Microelectronic engineering education for emerging technologies

The Department of Microelectronic Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology received NSF Department Level Reform (DLR) planning and implementation grants in 2003-04 and 2005-10, respectively. The primary mission of these efforts was to evaluate and develop educational initiatives towards nanotechnology aligned with recommendations from the institution of National Nanotechnology Initiatives published by the US Government in 2000. The Department proposed to take this opportunity further and guide its curriculum toward new frontiers in nanotechnology and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMs). Advances in semiconductor technology have resulted in micro/nanofabrication techniques being employed in MEMs, chemical & bio sensors, and in energy harvesting devices and systems. The technology has evolved through aggressive process control and scalability characterized by Moore's Law. The result has been emergence of a multifunctional “More than Moore” regime that is increasingly multidisciplinary in nature. Under this effort, new courses and curricula in Microelectronics and Nanofabrication providing access to state-of-the art semiconductor fabrication facilities to students from different science and engineering programs have been formulated.