Projects

This section contains a description of the term project that every student was required to complete.

Term Project

Some examples of topics for the term project:

  • Diffusion of Dopants in SiGe
  • Fully-silicided metal gate formation and electrical properties
  • Laser annealing of ion implants for shallow junction formation
  • Atomic Layer Deposition of thin films for CMOS applications
  • Advanced Etching of Dielectrics on Silicon
  • Selective-area Epitaxial Growth and its Applications
  • Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
  • Formation and Performance of High-k Gate Dielectrics
  • Advanced Wafer Cleaning Techniques for Thin Gate Oxides
  • Gold Diffusion in Silicon
  • Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy
  • Lifetime Measurements in Silicon
  • Shallow Trench Isolation
  • Self Diffusion (Si diffusion) in Silicon
  • Impact of Carbon on TED in Si and SiGe
  • Advanced Techniques for 2D Dopant Profiling
  • Dopant Diffusion in Polysilicon and the Gate Depletion Effect
  • Smart-Cut SOI Fabrication Technique
  • Advanced Gettering in Silicon Manufacturing
  • ....... (many others)

This list includes some examples, and is by no means complete. You may suggest your own topic. All topics must be approved by the Instructor.

The term project should involve doing research in the modern journal and conference proceedings literature, not simply taking material from texts (most topics are ‘new enough’ that textbook material would not be adequate to cover them, in any case). You may also do some of your own calculations, simulations, or analysis (e.g. critical thinking and explanations) as part of your term project. Regurgitation of a literature article is not considered sufficient.

You have two choices for your term project: written paper, less than and or equal to 20 pages in length, or an oral presentation in class, 17 minutes plus 3 minutes for questions. If you do an oral presentation, you must make handouts for the class (copies of your presentation materials can be made by my assistant, by arrangement).

Your oral presentation should include a title slide, outline slide, main body, and summary or conclusions slide. Your written paper must include an introduction to the topic, main body (with sections, where appropriate), and summary or conclusions section. Both oral and written term projects must include full references for where you obtained your information.