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 and thus requires that such institutions be the recipients 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.
Research Title: Standards Development for Atom Probe Tomography
The work will entail: Atom Probe Tomography (APT) is a powerful tool for the semiconductor industry, offering the unique ability to identify and map the chemical identity and location of individual atoms with spatial resolution at or below the smallest critical dimensions found in modern devices. These capabilities have led most major semiconductor manufacturers to install APT systems at their manufacturing facilities and/or R&D labs. Significant advances in the technique have been made in recent years, however, it is still limited by measurement inaccuracies that may be overcome by using standards. This project will produce a series of industrially relevant reference materials, data sets, and standard practices that will improve the accuracy and repeatability of quantitative measurements made by APT.
Primary Duties:
- Design and fabrication of reference materials containing known compositions and nanoscale 3-D structures. This includes both hands-on in the CNST Nanofab and through interactions with external vendors, such as foundries.
- Organize and analyze results from inter-laboratory studies to determine consensus measurand values from these reference materials and appropriateness for semiconductor applications
Required Qualifications:
- PhD or equivalent experience in Materials Science, Physics, or other related field
- Experience with standard nanofabrication processes such as lithography, thin film deposition, dry and wet etching, etc.
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Preferred Additional Skills:
- Knowledge of modern semiconductor device design and materials, especially gate-all-around transistors
- Experience with semiconductor foundry PDKs and MPW services
- Familiarity with APT sample prep, experiments, and data analysis
- Experience with other standard semiconductor materials characterization techniques such as SEM, TEM, SIMS, SRP, etc.
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.