NSF ATE Center for Nanofabrication Education

The Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges

State System of Higher EducationState and Federal Government

Private IndustryLocal School Districts

Why Nanofabrication Education?Unique Features

• High surface to volume ratios

• Surface dominance of reactions and transport

• Emergence of quantum mechanical effects

• Dominance of physical optics

• Structural sizes of biological systems

• Unique bonding

Broad Applications

• Nanobiotechnology• Molecular electronics• Nanowire synthesis• Nanoscale modeling

and simulation • Colloidal systems and

nanoparticles• Nanomanufacturing• MEMs and NEMs• Nanoscale magnetics

Center Themes

• Meeting the workforce needs of regional industries using micro- and nanotechnology

• Preparing students for lifelong careers in micro- and nanotechnology

• Creating nanotechnology education pathway for students

• Improving STEM (science, technology, education, and math) education at all levels

Key Features of the Center• Continuous state funding

support since 1998• Industry-led since inception• Unique higher education

partnership• Capstone Semester offered

continuously at Penn State• Professional development• Summer Nanotech Camps• Learning Tools for Partners• On-Line Education• Educational pathways• National leadership role

Summary of Results• Associate degree programs at every community

college and six Penn State campuses (187 awarded)• Baccalaureate programs at six State System

universities and two Penn State campuses (15 awarded)

• 626 educators and industry personnel completed three-day workshops

• 781 secondary students completed Nanotech Camps• 344 students have completed the capstone semester

– 62% employed• 50 % in nanotechnology jobs in PA (38 PA companies)• 12% in nanotechnology jobs in other states• 40% in non-nanotechnology jobs in PA

– 36% continuing their education– 2% seeking employment

PA Nanotechnology Companies Employing Center

GraduatesII-IV CorporationAgereAlden ProductsAllied FuelingAmedeoBioElectroSpecB. BraunCabotCentocorCorreg SensorsDRS Laurel TechnologiesDana CorporationDoucette Industries

Merck, Inc.NanoHorizonsPhilips Medical SystemsPlextronicsProbes UnlimitedRhetech Inc.Seagate TechnologiesSI InternationalSpectrum TechnologiesTextron LycomingTransene, Inc.Westfalia TechnologiesXactix

Fairchild SemiconductorsFincor AutomationFirst EnergyGas Technologies, Inc.GlaxoSmithKlineJohnson MattheyKeystone EngineeringLockheed MartinLucent TechnologiesLutron ElectronicsMembrane Assays

What Employers Saying About Center Program

Graduates• We take these NMT people like that! Boom! Right off the top! Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, PA

• These NMT technicians have more processing experience, and they see the big semiconductor picture

Fairchild Semiconductor, Mountaintop, PA

• We look for people who’ve gone through the NMT experience.

Verimetra, Inc, Pittsburgh, PA

• The NMT students are getting a broad background. No one else seems to be doing this.Xactix, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA

• In our environment, a person like this would be very, very good.National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD

Formal Evaluation of the Center

• Center Industrial Advisory Board– Meets twice annually to ensure that curriculum is

designed to meet industry workforce development needs

• NSF National Visiting Committee– Meets annually to provides general oversight and

guidance on all aspects of Center operations

• Penn State College of Liberal Arts– Responsible for formal evaluation of the Center,

emphasizing strengths and weaknesses of the higher education partnership, and student outcomes

• Center Self Evaluation– Regular surveys of current students and periodic

interviews with industry employers of program graduates

Industrial Advisory Board

• Agere Systems• Air Products and

Chemicals• Crystalplex• Fairchild Semiconductor• Glaxo Smith Kline

Ventures• Greene-Tweed and

Company• Hanson Technologies• Imiplex• Johnson and Johnson

• Lockheed Martin• Mineral Technologies• PPG Industries• Plextronics• RJ Lee Group• Schott Glass

Technologies• Seagate Technology• Tyco Electronics• Veeco• Verimetra

Capstone Semester• 18-credit, hands-on

experience offered continuously at Penn State site of the NNIN

• Emphasis on generic skills for any application of nanotechnology (or micro-technology)

• Courses are cross-listed in the catalogues of all partner institutions

• Support associate and baccalaureate programs at partner institutions

Capstone Semester Courses (1)

• Materials, Safety, Health Issues, and Equipment Basic to Nanofabrication– Provides an overview of basic nanofabrication processing

and materials handling procedures with a focus on safety, environment, and health.

• Basic Nanofabrication Processes– Provides an overview of the equipment and processes used

to fabricate materials, devices, and structures at the nanoscale using top-down, bottom-up, and hybrid approaches.

• Materials Utilization in Nanofabrication– Addresses materials preparation approaches including self-

assembly, colloidal chemistry, catalytic nanowire and nanotube formation, thermal growth, physical vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition.

Capstone Semester Courses (2)

• Lithography for Nanofabrication– Covers all aspects of pattern transfer. Approaches covered

include probe lithography, stamp lithography, nano-imprinting, e-beam lithography, and optical lithography.

• Materials Modification in Nanofabrication– Covers materials modification from hydrophobicity and

hydrophilicity to rapid thermal annealing, and examines the impact of such process on phenomena from wetting angles to overall electrical, mechanical, optical, and chemical properties.

• Characterization and Testing in Nanofabrication– Addresses nanofabrication characterization and testing,

emphasizing basic measurement approaches from optical microscopy to scanning probe microscopies and scanning electron microscopy.

Summer Nanotech Camps for Secondary Students

• One-day and three-day summer Nanotech Camps offered since 1999

• 781 PA students have attend summer Nanotech Camps to date

• Special emphasis on students from disadvantaged minority communities

Professional Development of Educators and Industry

Personnel• 626 educators and

industry representatives have attended 3-day workshops to date

• Nanotechnology experiment kits for use in secondary schools under development

• Nanotechnology being incorporated into pre-service science teacher education in PA

2004 National ATE Center Planning Project

• Identify industry and education partners interested in micro- and nanofabrication technician education

• Identify micro- and nanofabrication user facilities for technician education

• Assess alternatives to the “centralized facility” approach to nanofabrication technician education.

• Assess the feasibility of a National Center for Nanofabrication Education.

Planning Project Findings

• There is strong and growing interest among community colleges throughout the nation.

• Relatively few nanofabrication research facilities are available for technician training

• Alternatives to the “centralized facility” model should be a major thrust of any national effort

• Students must be provided with hands-on laboratory experiences

• Both nanotechnology degree programs, and incorporation of nanotechnology into STEM teaching and learning, are needed

Some Interested Institutions• Baton Rouge Community College, LA• Black Hawk College, IL• College of Lake College, IL• Columbus State Community College, OH• Corning Community College, NY• Dakota Community College, MN• Delgado Community College, LA• Diablo Valley College, CO• Fox Valley Technical College, WI• Hawkeye Community College, IA• Lakeshore Technical College, WI• Lansing Community College, MI• Mid State Technical College, WI• MN State Com. and Tech. College, MN• Moraine Park Technical College, WI• North Arkansas Collage, AR• ND State College of Science, ND• North Seattle Community College, WA

• Northeast WI Technical College, WI• Oakton Community College, IL• Ohlone College, CA• Purdue University, IL• San Jose State University, CA• St. Louis Community College, MO• St. Petersburg College, FL• Sinclair Community College, OH• Southeast Technical College, MN• Triton College, IL• Tulsa Community College, OK• University of MA, Lowell, MA• University of Minnesota, MN• University of Wisconsin, WI• Valencia Community College, FL• West Point Academy, NY• William Rainey Harper College, IL• Youngstown State University, OH

2005 Regional Center Renewal With National Role

• Continue to offer the capstone semester, professional development workshops, and Nanotech Camps

• Assist community and technical colleges across the nation to develop nanotechnology education programs

• Incorporate nanotechnology into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum.

• Develop experiment kits and other learning tools for use in undergraduate and secondary classrooms

• Provide undergraduate and secondary classrooms on-line access to nanotechnology instrumentation

• Promote student pathways in nanotechnology from secondary through undergraduate, and graduate levels

• Promote public understanding of nanotechnology and its societal implications

New Learning Tools• Learning tools developed by Penn State in

partnership with Pennsylvania community college, State System university, and secondary educators

• Five available nanotechnology learning tools require access to– atomic force microscope– florescence microscope– current voltage characterization system– optical microscopes and other instruments

• On-line access the new 1,000 square foot education cleanroomn at Penn State is available for institutions that do not have direct access to this equipment

• Necessary faculty professional development is provided by Penn State

Learning Activity 1: Consumer Products Using

Nanotechnology Objective: Introduce students to products

currently on the market that use nanotechnology

– Students are introduced to the products

through lecture and discussion and they are given the products to visually examine.

– After a group discussion, teams of students analyze the samples using characterization equipment to verify product claims and to determine what makes them “nano.”

Learning Activity 2: Biomimetics Analysis

Objective: Introduce the students to the field of biomimetics and investigate the role that structures at the nano-scale play in natural phenomenon– Students are introduced to the topic of

biomimetics and to how nature uses the nano-scale.

– The students use nano-imaging techniques to visualize these phenomena.

– The introductory activity is delivered to the students through a fact sheet, and they are given specimens and samples to visually examine.

– Teams of students then analyze the samples using characterization equipment

Learning Activity 3: Nanoparticle Synthesis and

ApplicationsObjective: Give an understanding of colloidal nanoparticle synthesis using wet chemistry methods and show applications of colloidal solutions.– Students prepare a colloidal solution of metal

nanoparticles using citrate reduction chemistry.– By controlling the chemical reaction, different

sized nanoparticles are created– By engineering the size of the nanoparticles, the

student has the ability to tailor the optical properties of the solution, which can be verified through spectrophotometer analysis, and correlated with size through AFM characterization.

– In advanced applications, the nanoparticles can be functionalized and used to demonstrate a nanoparticle-based chemical sensor in action.

Learning Activity 4: Microfluidics Fabrication and ApplicationsObjective: Fabricate a polymer channel device, examine in-channel flow properties, and use the device to mix chemicals using different flow mechanisms.– The module is designed to help students gain an

understanding of what properties and phenomena come into play in fluid flow in a channel as the channel size scale decreases.

– The concept of lab on a chip technology is also introduced and its coming importance to industry and medicine is discussed.

– Hydrostatic and electrokinetic flow mechanisms are explained and visualized by the students.

– Students fabricate their channel structures thereby learning elements of micro- and nanofabrication.

Learning Activity 5: Self-Assembly

Objective: Use self-assembly to create patterned structures. Students learn the self-assembly procedure and are introduced to its potential for building devices.

– The module demonstrates the ability to pre-determine and control regions of surface reactivity using molecular films, which are nanometers thick.

– The module introduces stamping lithography and compares it to other methods of lithographic patterning.

– The Au patterns formed will be similar to microplates used in DNA and protein assays and detection.

www.cneu.psu.edu