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New Microelectronics Labs to Sport
Clean Rooms, Packaging/Hybrid Facilities
A new microelectronics teaching laboratory is under construction
in Whittemore Hall that will provide students with introductory
experience in fabricating simple devices. The new laboratory,
which is expected to be used by 500 students per year, will feature
a Class 1000 processing clean room and packaging/hybrid facilities.
The laboratory will be used by all EE and CpE students taking
a required electronics laboratory course in addition to students
from physics and MSE. Students in electronics manufacturing programs
at regional community colleges will also use the laboratory for
part of their education.
New laboratories are also under construction in Hancock and Holden
Halls. Additional Class 1000 and Class 100 clean rooms will provide
advanced device manufacturing facilities for processing and characterization
for use by advanced undergraduate and graduate students.
The new laboratories are part of a major expansion of Virginia
Tech's microelectronics education and research capabilities.
The multidisciplinary effort involves revising the university's
microelectronics courses to reflect a fully integrated curriculum.
The laboratories will provide opportunities for faculty members
from several departments to teach and collaborate on microelectronics
research. Areas of investigation include microelectronic materials,
such as wide-bandgap materials and electronic ceramics; as well
as novel devices, including power devices, high-frequency/high-speed
devices, optoelectronics, MEMS, and organic light-emitting devices.
Additional investigation areas involve process technologies,
such as nanotechnology, advanced lithography, plasma-aided processing,
and micromachining; and circuits, systems, and design work, such
as VLSI/ULSI, RFICs/MMICs, sensors/actuators, mixed-signal, mixed-technology,
and system-on-a-chip.
The laboratories are made possible by a $1.35 million equipment
gift from Motorola, state funds through the Virginia
Microelectronics Consortium for Education and Research (VMEC),
and additional funds from Motorola and the Pratt Foundation.
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