Certificate in Semiconductor Processing
With the recent demand by local industry for engineers with focused training in semiconductor manufacturing, this certificate program provides students with a venue to obtain that training.
This program is attractive to current students and local professionals who are interested in obtaining employment or professional development, respectively. This certificate is unique to ASU.
Admissions requirements
An applicant must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering or science disciplines, such as chemistry and physics, or related field, from a regionally accredited institution.
Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = “A”) in the last 60 hours of a student’s first bachelor’s degree program, or applicants must have a minimum of a 3.00 cumulative GPA (scale is 4.00 = “A”) in an applicable master’s degree program.
Applicants are required to submit:
- graduate admission application and application fee
- official transcripts
- proof of English proficiency
- professional resume
Additional Application Information
Applicants whose native language is not English (regardless of current residency) must provide proof of English proficiency.
Transcripts should be submitted for all undergraduate and graduate coursework taken.
International students who need an F1 or J1 visa will first need to apply to and be accepted into a graduate degree program prior to being considered for the certificate program. International students residing in the USA on other types of visas must adhere to all Graduate College policies and procedures regarding admission be considered for admission to this certificate program.
Certificate requirements
The certificate in Semiconductor Processing requires a total of 15 credit hours.
Core courses (9 credit hours)
Electives (6 credit hours)
Please see below for a list of courses required to fulfill the course and elective requirements.
Students are allowed to share all 15 credits from another ASU graduate degree program. However, only a maximum of 12 credits are allowed to be completed as a non-degree student and no more than 40% of the coursework required (or 6 credits) can be completed prior to admission to the certificate program.
Requirements | |
|---|---|
Core courses (9 credits) |
|
| EEE 530 (3 credits) | Advanced Silicon Processing (Spring only) Thin films, CVD, oxidation, diffusion, ion-implantation for VLSI, metallization, silicides, advanced lithography, dry etching, rapid thermal processing. Prerequisite: EEE 435 or any course that includes basic semiconductor device fabrication and MOSFET device physics. |
| IEE 572 (3 credits) | Design Engineering Experiments Analysis of variance and experimental design. Topics include strategy of experimentation, factorials, blocking and confounding, fractional factorials, response surfaces, nested and split-plot designs. |
| MSE 550 (3 credits) | Advanced Materials Characterization (Spring only) Analytical instrumentation for characterization of materials; SEM, SIMS, Auger, analytical TEM, and other advanced research techniques. |
Elective courses (6 credits) |
|
| CHE 577 (3 credits) | Inorganic Membranes and Films (Spring only) Synthesis and properties of various types of inorganic membranes and thin films, with focus on the sol-gel process and its use for synthesis of porous materials and thin films. Inorganic membranes and thin films represent a new research area of great importance for chemical engineers, materials scientists and chemists. |
| CHE 598 (3 credits) | Six Sigma Methodology/Engineering Experimentation (Spring only) Principles of the Six Sigma Methodology; Measurement System Evaluation; Factorial Design and Other Applied Statistical Concepts. |
| EEE 531 (3 credits) | Semiconductor Device Theory I Transport and recombination theory, pn and Schottky barrier diodes, bipolar and junction field-effect transistors, and MOS capacitors and transistors. |
| EEE 533 (3 credits) | Semiconductor Process/Device Simulation Device simulation concepts: conventional and advanced MOS devices, bipolar transistors, heterostructures including HEMTs and solar cells. Process simulation concepts: oxidation, ion implantation, diffusion. |
| EEE 536 (3 credits) | Semiconductor Characterization (Spring only) Measurement techniques for semiconductor materials and devices. Electrical, optical, physical, and chemical characterization methods. |
| EEE 591 (3 credits) | Seminar: Semiconductor Facilities/Cleanroom Practice (Fall only) Microcontamination, controlled environments, cleanroom layout and systems, modeling, codes and legislation, ultrapure water, production materials, personnel and operations, hazard management, advanced concepts. Prerequisite: Any materials course that covers basic engineering science (statics, dynamics, fluids, and thermodynamics) or any other course that includes the following: Schrodinger's wave equation, potential barrier problems, bonds of crystals, the band theory of solids, semiconductors, superconductor dielectric, and magnetic properties. |
| IEE 520 (3 credits) | Statistical Learning for Data Mining Surveys data analysis methods for massive data sets and provides experience in analysis with computer software. |
| IEE 570 (3 credits) | Advanced Quality Control Process monitoring with control charts (Shewhart, cusum, EWMA), feedback adjustment and engineering process control, process capability, autocorrelation, selected topics from current literature. |
| IEE 573 (3 credits) | Reliability Engineering Nature of reliability, time to failure densities, series/parallel/standby systems, complex system reliability, Bayesian reliability, and sequential reliability tests. |
| IEE 581(3 credits) | Six Sigma Methodology The six sigma process improvement strategy of define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC). Integrates and deploys statistical methods and other six sigma problem solving via the DMAIC framework. Requires background in undergraduate engineering statistics. |
| MAE 527 (3 credits) | Finite Elements for Engineers (Spring only) Direct stiffness, method of weighted residuals, weak formulation, and variational techniques in the solution of engineering problems. |
| MSE 503 (3 credits) | Concepts in Materials Science Familiarizes students with fundamental concepts and terms used in MSE. Introduces the relationship between structure-processing-property-performance-characterization. |
| MSE 548 CHE/MAE 518 (3 credits) | Fundamentals of Microelectronics Packaging Multidisciplinary course in addressing electrical, thermal, materials, chemical, manufacturing, and reliability problems in packaging. |
Satisfactory student progress
Students must abide by all policies set forth by Graduate College and the Ira A. Schools of Engineering. Students must complete the certificate program within six years, maintaining continuous enrollment. Students who are deemed unsatisfactory may be recommended to Graduate College for dismissal from the certificate program.
Program delivery mode
The certificate program is offered both in person and online.
For more information contact: