A Microelectronic Processing Lab Course Designed to Stimulate Interdisciplinary Team Learning

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Educational activities directed at electronic materials processing are a new and growing component of the Colorado School of Mines undergraduate curriculum. This expansion is multidisciplinary in nature with at least four departments on campus heavily involved in the growth. It has also been strongly supported by the administration through the recruitment of new faculty with expertise in this area, the construction of new facilities, and the development of new curricula. Nevertheless, the program has a critical need for a laboratory class in electronic materials processing to provide students with hands-on experience with the steps involved in device fabrication. The goal of this proposal is to obtain key pieces of processing equipment needed to develop this lab course. A primary goal of the proposed course will be to give undergraduates a fundamental understanding of the processes leading to the production of semiconductor devices. Equally important will be the focus on developing teamwork and communication skills in an interdisciplinary environment. Lab activities will be performed by senior level students from four different departments. The lab projects will be designed to draw from the diverse talents of the various team members. Since the proposed experiments will be relatively simple, the students will be allowed to help design their own experiments and not just follow processing recipes. The communication of individual project results to their fellow classmates through both verbal and written mediums will be an important aspect of the course. Since device processing brings aspects of chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering together in one very visible application, the course will provide an innovative medium for emphasizing the value of a multidisciplinary education. The class will also provide a direct connection between the classroom instruction students have received and the technology that impacts them daily. We feel that this approach will be successful in reinforci ng concepts learned in other classes, and that it will develop the teamwork and communication skills essential for the students' careers after graduation.