UNT Research, Volume 20, 2011 Page: 19
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vides him with the opportunity to
collaborate with other scientists in
this area. His research group, which
includes seven graduate students, is
working closely with the research
group of David Graves, profes-
sor of chemical and biomolecular
engineering at the University of
California, Berkeley, to understand
how damages from plasma pro-
cesses occur.
Graves says the problem is that
the plasma will itself create changes
in the porous low dielectric con-
stant thin films his group is study-
ing, raising the dielectric constant
and thereby making these new
materials less effective.
"My expertise is in plasmas and
Dr. Kelber's expertise is surfaces.
This problem involves how plasmas
alter surfaces, so this is a perfect
collaboration. We each comple-
ment the other," says Graves, who
adds that an equally important
component of the center is the col-
laboration it fosters with industrial
partners.
"Our industry colleagues keep
us focused on relevant problems,
and the academic environment
allows industry to have access to
the latest techniques and scientific
understanding," he says. "It also
gives industry access to top gradu-
ate students."
SiTvr :ATOF-T i i-ART FACI rIFES
CEMPI researchers at UNT will
soon have one of the most advanced
materials analysis laboratories at
any university to use in their work.
A new $6 million Nanofabri-
cation Analysis and Research
Facility will integrate the existing
Center for Advanced Research and
Technology with a new clean room
at Discovery Park, the university'snearly 290-acre research park.
This will aid the scientists in syn-
thesizing and processing samples of
new materials and then testing and
examining them at the molecular
and atomic levels using CART's 27
state-of-the-art instruments and
microscopes. Construction began
on the center in November.
"The nanofabrication facility will
allow us to turn transistors from
microelectronics into nanoelectron-
ics," Kelber says. "The clean room
will allow us to make device-like
structures, such as transistors,
interconnectors and dielectrics, and
test how various processes affect
their function."
The evolution of surface sci-
ences is definitely toward address-
ing more complex environments,
Kelber says.
"The plasma processes used to
make chips and the damages they
cause are hard to ignore as chips get
smaller," he says.
CEMPI's researchers and gradu-
ate students converged at Discovery
Park in November for the center's
first annual review, taking the
opportunity to share ideas.
The formation of the center
shows how important improving the
processing and insulation in semi-
conductor chips is to the industry,
Kelber says.
"As semiconductor devices con-
tinue to shrink in size and grow in
complexity, the control of these
surfaces and interfaces over atomic
dimensions becomes crucial to fur-
ther advances," he says. "Better
plasma processing will be a major
tool in achieving that goal." ICENTER FOR ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
PROCESSING AND INTEGRATION
The new Center for Electronic Materials
Processing and Integration at the University
of North Texas is directed by Jeffry A. Kelber,
Regents Professor of chemistry, and supported
by the Semiconductor Research Corp. The center,
which is focused on the fundamental understand-
ing of advanced plasma processes and insulators
used in manufacturing state-of-the-art semiconduc-
tor chips, brings together the cutting-edge work of
experts from nine universities.
University of North Texas: Jeffry A. Kelber and
Oliver Chyan, Department of Chemistry; Jincheng
Du and Srinivasan Srivilliputhur, Department of
Materials Science and Engineering
Arizona State University: Robert Nemanich,
Department of Physics
Columbia University: Tony Heinz, Departments
of Physics and Electrical Engineering; Robert
Laibowitz, Department of Electrical Engineering
Pennsylvania State University: Deborah Levin,
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Joel Plawsky,
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of California, Berkeley: David Graves,
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park: Gottlieb
Oehrlein, Department of Materials Science and
Engineering, Institute for Research in Electronics
and Applied Physics
University of Michigan: Mark Kushner,
Department of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science
University of Texas, Arlington: Choong-Un Kim,
Department of Materials Science and EngineeringUNT RESEARCH 20.1i1 [ "19
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