ESC 200 Nanofabrication Processing Seminar
Credits: 1.00
Orientation course for all students considering entering the Nanofabrication Training Sequence at the Nanofabrication Laboratory at Penn State University. The primary aim of this course is to prepare students for the rigors of this very intense training sequence. An introduction/ orientation to program educational requirements and details of career opportunities as technicians/technologists within the rapidly expanding field of Nanofabrication will be provided.
ESC 211 Materials, Safety, & Equipment Overview of Nanotechnology
Credits: 3.00
This course provides an overview of the materials, safety and equipment issues encountered in the practice of “top down” and “bottom up” nanofabrication. It focuses on safety, environmental and health issues in equipment operation and materials handling as well as on cleanroom protocol. Topics to be covered include: cleanroom operation, OSHA lab standard safety training, health issues, Biosafety Levels (BSL) guidelines, and environmental concerns. Safety issues dealing with nanofabrication equipment, materials, and processing will also be discussed including those pertinent to biological materials, wet benches, thermal processing tools, plasma based equipment, stamping and embossing lithography tools, vacuum systems and pumps, gas delivery systems and toxic substance handling and detection. Specific material handling procedures to be discussed will include corrosive, flammable, and toxic materials, biological materials, carcinogenic materials, DI water, solvents, cleaners, photo resists, developers, metals, acids, and bases. The course will also concentrate on safe equipment maintenance and operation. Students will be given an overview of basic nanofabrication materials, equipment and equipment operation. This technical overview and operational introduction to processing equipment and characterization tools will include: chemical processing, furnaces, vacuum based processing (physical vapor deposition equipment, chemical vapor deposition equipment, and dry etching equipment), and lithography as well as scanning probe microscopy (e.g., atomic force microscopy), optical microscope, electron microscopy (e.g., scanning electron microscopy) ellipsometer, nanospec, and profilometer equipment.
ESC 212 Basic Nanotechnology Processes
Credits: 3.00
This course is the hands-on introduction to the processing involved in “top down”, “bottom up”, and hybrid nanofabrication. The majority of the course details a step-by-step description of the equipment, facilities processes and process flow needed to fabricate devices and structures. Students learn to appreciate processing and manufacturing concerns including process control, contamination, yield, and processing interaction. The students design process flows for micro- and nano-scale systems. Students learn the similarities and differences in “top down” and “bottom up” equipment and process flows by undertaking hands-on processing. This hands-on exposure covers basic nanofabrication processes including colloidal chemistry, self-assembly, catalyzed nanoparticle growth, lithography, wet and dry etching, physical vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition.
ESC 213 Materials in Nanotechnology
Credits: 3.00
This course is an in-depth, hands-on exposure to materials fabrication approaches used in nanofabrication. Students learn that these processes can be guided by chemical or physical means or by some combination of these. Hands-on exposure will include self-assembly; colloidal chemistry; atmosphere, low-pressure and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition; sputtering; thermal and electron beam evaporation; nebulization and spin-on techniques. This course is designed to give students hands-on experience in depositing, fabricating and self-assembling a wide variety of materials tailored for their mechanical, electrical, optical, magnetic, and biological properties.
ESC 214 Patterning for Nanotechnology
Credits: 3.00
This course is a hands-on treatment of all aspects of advanced pattern transfer and pattern transfer equipment including probe techniques; stamping and embossing; e-beam; and optical contact and stepper systems. The course is divided into five major sections. The first section is an overview of all pattern generation processes covering aspects from substrate preparation to tool operation. The second section concentrates on photolithography and examines such topics as mask template, and mold generation. Chemical makeup of resists will be discussed including polymers, solvents, sensitizers, and additives. The role or dyes and antireflective coatings will be discussed. In addition, critical dimension (CD) control and profile control of resists will be investigated. The third section will discuss the particle beam lithographic techniques such as e-beam lithography. The fourth section covers probe pattern generation and the fifth section explores embossing lithography, step-and-flash, stamp lithography, and self assembled lithography.
ESC 215 Materials Modification in Nanotechnology
Credits: 3.00
This course will cover in detail the processing techniques and specialty hardware used in modifying properties in nanofabrication. Material modification steps to be covered will include etching, functionalization, alloying, stress control and doping. Avoiding unintentional materials modification will also be covered including such topics as use of diffusion barriers, encapsulation, electromigration control, corrosion control, wettability, stress control, and adhesion. Hands-on materials modification and subsequent characterization will be undertaken.
ESC 216 Characterization, Testing of Nanotechnology Structures and Materials
Credits: 3.00
This course examines a variety of techniques and measurements essential for testing and for controlling material fabrication and final device performance. Characterization includes electrical, optical, physical, and chemical approaches. The characterization experience will include hands-on use of tools such as the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), fluorescence microscopes, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
