MRI: Acquisition of Materials Characterization Instrumentation

Boise State University (BSU) is located in a high tech region with numerous microelectronic industries. The College of Engineering was created in 1996 and offers B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Computer Science. Faculty from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Geophysics, and Biology are creating a Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E) program at BSU. The program consists of a minor for the Master's program in Engineering, a minor for undergraduates and a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering.

As part of establishing the MS&E program and in support of MS&E research efforts, the team is establishing materials characterization capabilities at BSU. This proposal is requesting the acquisition of a number of key pieces of equipment to improve the infrastructure for a materials analysis facility at Boise State University. This grant will be used to purchase analytical tools that will be available to researchers on campus, in local industry, and at other universities and government labs around the region. It will support the work of undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral students, and faculty. As part of this effort, a mechanism to allow these tools to be used by local industry will be implemented.

Over the last few years, Boise State University has been building research programs in several areas including engineering, physics, chemistry and biology. Successful grants have been focused in microelectronic materials and processing including a DARPA grant for 3-D circuits, fabrication of chemical field effect transistors, and a new federal initiative to develop environmental sensors. Several new research programs are emerging in high-k dielectrics, reliability of ultra-thin gate oxides, microelectromechanical systems (MEMs), ceramic MEMs, and optimization of microelectronic packaging.

Funding of this proposal will enable the acquisition of expanded capabilities of the existing Atomic Force Microscope, add high frequency capabilities to the current semiconductor parameter test system, acquire a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer with microscope attachment, and enhance the capabilities of a scanning reference electrode technology instrument. The intent in this proposal is to add to the MS&E equipment set and to establish a structure by which to make these instruments readily available to researchers at BSU, researchers in the inland northwest region (Montana State, Northern Utah, WSU, U Idaho, INEEL), and local industry.

These additional capabilities will be utilized in several ways to improve the undergraduate education at BSU. In Materials Science coursework, students will obtain direct experience examining a wide array of materials properties in applications ranging from magnetic to microelectronic materials. Also, data from advanced materials characterization equipment will be used in class when relating theory and fundamentals to application specific examples. Undergraduates provide significant contributions in many research groups in the College of Engineering and will be using this equipment for their research. Overall, exposure to materials characterization at the undergraduate level will provide graduating BSU engineers a unique and valuable advantage in the workplace.