European master programs in nanoelectronics and microsystems

2011

Microelectronics high education in France is organized through a network composed of twelve centers, six of them having clean-rooms and technological facilities. During the year 2010, some activities moved from microelectronics to nanotechnologies in an effort to adapt our training facilities to the new nanoworld.

2020

In Spring 2012, a pilot project to increase student exposure to nanotechnology was carried out in the first electronic devices course in the electrical engineering program at our university. Students were given the opportunity to build and test memristors in the nano-electronics research laboratory under the supervision of their instructor. In this pilot project, 10% of the students in the class chose to participate. Based on the success of the first trial, this project will be run again in Fall 2014. The topic of "memristors" was chosen for this project motivated in no small part by the fact that these devices are currently "hot" in the microelectronics/nanoelectronics research community. An additional attribute, deemed essential for this student experience, is the ability to create a macro-scale version of the memristor. The project work included mini-lectures and assigned readings on the history, theory of operation and fabrication, and applications of these devices. The project consisted of two sections: macro-scale and micro-scale memristors. During the macro-scale portion of the project, students practiced the memristor fabrication techniques for several different base metals and sulfiding mediums. Then based on the results (either success or failure) determined by the measured current-voltage characteristics of the memristor, the students made choices on the materials and methods to scale down the macro-scale memristor to the micro/nano-scale memristors using an industry standard fabrication techniques. A graduate student working in the nano-electronics laboratory assisted the students during all experimental work including safety training and help on both fabrication and data acquisition.

2006 16th Biennial University/Government/Industry Microelectronics Symposium, 2006

Rochester Institute of Technology started the nation's first Bachelor of Science program in Microelectronic Engineering in 1982. The program has kept pace with the rapid advancements in semiconductor technology, sharing 25 of the 40 years characterized by Moore's Law. The program has constantly advanced its integrated circuit fabrication laboratory in order to graduate students with state-of-the-art knowledge, who become immediate and efficient contributors to their company or graduate program. Today, this facility serves as a key resource for research in semiconductor devices, processes, MEMS, nanotechnology, and microsystems. This has led to the creation of the first PhD program in engineering at RIT, a doctorate in Microsystems Engineering. The department enjoys strong support from the semiconductor industry through its industrial affiliate program. Recently the department received a $1million department level reform grant to address the imminent need for a highly educated workforce for the US high tech industry that is on the verge of nanotechnology revolution.

IEEE Transactions on Education, 2018

This paper brings forward a paradigm shift in microelectronic and nanoelectronic engineering education. Background: An increasing number of universities are offering graduate-level electrical engineering degree programs with multidisciplinary Master's-level specialization in microelectronics or nanoelectronics. The paradigm shift from electrical engineering to microelectronics graduate education has been slow, but the technology has now advanced to the point where industry is relying on cyber-physical connectivity, thus providing an opportunity for engineering education to utilize this capability. Research Questions: How are methods deployed when teaching traditional electrical engineering degrees still applicable in microelectronics education, and how are globally ranked institution shifting their online teaching and learning pedagogies for this? Methodology: A survey is presented of current trends in Master's degree programs in microelectronics and related fields, and in electrical engineering degree programs with specialization in microelectronics. The review reveals how Quacquarelli Symonds' top-ranked world universities, and other global universities with established micro-and nanoelectronic degrees, are selecting modules for their curricula and curricula content in attempts to attract and develop engineering students to this specialized field. Findings: The current global trend toward microelectronic education is following a part-coursework, part-dissertation Master's degree model, consisting of several core modules, several electives, a research proposal writing module and a minidissertation. Furthermore, following industrial trends, there is a clear shift toward the "fabless" or cyber-physical approach and outsourced manufacturing, with technology-led teaching mediating the possibility of completing both theoretical and laboratory components using online resources and interactivity.

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

is a professor and the department head of Microelectronic Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. She has an extensive experience on integration of electronic materials in modern devices. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in microelectronics processing, electronic materials and solid state quantum mechanics.

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

She has led the effort on curriculum reform and is the Principle Investigator of this work. She teaches courses on microelectronic processing and electronic materials. She has extensive experience on materials integration in semiconductor devices.

The incredibly shrinking transistor has revolutionized the science, technology and applications of miniaturization not only in electronics but also in mechanics, photonics, biology, magnetics and chemistry. The extension of conventional microelectronics to new frontiers that include MEMS, nanotechnology, flexible electronics and biotechnology is inevitable. The development of a necessary work force for these burgeoning technologies would require students to be able to access courses outside their specific discipline.

is a professor and the department head of Microelectronic Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. She has an extensive experience on integration of electronic materials in modern devices. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in microelectronics processing, electronic materials and solid state quantum mechanics.

2006 Sixth IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology, 2006

Using basic fundamentals, engineering and science encompass continuously evolving technologies. In response to these changes and emerging opportunities, engineering and science curricula evolve revisiting program objectives, goals and outcomes. By integrating various disciplines and tools, nanotechnology-centered engineering and science provides a multidisciplinary approach to these needed curricula changes needed to meet societal challenges and industry needs. Extensive advances in biotechnology, electronics, energy sources, information technology and nanosystems, have brought new challenges to academia. As a result, many engineering and science schools have revised their curricula to offer relevant courses. At the RIT, a cross-listed (Electrical Engineering and Physics) multidisciplinary sophomore-level Nano-Science, Engineering and Technology (NanoSET) course has been developed and offered with support from the National Science Foundation. This course is offered as a restricted science elective within the Electrical Engineering curriculum, while students from various science and engineering departments can take the course as a science or free elective. This paper reports the course goals, objectives, emphasis, coverage, accomplishments, dissemination and assessment. Strategies for interactive team-teaching, material delivery and coverage are reported. We articulate our innovative practice and strategies for teaching nanotechnology inside and outside of the classroom through lectures, workshops and laboratories. We emphasize the need for large-scale coherent efforts in defining and developing nanotechnology at the college, institutional and multi-institutional levels. To pursue the nanotechnology-centered developments and educational innovations, a number of obstacles and impediments should need to be overcome, and serious longterm commitments are needed.

The preparation of skilled technicians in the field of nanotechnology is a concern. Several institutions receive grants for training and education related activities, but institutionalization and sustainability are considered main issues. This paper presents how we integrated nanotechnology as part of an associate degree in Electronics Technology Program based on previous experiences acquired during our collaboration in ATE-NSF projects with Pennsylvania State University. The characteristics of the Electronics Technology Program, the curriculum of the nanotech courses and main outcomes of their inclusion are described. The methodology of the laboratory portion is project oriented, aiming at developing student teamwork, technical, leadership, and communication skills. Examining the main outcomes, in addition to the results of student surveys, we can consider that this curriculum improvement has been very successful, and can be a model for other institutions.