MIT Reports to the President 1998-99

MICROSYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY LABORATORIES

The Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) are organized to provide facilities and a working environment to support undergraduate and graduate education through teaching and research in the area of microsystems technology.

The MTL carries out graduate research activities in the fabrication and study of small (i.e., micron, submicron, and nanometer) structures and their use for the implementation of interesting integrated devices from X-ray lenses to nanometer-scale transistors to displays to micro-chemical reactors. Additionally, researchers are investigating new circuits and systems that are built using microsystems technology. The MTL facilities include laboratory space for electronics test and assembly, computation and communication, and microfabrication. The MTL microfabrication facilities include three clean rooms; the state-of-the-art class-10 Integrated Circuits Laboratory (ICL), the flexible process environment Technology Research Laboratory (TRL), and the NanoStructures Laboratory (NSL). The fabrication and computation facilities of the MTL are maintained and operated by a full time technical staff, and used by research students and staff. The facilities of the MTL are also utilized for the laboratory component of several undergraduate and graduate courses, most notably the microelectronics processing course (6.152J). Approximately 110 students per year are educated in hands-on microfabrication through 6.152J and associated project laboratory courses.

MTL maintains a strong and vibrant interaction with industries that value not only the research output, but also the students that are educated in state-of-the-art microsystems technology. The MTL facilities are supported in part by industry through the MIT Microsystems Industrial Group (MIG), whose current members include: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Analog Devices, Applied Materials, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Intel Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Inc. Novellus Systems, Texas Instruments, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC), as well as members of the Microsystems Affiliates Program whose members are Kokusai/BTI Corporation and Sony Corporation.

The highlights for AY1999 in the MTL include:

• Faculty investigators affiliated with the MTL were awarded a multi-million dollar research program to pursue studies of interconnect in integrated systems. The program, funded by MARCO, is intended to solve the interconnect issues that will be faced by the semiconductor industry 10 years and beyond from the current generation of integrated circuits. MARCO is an industry-funded research consortium, established by the semiconductor industry to support advanced research on technical issues that will impact the industry in the future.
• Renovations were completed on a new circuits and systems research laboratory and student office space that will help to consolidate much of the circuit and systems research in one area of MTL.
• The clean-room space of the ICL was expanded to accommodate the installation of two new Applied Materials process tools. These donated tools (from Applied Materials and Motorola) are collectively valued at over $6M, and position MTL to continue state-of-the-art research in industrially-relevant silicon process research.
• A new Technology Demonstration Systems Program was initiated by Prof. Sodini to create Master's degree research opportunities that utilize the technology developed in MTL and other labs to build prototype demonstration systems.
• A World Wide Web-based remote semiconductor device testing system was developed by Prof. del Alamo and his students. The system was used in an advanced semiconductor device course and greatly enhanced the education experience for the students.
• The fabrication facilities of MTL have continued to see phenomenal growth in use. This year we saw over 300 individual users, and we recorded nearly $1M in usage fees. This represents a nearly two-fold increase in activity over the past three years. All of this usage increase has been accommodated without significant growth in the physical space of the facilities.

Looking to the coming year, we anticipate several major events:

• We plan to complete the conversion and upgrade of our microfabrication facilities to a 6" diameter wafers compatible facility. This conversion will position MTL for continued contributions in research and education, and will solidify MTL as one of the premier university microfabrication facilities.
• The former Microlab in the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) will be moved to MTL where it will be named the Exploratory Materials Laboratory (EML). This facility will complement the existing MTL facilities, and will ensure a flexible thin-film materials microfabrication laboratory for the MIT community.
• MTL will complete a variety of space renovations and moves that result from the 6" conversion and the creation of EML. Accommodating the explosive growth in activity in nearly the same physical plant that we occupied 15 years ago continues to challenge us.
• MTL will embark on a strategic planning process this year. Since it's creation approximately 15 years ago, we have grown significantly in both numbers and research breadth such that MTL is now widely recognized as an international leader in microsystems. This growth has created a number of challenges and opportunities. The strategic planning process will enable us to address the challenges and select opportunities based upon our core strengths.

Finally, it is worth noting in this report that AY99 signified the conclusion of Prof. Raphael Reif's tenure as director of MTL. He leaves this post to serve as Associate Head in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. During his tenure as Director of MTL, Rafael guided the laboratory through an exciting period of growth and expansion. We have all been touched by his untiring dedication to MTL, and his sensitivity to the needs of the community. Rafael is a great leader of change, and a tremendous champion of the labs. He has served as a visible and powerful spokesperson for MTL, and as a national voice for university microfabrication laboratories to industry and governments. We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Rafael, and his family, for his countless hours of dedicated service to MTL and his infectious good spirit.

More information about the Microsystems Technology Laboratories can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www-mtl.mit.edu/.

Martin A. Schmidt

MIT Reports to the President 1998-99