Semiconductor Nanofabrication

Microelectronics Commons Scholars ProgramJohn O'Brien Nanofabrication Laboratory, USC

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I had the privilege of being part of the inaugural cohort of the Microelectronics Commons Scholars Program, which launched in summer 2024. The program featured two immersive phases: a two-week CA DREAMS Cleanroom Gateway at USC’s John O’Brien Nanofabrication Laboratory, where I received hands-on training, followed by a six-week internship.

During the Cleanroom Gateway, I gained skills in wafer cleaning and handling, photolithography, deposition, etching, metrology, machine operation, and cleanroom safety practices. This foundational training prepared me for my internship.

My internship began with cleanroom machine calibration, where I conducted multiple trials of SiO₂ deposition on cleaved silicon wafers to measure and recalibrate the faulty PECVD deposition rate. I then joined the Biomedical Microsystems Laboratory, which focuses on developing micro/nanotechnologies for biomedical applications. Here, I was fascinated by the fabrication process of a novel silicon-polymer neural probe, and I continued my research into the school year.

Programs that offer such comprehensive and specialized training in this specialized industry are exceptionally rare, and I am grateful to have gained such valuable knowledge and experience in this field.

The photolithography area of a cleanroom, lit in yellow light.
A Photolithography section of the John O'Brien nanofabrication cleanroom
Cedar in a cleanroom suit working at a photoresist spinner under yellow light.
Spinning photoresist evenly on my wafer as part of the lithography process
Gloved hand holding tweezers next to a wafer covered in small patterned neural probes.
Wafer full of neural probes that I fabricated through photolithography, deposition, etching, & liftoff
Two people in cleanroom suits retrieving wafers from a deposition machine.
Retrieving wafers after depositing titanium via the electron-beam physical vapor deposition
A scribe tool with a microscope positioned over a wafer.
Scribe tool used to cleave wafer - I made a Standard Operating Procedure Tutorial (SOP) for this tool
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