Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Devices and processing is a specialty within the electrical and computer engineering program that is concerned with the fabrication of electronic materials and devices, as well as non-electronic micromechanical structures. This includes structure layout, electronic testing of devices, design of new device structures or materials, and in-depth knowledge of processing equipment.

Process engineers design fabrication processes and work with fabrication instrumentation in areas such as photolithography, film deposition, etching, diffusion, and chemical and mechanical polishing. They also work extensively with thin film characterization equipment such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), profilometers, 4-pt probe resistivity, and ellipsometers to check the properties of their films and processes.

Device engineers design and test new devices based on novel materials or based on novel device structures. They develop skills in making electrical measurements on devices. Some device engineers also develop processing skills in addition to electrical measurement skills.

Potential electives include:
ECE 420 ADVANCED DEVICE DESIGN AND SIMULATION
ECE 421 ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
ECE 422 MICROWAVE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
ECE 440 INTRO TO INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND MEMS PROCESSING
ECE 441 ADVANCED SILICON TECHNOLOGY
MSE 310 ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
MSE 404 MATERIALS ANALYSIS
PHYS 309 INTRODUCTORY MODERN PHYSICS WITH APPLICATIONS
PHYS 423 PHYSICAL METHODS OF MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION