This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.
The position will involve the development of metrology used in screening the reliability of power electronic devices. It has been recently shown that the conventional screening methods developed for silicon inaccurately predict the reliability of silicon carbide power electronic devices. NIST is currently developing several new screening measures based largely on careful assessments of leakage currents. The position requires a familiarity with wafer-level and die-level electrical characterization and the associated test equipment (signal generators, oscilloscopes, high-speed trans-impedance amplifiers). The position also requires a familiarity with the origins of intrinsic and extrinsic noise sources involved in these measurements.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Development of wafer probing techniques capable of highly reproducible landing at specific test sites across the entire wafer
- Instrumentation (software and hardware) needed for measuring the fast charging and discharging transient currents in power device capacitor arrays
- Analysis of charging and discharging transients to identify charge leakage
- Correlation of the observed charge leakage with other (established) screening tests and long-term lifetime (breakdown) tests
- Identification of reliability mechanisms which responsible for charge leakage in silicon carbide power electronic devices
- Presenting results at internal meetings, and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.
- Ensuring that results, protocols, software, and documentation have been archived (journal publications) or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization
Qualifications
- A Ph. D degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
- 3 years of relevant experience.
- Familiarity with electrical device characterization (probe stations, parameter analyzers, etc...)
- Ability to develop automated data acquisition and analysis routines
- Familiarity with instrumentation control software/hardware
- Ability to develop prototypes of tools needed to analyze data.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer that does not unlawfully discriminate in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.