielectrics Using Supercritical CO2, B.P. Gorman, R.A. Orozco-Teran, Z. Zhang, P.D. Matz, D.W. Mueller, and R.F. Reidy, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B, 22, 3 (2004) 1210-1212.
- Copper Ion Behavior in Silica Xerogels, Zhengping Zhang, Hanjiang Dong, B.P. Gorman, D.W. Mueller, and R. F. Reidy, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 341 (2004) 157-161
- Reinforcement Mechanism for Mechanically-Enhanced Xerogel Films, Hanjiang Dong, B.P. Gorman, Zhengping Zhang, R.A. Orozco-Teran, J.A. Roepsch, D.W. Mueller, M.J. Kim, R. F. Reidy, Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 350 (2004) 345-350
- Supercritical Pore Sealing of Porous MSQ, R.F. Reidy, P.K. Nerusu, E.C. Chaung, R.A. Orozco-Teran, P.P. Kadam, P.D. Matz, J.T. Rhoad, E.L. Busch, D.W. Mueller, Advanced Metallization Conference, ed. D. Erb, P. Ramm, K. Masu, A. Osaki, 2004 p.493-497.
- Drying Methods for Low-κ Films and Their Effects on Dielectric Constants, P.M. Capani, B.P. Gorman, R.F. Reidy, D.W. Mueller, E.R. Walter, P. D. Matz J.T. Rhoad, E.L. Busch, Advanced Metallization Conference 2004, ed. D. Erb, P. Ramm, K. Masu, A. Osaki, p.509-513.
- Effect of silylation on triethoxyfluorosilane xerogel
films by means of atmospheric pressure drying, R. A. Orozco-Teran, B. P.
Gorman, D. W. Mueller, M. R. Baklanov and R. F. Reidy, Thin Solid Films,
471, 1-2
(2005) 145-153 - Supercritical CO2 Applications in BEOL Cleaning, P.D. Matz and R.F. Reidy, Solid State Phenomena
103-104 (2005) 315-322.