One of the best ways that chipmakers can foment basic research---and help prepare the next generation of scientific and engineering talent in the bargain---is by working with universities.
A good example of this industrial-academic model was announced a week or so ago, when Micron and the University of Washington cut the ribbon on the new Micron Laboratory for Combinatorial Materials Exploration on the school's Seattle campus.
The chipmaker donated $400,000 in equipment and $500,000 in cash to the laboratory, which will "allow us to conduct collaborative research leading to faster, more efficient, and cost-effective screening of new materials," said Fumio Ohuchi, professor in the department of materials science and engineering, in the press release. The same announcement also pointed out that the collaboration is part of Micron's "efforts to advance education...by establishing strategic partnerships with premiere research universities."
The lab's tools will "automate materials testing by creating a wafer, called a materials library, whose properties change gradually. By layering these wafers, a single test can evaluate all possible combinations of important factors---such as manufacturing process, material composition and atomic structure---to see which produce the best attributes. The word 'combinatorial' in the lab's name refers to this system for combining different materials." Ohuchi also said that "similar techniques for screening candidates have long been used in the pharmaceutical industry, but are only beginning to be used in materials research.
"The new lab---which will be run by a "multidisciplinary team" of five faculty members---will also cooperate with the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan; the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA; and the University of Maryland in College Park. The team believes that the "abundance of data generated by this type of screening will have the same effect on their field that the Human Genome Project had on biology." A publicly accessible computer database will contain all the project results.
I contacted Ohuchi and Micron's director of process development, Scott DeBoer, for more information. The professor told me that the lab's x-ray characterization and other processing are up and running, although the CME (combinatorial materials exploration) sample preparation is not ready yet, because they are still putting together their atomic layer deposition (ALD) apparatus.
Ohuchi and DeBoer said that Micron's equipment donation included a theta-to-theta x-ray diffraction system, mass spectrometer, rapid thermal annealing tool, and in-house machining and fabrication of ALD components, as well as a residual gas analyzer with chiller, vacuum pumps, and various fittings, valves, and other components for setting up the lab.
As for the examples of specific research projects conducted by the lab, Ohuchi cited a combinatorial process dependent study of strontium-titanium-oxide thin films, a combinatorial compositional dependent study of alkaline-lanthan-manganite thin films, and in the longer term, studies of next-generation dielectric materials. He expects the first results from the lab to come out this summer.
Ohuchi said the team has a long-term collaboration with the Japanese National Institute of Materials Science taking place in the area of oxide thermoelectric and dielectric-magnetic materials, and also works on chlacogenide materials CME with the Pacific Northwest National Lab and materials informatics and software with the University of Maryland.
Three doctoral students and one postdoctoral assistant will be involved in the lab, according to Ohuchi, but that number will increase. As for Micron employees' participation, DeBoer said they "will act as ambassadors or technical sponsors to support and give guidance to the professors and students working in the lab."
I asked DeBoer why Micron chose UW. He said that the school is a "top-tier research university in the Pacific Northwest which is regionally located [near] our corporate and research headquarters in Boise." He noted that the chipmaker "partners with universities all over the world," focusing on schools "with strong programs in place, particularly in materials science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and chemical engineering." He listed research partners such as Boise State, Stanford, Iowa State, University of Illinois, University of Texas, RIT, University of Bristol (Australia), University of Utah, and Virginia Tech, home of the Micron Technology Semiconductor Processing Lab, which opened last fall.
Micron is not the only chipmaker which supports university-level research and education. Far from it. Many semiconductor and related micro- and nanoelectronics manufacturers donate money, equipment, and personnel to programs in various parts of the globe. But given the heroic advances that must be made to advance nanoscale technologies, process development, and manufacturing in the next decade or two---and the educational challenges therein---it's time for concerned companies to man up and intensify their collaborative efforts with the labs and fabs of academia.
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