Microelectronics Research Center

The mission of the Microelectronics Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin is to perform research and education in: 

·      novel materials of interest to the IC industry

·      optoelectronics and nanophotonics

·      novel electronic devices and nanostructures

·      interconnects and packaging

Building Statistics

   ·      MRC established in 1983   

   ·      MER Building completed  in 1993

·      Over $40M spent to build and equip facility, mostly from Permanent University Fund

·      Research equipment valued over $15M from university, DoD, NSF and other research agencies  

·      14,000 square feet of class 100 cleanroom space for crystal-growth and device processing

·      15,000 square feet of characterization laboratories

·      30,000 square feet of office space for faculty, support staff, and  graduate students

Personnel

·      MRC Faculty: 13

·      Post-doctoral Fellows and Research Scientists: 6

·      Graduate Research Assistants: 150

·      Facilities Manager, Safety Coordinator, Support Staff: 6

·      Lab Technicians: 3

·      Faculty Administrative Support: 5

·      Affiliated Faculty (Physics, Chemistry, Chem. E., Materials Science): 20

·      Non-academic Users: 5

Silicon Processing Equipment

·      Oxidation/diffusion furnaces (4-stack, 6” capability)

·      LPCVD for poly, oxides, & nitrides (4-stack,  6”)

·      Oxidation/diffusion furnaces for high-K dielectrics, SiGe (6-stack, 4” capability)

·      LPCVD for poly, oxides, & nitrides for high-K dielectrics, SiGe (3-stack,  4”)

·      RTP systems for RTA, RTO/RTN, RTPCVD of high-K dielectrics

·      Karl Suss split field contact lithography (~0.5 micron)

·      JEOL 6000 electron beam lithography

·      Aluminum and silicide sputter deposition

·      Reactive-ion etching of poly, oxides/nitrides

·      Wet chemistry stations for cleans, etches for Si, SiGe, high-K dielectrics, metals

·      SiGeC-heteroepitaxy: UHVCVD, RPCVD, RTPCVD

Compound Semiconductor Resources

Fabrication:

Photolithography (Karl Süss MJB‑3UV deep‑UV optical lithography system)

Sputter deposition metallization

E-beam (CHA turbo-pumped four-hearth e-beam metal evaporator)

Thermal evaporation of metals and dielectrics

Reactive ion etching (Plasma-Therm)

Rapid-thermal heating systems (AG Associates)

Tencor Alpha-Step profilometer

Numerous furnace tubes       

Laminar flow wet processing hoods

Wafer thinning and polishing equipment

Characterization:

Quantum efficiency, bandwidth to >50GHz, multiplication noise

High-speed (50 GHz) ocsilloscopes and spectrum analyzers (50 GHz)

I-V and C-V measurement systems (HP 4145B Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer and capacitance bridge)

High-frequency network analyzer ( HP 8510B)

Noise Figure Meter (HP 8970B)

Digitizing Signal Analyze (Tektronix 11801)

Various probe stations

Pulsed and CW semiconductor laser driver current sources

Spectrometers

Coherent mode-locked Ti-sapphire laser with Regenerative Amplifier and Optical Parametric Oscillator

         (200 fs pulses from 500 nm to 2200 nm)

Variable-temperature, light-vs-current measurement systems 

Varian Gen II molecular beam epitaxial systems: Arsenides, Phosphides, and Nitrides; also MOCVD 

Characterization Laboratories

·      Electrical I-V and C-V measurements

·      Temperature-dependent Hall effect, DLTS

·      Magneto-transport measurements (9T, 4-500K)

·      XRD, FTIR, temperature-dependent PL

·      AFM, SEM, lattice imaging TEM

·      R-f and microwave characterization

·      NSF nano-characterization facility

·      Extensive network of PC’s and workstations with commercial and in-house device/process simulators; access to Cray Y-MP machines