TWO DAY WORKSHOP

Amninder Kaur, Associate Professor of Electronics & Communication Engineering Dept. from Dronacharya College of Engineering , Gurgaon attended two day workshop on ‘Interdisciplinary Emerging and Converging Research and Academia in Semiconductor Technologies’ organized by ‘IIT Mandi’ in association with TU9, University of Stuttgart, Germany from 26th-27th Sep 14.

The objective of this collaborative confluence between IIT - Mandi and TU9 (Stuttgart University), Germany was to involve experts of diverse fields, especially micro/nano electronics and VLSI technology and to explore possible future joint collaborations on research and development utilizing IIT-Mandi and TU9, Germany facilities, in conjunction with strengthening the current research collaborations and interactions among both countries.

The workshop included sessions on Next Generation Lithography Technology MEMS, FeRAM memory, magnonics, graphene, strain engineering in advanced materials and nanostructures etc. Some of the key speakers were Prof. Jorg Schulze from Stuttgart University, Prof. Kenneth Gonsalves, Dr. Satinder Sharma, Dr. Ajay Soni and Dr. Viswanath Balakrishna from IIT Mandi, Dr. Anil Prabhakar from IIT Madras, Dr. Rakesh Kumar from IIT Ropar and Dr. Kamaljit Singh from ISRO (SCL).

Professor T.A Gonsalves, Director IIT Mandi, inaugurated the workshop and gave a brief introduction about IIT Mandi & institute initiatives for Semiconductor Technology facility creation.

In the opening session, Prof. Jorg Schulze discussed about Semicoductor Material for the Infrared Regime. In his session, Prof. Kenneth Gonsalves informed about New Generation Lithography Technology. He discussed that the miniaturization of devices is possible due to advancements in lithography technology, which further depends on the manipulation of photons of various wavelengths, and novel photoresist materials.

Post-lunch on the first day, igave an introduction on Micro fabrication Techniques for MEMS sensor development. He discussed the critical physical dimensions of MEMS devices which can vary from well below one micron on the lower end of the dimensional spectrum, all the way to several millimeters. Dr. Satinder Sharma introduced the concept of FeRAM memory-Changing the embedded memory landscape for Next Generation node.

The second day opened with Dr. Anil Prabhakar conducting a session on Magnonics - Spin wave propagation in magnetic Meta-materials. Dr. Ajay Soni briefed the participants about the Technology with Layered Materials: Graphene to Chalcogenides. He explained Graphene is the first established and truly two dimensional material which is stable at room temperature. Because of the enhanced performance and unusual physics of transport and related properties, these layered materials have the potential for next generation nano-electronics such as transistors, photo detectors and bio-sensors.

Dr. Rakesh Kumar introduced Graphene - Future Prospects and challenges. He discussed the immense potential Graphene for applications in interdisciplinary areas like low power, ultrafast FET’s, sensors and composite materials etc.

In the concluding session, Dr. Viswanath Balakrishnan discussed about Strain Engineering across metal Insulator Transition in Functional oxide thin films. He told that although large strain or stress can affect the mechanical stability and performance of thin films and devices, it is also a useful parameter to control the phase transition characteristics and functionalities of phase change materials when tuned correctly.

The workshop ended with valedictory function. Overall this workshop provided a valuable opportunity for those involved in knowledge sharing and provided an opportunity to think and work on possible research projects.