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BNC E-news for the week of 6.23.14
by Anthrop, Heather L 20 Jun '14

20 Jun '14

Floor Cleaning NSAC Coffee hour Parking Survey Feedback Tours Floor Cleaning New Floor Machine: The custodial staff has purchased a new riding machine to clean the floors in the hallways and Atrium. Please be careful opening doors and entering the hallway, and we will watch out for you too. Thank you, Miguel Flores Crew Chief NSAC Coffee hour Please join us at 3:30 pm on Friday, June 27th in the atrium for coffee. Presentation by Ramon Salazar entitled current Transport and Capacitance Aspects on 1D and 2D Tunneling Devices: Fabrication, Characterization and Modeling Parking 20 parking spaces will be reserved in the west lot for the Duke Energy Center Academy held June 23 - 27th. Survey Feedback Equipment Downtime We are pleased to report that both the Lesker e-beam evaporator and the Panasonic etcher are back online. The Lesker power supply was repaired at the factory and has been reinstalled and checked out. The Panasonic was also repaired with a new o-ring set and other components. Thanks for your patience. New Working Groups We are in the beginning stages of forming working groups for some of the major process areas, such as PVD, Thermal, etc. These working groups will be a team comprised of the engineering staff member(s) within that area and a number of student and/or post-doc users. The goal of these groups will be to address issues that may be inhibiting equipment uptime, performance, and availability. Please consider contributing to these groups as they are being formed. Thanks again for your constructive suggestions. Ron Tours Monday, June 23rd at 10:15 am - 18 guests Tuesday, June 24th at 8:30 am - 50 guests Wednesday, June 25th at 3:00 pm - 3 gueests Thursday, June 26th at 3:30 pm - 50 guests

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BNC E-news for the week of 6.16.14
by Anthrop, Heather L 13 Jun '14

13 Jun '14

NSAC Coffee Hour Office Notes Survey Feedback Travel NSAC Coffee Hour Friday, June 20th at 3:30 pm in the Birck atrium Presenter: Fei Ding Unidirectional Surface Plasmon Polariton Coupler in the Visible Using Metasurfaces Office Notes Respect for other people's work areas - We are in the process of placing 4 computers on the study desks in the back of the Atrium. These are for student use. Please remember that the desks that are located at the front desk and 2nd floor are work spaces for our full time employees and are not open desk spaces. Please do not use the secretarial desks. We should respect their work space. Lock your offices! Please make sure you lock your office before leaving. We want to make sure that all your personal items are safe. Re-cycling: If you have empty boxes that need re-cycling, please place them outside your office door in the hallway and mark trash. We are not allowed to remove them if they are still in the office. Thank you, Mary Jo Totten Survey Feedback Equipment Downtime Recent comments on the surveys have expressed obvious frustration by our user community that broken/down equipment is not being addressed in a timely manner. Please know that the staff does everything possible to diagnose problems and provide corrective actions in a timely manner. Specific mention was made of the extended downtime of the Lesker e-beam evaporator. It turns out that the high voltage power supply failed. The supply was shipped back to the factory for repair and we have now received the repaired unit back at Birck. Dave is installing it and the Lesker should be back online for research on Friday. Sometimes users ask when the down systems will be back online, and many times we don't exactly know because the root cause of the problem has not yet been determined. In the case of the Lesker we did extensive trouble-shooting of several components before we determined the HV power supply was the issue. Then the time to ship the unit to the factory, and the factory repair time, adds to the delay in getting the system back online. We thank you for your patience, and in the case of the Lesker we tried to provide alternatives for thin film deposition. The Panasonic etcher is another case in point. Geoff has spent a considerable number of hours diagnosing the issue, and now a new vacuum pump and valves are being ordered. In the meantime we are offering a manual intervention to run critically needed processes on the Panasonic. Please see Geoff for your process needs. We certainly understand the frustration many researchers have of not knowing when a broken research tool will be fixed. In the future we will attempt to provide a bracketed timeline on when equipment might be repaired and returned to service. This may not always be possible due to uncertainties in the troubleshooting, but we will attempt to provide a time window based on possible solutions being pursued. We hope this will help drive decisions on alternative process options that could be considered by the users. Cleanliness & Budget A researcher commented this week that all users of the facility should adopt a campaign to clean work areas after use. Also, it was suggested to leave equipment in a state that will enable ease of use for the next person, and that will promote long-term uptime (like turning off microscope lamps to extend their useful life). In addition the user noted that cleanroom wipes are wasted because many times more wipes are used than are required. So please be thrifty in your use if cleanroom supplies. Solvent Labels An input was received that the solvent list need to be updated with our current chemicals. We will take the action item to update the solvent lists. Thanks again for your constructive suggestions. Ron Travel Please remember to enter all trips into Concur before the trip occurs. Risk Management must track all international travelers and maintain a database of where people are and when they are there in case there is a need to evacuate. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Lois High in Risk Management.

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FW: Power Bump
by Anthrop, Heather L 11 Jun '14

11 Jun '14

Update... All Systems are back to normal.... From: Voorhis, Mark L. Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 12:04 PM To: BNC-EngStaff; BNC-FacilityStaff Cc: Shakouri, Ali; Peroulis, Dimitrios; Lane, Michael S; Laorange, Terry M; Laorange, Greg A; Laramore, Timothy D; Brown, Donna J Subject: RE: Power Bump Update.... Steam is back to normal and campus chilled water went from 42° to 51° and is currently at 49° (still recovering). At this time all critical building utilities are operating at normal levels. From: Voorhis, Mark L. Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:30 AM To: BNC-EngStaff; BNC-FacilityStaff Cc: Shakouri, Ali; Peroulis, Dimitrios; Lane, Michael S; Laorange, Terry M; Laorange, Greg A; Laramore, Timothy D; Brown, Donna J Subject: Power Bump All, Campus took a major power bump that restarted most of our local building systems. Wade power plant lost 1 boiler and 2 large chillers, but they are in the process of starting all chillers at the satellite chiller plant. We lost steam to the building which means we will not have ambient temperature and humidly control for the offices, cleanroom, and lab areas. The forecasted from campus utility department is that chilled water will recover soon (if there are no major issues) and steam will recover later. We may be looking at 2-3 hours before systems are normal. I will keep you posted. Regards, Mark Mark Voorhis Building Manager Purdue University Birck Nanotechnology Center Office: (765) 494-3036

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Power Bump
by Anthrop, Heather L 11 Jun '14

11 Jun '14

All, Campus took a major power bump that restarted most of our local building systems. Wade power plant lost 1 boiler and 2 large chillers, but they are in the process of starting all chillers at the satellite chiller plant. We lost steam to the building which means we will not have ambient temperature and humidly control for the offices, cleanroom, and lab areas. The forecasted from campus utility department is that chilled water will recover soon (if there are no major issues) and steam will recover later. We may be looking at 2-3 hours before systems are normal. I will keep you posted. Regards, Mark Mark Voorhis Building Manager Purdue University Birck Nanotechnology Center Office: (765) 494-3036

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Watching 2014 FIFA World Cup: this Thur at 4pm in BRK 1001
by NSAC 11 Jun '14

11 Jun '14

Hi all- Lets get together and watch the football world cup! First game is Brazil-Croatia. *Time & Place*: June 12 (Thursday), BRK 1001 at 4pm Friendly, -NSAC

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BNC E-news for the week of June 9th
by Anthrop, Heather L 06 Jun '14

06 Jun '14

Survey Feedback Tours Survey Feedback Cluttered Hoods Users and staff members have commented that general hood clutter has been getting worse over the last several months. Acid and solvent hoods in Bays S and K have been particularly bad and in some cases beakers have been in the hoods since November. As a reminder, it is required by BNC policy that all experiments need to be labeled. The labels are provided in the cleanroom so please make sure your experiments are properly noted, and that old experiments are removed in a timely fashion. Hood in Bay S showing a clutter of chemical bottles and unlabeled experiments: [cid:image001.jpg@01CF8160.276D9410] Panasonic The Panasonic etcher has been down for a number of days due to vacuum and software issues. Engineering staff members have been working every day to diagnose the root-cause of the problem. While we wait for repair parts to arrive we are offering, on a limited basis for critical processing needs, the option of having Geoff Gardner perform manual processing with the system. This requires Geoff to manually manipulate the entire process from loading wafers, to the etch process itself, to manually purging the chamber prior to unloading the wafers. If you have an urgent, critical need for the Panasonic process please contact Geoff directly. Thank you for your patience as we work to get the Panasonic completely repaired and returned to normal service. Lesker & Leybold Evaporators Both the Lesker and Leybold e-beam evaporators have been down due to power supply problems. These problems manifested themselves at nearly the same time, and a grounding issue was suspected. We hired an electrical consultant to come in and evaluate our equipment and building grounding scheme, and modifications to the grounds were recommended and completed. Because the power supplies are high voltage and specialized, we've had to send them back to the factory for repair. The Lesker supply has been repaired at the factory, and is being shipped back to arrive next week. The Leybold power supply is now undergoing diagnosis at the factory. Thanks for your patience during this uncommon event of losing two high voltage power supplies at the same time. Kenny and Dave have worked to reconfigure our remaining evaporators to provide processing needs. Please see them if you have questions. Electron-Beam Lithography It has been suggested that we replace our Vistec VB6 with a Jeol 6300 due to the Jeol being more user-friendly. This will have to go into our long-term equipment plans due to the expense of a new e-beam lithography system. Typical new e-beam writers cost between $2M and $18M depending on their capability and throughput, and the Birck equipment replacement budget is significantly less than $1M per year. It is interesting to note that we did have a Jeol 6400 here in the cleanroom a number of years ago, but when the VB6 was purchased and installed the Jeol was never used again. The Jeol was subsequently removed from the cleanroom and relocated to Armstrong to become a system in the SEM core. It's writing capability was removed and it is now strictly an SEM. Another option here at Birck to consider is the Raith e-beam lithography system in Lab 1239. If users are interested in learning more about the Raith and its capability please contact Bill Rowe. Tours We will have several tours throughout the month of June. Monday, June 9th 2:30 pm - 2 guests Tuesday, June 10th 10:00 am - 100 guests (no this isn't a typo :)) Wednesday, June 11th 11:00 am - 16 guests Thursday, June 12th 1:45 pm - 23 guests Friday, June 13th 8:30 am - 17 guests 11:00 am -23 guests 3:00 pm - 15 guests Thank you, Heather L Anthrop Purdue University Birck Nanotechnology Center 1205 West State Street West Lafayette, IN 47907 (765) 494-7053

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BNC E-news for the week of June 2nd
by Anthrop, Heather L 30 May '14

30 May '14

Seminar Survey Feedback Tours Seminar Dr. Jorge Garcia-Canadas Impedance Spectroscopy Methods Applied to Thermoelectric materials and Devices Tuesday, June 10th at 2:00 pm Birck 1001 For more information please visit: https://nanohub.org/groups/bnc/calendar/details/1024 Survey Feedback Citizenship Recognition - Andy Yang A special 'thank you' and recognition to user Andy Yang for his exemplary citizenship! Andy was working in the cleanroom over Memorial Day weekend, and on that Saturday Dave Lubelski came in to address an evaporator issue. Andy asked Dave to stay and support him while he worked in an acid hood. Andy did not want to work alone in the acid hood because it is a safety issue and a violation of policy. Thanks, Andy, for setting a fine example of being a responsible user of our facilities! Spinner 1 Spinner 1 has had intermittent vacuum issues. At times this has been caused by photoresist getting into the vacuum lines. This past week we found a loose vacuum line fitting and corrected it, so we believe another root cause of the vacuum problems has been found and fixed. Please let us know how Spinner 1 performs now that we have made this correction. VB6 Another height adjustment issue was brought to our attention. We would like to discuss this in person with the user so that we may permanently address the problem, so would the user please contact Bill Rowe or myself to discuss this in more detail? Thanks again for the constructive suggestions! Ron Tours There will be several tours in the month of June. Tuesday, June 3rd 2:45 pm - 15 guests Wednesday, June 4th 2:30 on - 2 guests Thursday June 5th 9:30 am - 8 guests Friday, June 6th 10:15 am - 24 guests Thank you, Heather L Anthrop Purdue University Birck Nanotechnology Center 1205 West State Street West Lafayette, IN 47907 (765) 494-7053

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Defense exam: Sambit Palit, May 30th, 10:00AM, BRK 1001
by Sambit Palit 29 May '14

29 May '14

Dear all, I invite you for some free food, snacks and coffee on the occasion of my final defense examination. The details are as given below. Regards, Sambit Date: Friday, May 30th Time: 10:00 AM Location: Birck 1001 Title: Charging and Breakdown in Amorphous Dielectrics: Phenomenological Modeling Approach and Applications Abstract: Amorphous dielectrics of different thicknesses (nm to mm) are used in various applications. Low temperature processing/deposition of amorphous thin-film dielectrics often result in defect-states or electronic traps. These traps are responsible for increased leakage currents and bulk charge trapping in many associated applications. Additional defects may be generated during regular usage, leading to electrical breakdown. Increased leakage currents, charge trapping and defect generation/breakdown are important and pervasive reliability concerns in amorphous dielectrics. We first explore the issue of charge accumulation and leakage in amorphous dielectrics. Historically, charge transport in amorphous dielectrics has been presumed, depending on the dielectric thickness, to be either bulk dominated (Frenkel-Poole (FP) emission) or contact dominated (Fowler-Nordheim tunneling). We develop a comprehensive dielectric charging modeling framework which solves for the transient and steady state charge accumulation and leakage currents in an amorphous dielectric, and show that for intermediate thickness dielectrics, the conventional assumption of FP dominated current transport is incorrect, and may lead to false extraction of dielectric parameters. We propose an improved dielectric characterization methodology based on an analytical approximation of our model. Coupled with ab-initio computed defect levels, the dielectric charging model explains measured leakage currents more accurately with lesser empiricism. We study RF-MEMS capacitive switches as one of the target applications of intermediate thickness amorphous dielectrics. To achieve faster analysis and design of RF-MEMS switches in particular, and electro-mechanical actuators in general, we propose a set of fundamental scaling relationships which are independent of specific physical dimensions and material properties; the scaling relationships provide an intrinsic classification of all electro-mechanical actuators. However, RF-MEMS capacitive switches are plagued by the reliability issue of temporal shifts of actuation voltages due to dielectric charge accumulation, often resulting in failure due to membrane stiction. Using the dielectric charging model, we show that in spite of unpredictable roughness of deposited dielectrics, there are predictable shifts in actuation voltages due to dielectric charging in RF-MEMS switches. We also propose a novel non-obtrusive, non-contact, fully electronic resonance based technique to characterize charging driven actuation shifts in RF-MEMS switches which overcomes limitations in conventionally used methods. Finally, we look into the issue of defect generation and breakdown in thick polymer dielectrics. Polymer materials often face premature electrical breakdown due to high electric fields and frequencies, and exposure to ambient humidity conditions. Using a field-driven correlated defect generation model, coupled with a model for temperature rise due to dielectric heating at AC stresses, we explain measured trends in time-to-breakdown and breakdown electric fields in polymer materials. Using dielectric heating we are able to explain the observed lifetime and dielectric strength reduction with increasing dielectric thicknesses. Performing lifetime measurements after exposure to controlled humidity conditions, we find that moisture ingress into a polymer material reduces activation barriers for chain breakage and increases dielectric heating. Overall, this thesis develops a comprehensive framework of dielectric charging, leakage and degradation of insulators of different thicknesses that have broad applications in multiple technologies.

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FW: Business @ Purdue News -- BUSINESS UPDATE -- May 28, 2014
by Anthrop, Heather L 28 May '14

28 May '14

Business@Purdue News<mailto:Business@Purdue%20News> Released: May 28, 2014 ________________________________ BUSINESS UPDATE Resume Normal Ariba Operations The errors have been resolved and normal Ariba activity may resume. Requisitions that were created today have automatically processed. The Split by Amount enhancement was implemented last night, which caused the errors. Requesters may now use the functionality in split accounting by amount. For step by step instructions, please see the Split Accounting in Ariba QRC<https://spa2010.itap.purdue.edu/Business/businessatpurdue/_layouts/WordView…>. For additional assistance, contact the Procure-to-Pay Helpdesk<mailto:pshelpdesk@purdue.edu> or call 765-49-47279. Contact: Cindi Stinebaugh, Procurement Services, stinebau(a)purdue.edu<mailto:stinebau@purdue.edu>

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Business @ Purdue News -- BREAKING NEWS -- May 28, 2014 - 9 a.m.
by Anthrop, Heather L 28 May '14

28 May '14

If you have any questions or concerns please see the business office. Business@Purdue News<mailto:Business@Purdue%20News> Release Date: May 28, 2014 - 9:00 am ________________________________ Breaking News Discontinue Use of Ariba Until Further Notice Ariba requisitions are currently failing. Please discontinue submitting, editing, deleting, or approving requisitions until further notice. A Business Update will be sent as more information is available. ________________________________ Contact: Cindi Stinebaugh, Procurement Services, pshelpdesk(a)purdue.edu<mailto:pshelpdesk@purdue.edu>, 47279

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