- Students at a growing number of U.S. schools learn the “why” of advanced 3D processes
- Lam's SEMulator3D® helps students with immersive training on leading edge technologies
As AI proliferates across every sector of the economy, U.S. semiconductor manufacturers face a real challenge: The chips that power AI require top-notch engineering talent that is in short supply.
While many U.S. colleges and universities offer semiconductor engineering courses, most can’t provide students with the practical experience of working on next-generation devices in fabs that is crucial as they begin their careers.
Lam Research is bridging this learning gap between theory and hands-on experience by collaborating with U.S. educational institutions and providing them SEMulator3D®—a modeling platform from the Semiverse® Solutions suite. These educational institutions include Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Samueli School of Engineering, and University of Texas at Austin.
- SEMulator3D is a semiconductor process modeling platform that uses advanced physics-based simulation to virtually replicate fabrication steps such as etch, deposition, lithography, enabling engineers and students to design, analyze, and optimize chip manufacturing without using physical wafers.
- Why it matters: Integrating SEMulator3D into curricula accelerates the learning process and instills a deeper understanding of the complexities and nuances of manufacturing semiconductor chips at current and future nodes.
Students gain practical semiconductor process insights through SEMulator3D virtual labs
Joseph Ervin, managing director of U.S. Semiverse Solutions, says in the SEMulator3D virtual environment, students not only learn the “whats” and “hows” of process integration, but also the “whys.”
"How do the steps come together in a sequence for the technology you're putting together?” he asks.
At one U.S. university that uses the most advanced and newest version of the virtualization tool, graduate students learn about the whole process, from starting silicon wafers all the way to finished CMOS wafers.
In a typical course lab, these students couldn’t visualize these processes or learn how the steps come together in processes such as generating a sidewall spacer.
“On a wafer, a specific structure can be built in many ways. There are always tradeoffs,” Ervin says. “Making those choices, understanding why you're making those choices, is what we want to help convey to students.”
More U.S. schools adopting SEMulator 3D for engineering education and research
In his keynote at SEMICON West earlier this month, Sesha Varadarajan, senior vice president of Lam's Global Products Group, shared that the above-mentioned U.S. universities are using Semiverse Solutions not only in academic curricula, but also deploying it in research, with more universities to come.
"The great part about SEMulator3D is that it runs on student laptops,” Ervin says. “So students have access, no matter where they are in the U.S. or the world, to study and work on virtual fabrication.”
Students’ experience with SEMulator3D gives them a competitive edge, as they bring practical skills and familiarity with cutting-edge tools to their future roles, Ervin says.