2007 MIT Manufacturing Summit
Manufacturing Processes Session
The Role of the LMP in Manufacturing Processes Research
Prof. Jung-Hoon Chun
Director, LMP
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity (LMP) is an interdepartmental laboratory within the MIT School of Engineering with a goal of developing the fundamental principles of manufacturing systems, processes and machines. Research along this goal has led to numerous ground-breaking innovations. I will describe a few examples to illustrate the LMP's contribution in the past 30 years and beyond.
Modeling of MEMS Fabrication Processes
Duane S. Boning
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT
As fabrication processes evolve for MEMS, a number of challenges in achieving high manufacturability and repeatability need to be addressed. In many of these processes, pattern dependencies exist: the fidelity of the features and devices to the design is imperfect, and the imperfections vary strongly as a function of both the process conditions and the design. For example, in deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) processes, the depth of etched layers often varies as a function of the feature size, pattern density (fraction of open area), and position on the wafer or substrate. Another example is hot embossing, where the ability of a polymer layer to fill and retain features in the stamp or tool also has strong layout pattern and process dependencies. In this talk, methods for modeling and maximizing the manufacturability of MEMS fabrication processes will be presented.
Biography
Duane Boning is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. His degrees are also from MIT, including the Ph.D. in 1991. His research focus is variation modeling, control, and environmental issues in semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing with emphasis on chemical mechanical polishing and plasma etch, and CAD tools for statistical process, device, and circuit design. He has over 120 papers and conference presentations in these areas of research. From 1991 to 1993 he was a Member of the Technical Staff at Texas Instruments in Dallas. He served as the Associate Director for the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories from 1998 to 2004. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, for contributions to modeling and control in semiconductor manufacturing. He is currently Associate Head for Electrical Engineering in the EECS Department at MIT, and is the Editor in Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing.
The Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation: Development of Novel Automation Solutions for Photonic Applications
Dr. Andre Sharon
Executive Director, Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation
Professor, Manufacturing Engineering
Boston University
Fraunhofer has been bridging the gap between academic research and industrial needs for over fifty years. It is Europe’s largest R&D organization, spanning over 55 locations across Europe, Asia, and North America. Each Center is closely affiliated with a partner University, and comprises faculty, students, and a full-time engineering staff focused on scaling up cutting-edge research into real working technologies on an industrial timetable. The Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation is a technology collaboration between Fraunhofer and Boston University, and is focused on the development and deployment of next-generation automation systems and instruments for the biotech/biomedical, photonics, and semiconductor industries. In addition to a brief overview of the Center, this talk will focus, via specific examples, on the Center’s activities in the development and commercialization of next-generation systems for the manufacture of fiber optic components and large-scale diffraction gratings.
Biography
Prof. Andre Sharon has accumulated over 20 years of experience, both academic and industrial, conducting research, developing, and deploying computer-controlled automation systems for several industries, ranging from sub-micron, high-precision machinery for optoelectronics, biotechnology, and semiconductor fabrication to high-speed assembly of consumer products. As Director of the Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation and Professor of Manufacturing Engineering at Boston University, Prof. Sharon works closely with faculty, students and engineers to develop next-generation technologies for local and international companies. Drawing upon Fraunhofer's and Boston University's vast research base and working closely with industry, the Center goes beyond the scope of traditional academic research to develop and deploy actual working technologies all the way to the factory floor. These emerging technologies are incorporated into Prof. Sharon’s courses in Engineering, educating a cadre of future engineers with proficiency in high-precision machine design and instrumentation. Prof. Sharon also established a new Master’s Degree Program in Global Manufacturing jointly with the Technical University of Aachen, Germany.
Prior to joining Fraunhofer / Boston University, Prof. Sharon co-founded and led the MIT Manufacturing Institute, created with NSF funding, to bridge the gap that exists
between traditional academic research and the needs of industry. Prof. Sharon also proposed and led a large program, funded by DARPA, aimed at cost reducing the manufacture of fiber optic gyroscopes through the development of cost-effective, sub-micron automation equipment. He developed and deployed several first-of-a-kind systems that fully automated optical fiber preparation, pigtailing, splicing, and winding. Prof. Sharon also served as the Associate Director of the MIT Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity, one of the country’s premier manufacturing research centers. Additionally, Prof. Sharon has consulted extensively for industry in the area of cost-effective automation.
Prior to joining MIT, Prof. Sharon spent seven years at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center and IBM’s General Technology Division developing automation and test equipment for computer components. While there, he was selected as one of only a handful of resident study fellows in the entire corporation and was sent to MIT for pursuit of full-time graduate studies with full salary and living expenses. Shortly after its introduction in the early eighties, Prof. Sharon was the first to interface an IBM PC to an anthropomorphic robot, achieving for the first time, full real-time control of a robot using a PC platform.
Prof. Sharon received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his B.S. (summa cum laude) in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal, Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing.
In September of 2000, Prof. Sharon founded kSARIA Corporation, and was successful in raising over $35M in venture capital to produce cutting-edge process automation equipment for the optical communication industry. Recently, he co-founded Boston Array Technologies, a company which pursues new diagnostic tools based on DNA and peptide arrays synthesis technology. Most recently, Prof. Sharon acquired funding and established the Boston University – Fraunhofer Alliance for Medical Devices, Instrumentation and Diagnostics.
