Interdisciplinary teaching and learning in a semiconductor processing course

Journal of Engineering Education, Oct 1998 by Muscat, Anthony J, Allen, Emily, Green, Evan D H, Vanasupa, Linda S

ABSTACT

An interdisciplinary course in semiconductor processing has been developed and successfully introduced into the chemical, materials, and electrical engineering curricula at San Jose State University. Student teams drawn from a range of engineering and scientific disciplines build microelectronic devices using a five-mask PMOS metal gate process, and perform open-ended experiments to improve this process. The team approach is set in the context of a start-up company culture and professional work environment to give students the opportunity to be actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge base. The wide spectrum of fields and experiences that students bring to the course mirror the highly interdisciplinary nature of microelectronics device processing which requires knowledge of physics, chemistry, and chemical, materials, and electrical engineering. The results from student surveys for the past three years (1995-97) were used to assess the success of this approach and to deduce the most important features for effective teamworkin this context. The elements for good team function and a rich overall learning experience include 1) contributions from and respect for each team member; 2) diverse majors, GPA, and work experiences; and 3) demonstrable leadership from one or two team members.

I. INTRODUCTION

Microelectronics device fabrication is inherently interdisciplinary. The microelectronic circuits that have found their way into so many parts of our daily activities are built by combining basic types of processes or unit operations. These basic processes include diffusion, thin film deposition, ion implantation, photolithography, and etching. In turn, each of these basic processes draws upon knowledge that is traditionally in the domain of physics, chemistry, and chemical, materials, and electrical engineering. For example, the transistor's gate dielectric (SiO2), which is the workhorse of microelectronic devices, is formed using a diffusion process. The skill set needed to properly understand and control this process is drawn from the areas of solid-state physics; crystallography; chemical kinetics; heat, mass, and fluid transfer process control; and surface analytical techniques among others. Understanding and controlling other basic processes requires different skill sets, also drawn from multiple disciplines. The basic function and performance of the resulting device are tested using solid-state electronics principles. Since device fabrication is highly interdisciplinary, there are advantages to teaching it in a single course. We have developed a one semester, team-taught course in electronic materials processing open to undergraduates from a variety of engineering and science disciplines.

The interdisciplinary nature of microelectronics device fabrication also provides an opportunity to improve communication, teamwork, and lateral thinking skills. It is not possible in a single 15-week semester for each student to master every unit process and electrical testing procedure. The students are majoring in chemical, materials, electrical, and information engineering as well as physics and chemistry. Moreover, they have a range of industrial work experiences. Consequently, each student brings a different set of skills that is strong in some areas of device fabrication and weak in others. This situation lends itself to completing the device fabrication and testing work in small teams composed of students with as broad a distribution of backgrounds as possible based on knowledge and experience. Each student in the team will, in principle, have or be able to readily acquire the skills necessary for a part of the overall effort to build and test the devices during the semester. No single student has all of the talent, but by pooling skills and working together each team can complete the larger goal. The opportunity to work with people from other majors broadens the students' educational experience and promotes lateral thinking. The team-based work unit creates a more cooperative learning environment that encourages interdependence. Moreover, the common goals of the team promote oral communication both inside and outside of the laboratory. Lateral thinking, teamwork, and oral communication are part of a list of skills that have been singled out for improvement in engineering curricula.1,2

The setting for the course is a fictitious start-up company called Spartan Semiconductor Services, Inc. An effort is made to simulate a working microelectronics device fabrication facility in order to give a sense of the risks and rewards available in such an atmosphere. The professional work environment that is created encourages student ownership of their work The unifying project and primary goal of the course is to make working microelectronic devices. Threaded in with the larger goal of device building are short-term design projects. All of the laboratory work is completed in cooperative teams. Two teams in the same section cooperate with each other to achieve the greatest yield and the smallest working devices. The two teams compete, however, with each another on the shortterm projects and with other sections to make the best devices. These ingredients form an entrepreneurial approach to teaching and learning since both the instructors and students own, launch, manage, and assume the risks of the educational enterprise. This paper describes our interdisciplinary team approach applied to a microelectronics device fabrication course and focuses on the team elements.