On August 9, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. This program provides economic incentives (roughly 280 billion dollars) to produce semiconductor components (CHIPS) in the United States. This is a response to the worldwide industry Chip Shortage that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused disruptions in the supply chains.
The CHIPS Act aims to reduce dependence on foreign manufacturing and strengthen the US’s economic and technological security.
This is a great opportunity for the semiconductor industry and research centers in the United States to advance mature semiconductor technologies and research. On the other hand, bringing back the manufacture of semiconductor devices to the US will require the development of a new workforce, which should be trained in advanced manufacturing related to microelectronics.
In this regard, Purdue University, in collaboration with Intel and the University of Texas, launched the FREE Semiconductor Fabrication 101 online course. In this asynchronous training, you can learn about the industry-standard fabrication processes. Moreover, after watching the webinars, you could access the virtual laboratory vFabLab to experience hands-on training on the following techniques:
- Wet etching
- Oxidation
- PECVD
- Lithography
- Dry etching
How do I join the course?
The Semiconductor Fabrication 101 online course is designed for students and professionals interested in learning how microchips are fabricated (using Intel transistor technology). It is recommended that participants have some background in materials science, as the course includes instructional videos on operating the equipment used to process silicon wafers for transistor fabrication.
Course Highlights:
- This course is asynchronous and can be completed in 15 hours.
- Includes hands-on training using a virtual reality simulation vFabLab
- Upon completion, you will earn a certificate from Intel, Purdue, and the University of Texas.
Online registration form
>> Click here to register <<
Log in to the course
After registering, you will receive an email to confirm your registration. Once confirmed, you can access the Semiconductor Fabrication 101 course on Purdue University’s D2L Brightspace platform. If you are registering from Mexico or another country, log in using the Online Corporate and Non-Credit form (with your username and password).
>> Click here or in the image to log in <<
Inside the course (Purdue University)
Upon enrolling in the course, you will receive a welcome message from Keyvan Esfarjani, the Executive Vice President of Intel Corporation, explaining Intel’s collaboration with academia to provide insight into the semiconductor manufacturing process.
What is the course content?
The course consists of five parts, each designed to guide you through the complete fabrication of silicon devices at Intel Corporation. The fabrication process requires specialized training to work inside a clean room. Therefore, the clean room section covers the safety recommendations for processing silicon wafers during FEOL processes, such as oxidation, diffusion, ion implantation, lithography, etching, and thin film deposition.
The whole 15-hour course has the following five parts:
- Big picture (Semiconductor Ecosystem)
- Clean Room (Clean room and safety)
- Front end of line (FEOL) processes: Material science and deposition techniques
- Back end of line (BEOL) processes: Interconnection and packaging of CHIPS
- Conclusion
Conclusion
When you finish the course, you will receive a certification from Intel, Purdue, and the University of Texas. This certification can be shared on your LinkedIn profile, along with a public award to inform your peers that you have been trained in the fundamentals of semiconductor fabrication.
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Now it’s your turn to dive into Semiconductor Fabrication training!
Empower yourself with the skills to innovate, continuously improve, and sharpen your critical thinking in the exciting world of microchip manufacturing.
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