Undergraduate Experience
The NCI-SW selected four students from a group of well qualified applicants for its 2018 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The participants were all from regional community colleges, and included one Hispanic and two female students. This continues the NCI-SW’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse population for its programs.
These REU students paired up to form two teams to research different device applications at the micro- and nanoscale. One project studied how a nanoscale transistor can be used as an on-chip temperature sensor to monitor device self-heating and the effect on performance. The other project studied the fabrication of a nanoscale silicon membrane that can provide a platform to build an electron diffraction grating for use in a novel compact source of hard x-rays. Upon the completion of their projects, the students presented their results in poster sessions at the NNCI REU Convocation in Charlotte, NC.
Teacher Experience
Two instructors from local community colleges (Phoenix College and South Mountain College) participated in NCI-SW’s Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program. They were introduced to cleanroom operation and safety procedures in the NanoFab as well as the use of characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy.
The experience allowed them to develop methods and curriculum that can be used to teach the subject of Scaling as it pertains to micro- and nanotechnologies at their home institutions.