We are proposing a three-year REU program to offer summer-long research experiences in the fields of microelectronics and photonics. Program participants will be upper-level students juniors and seniors) majoring in electrical engineering, physics, materials science, and chemistry. The REU program will be operated at the Microelectronics Research Center of Iowa State University. The proposed program builds on similar REU programs that have been offered at ISU since 1990. Students will be working on research projects in the areas of electronic materials characterization, deposition and growth techniques, semiconductor device design and fabrication, photonic band gap structures, photovoltaic devices, microwave devices, and simulation techniques. The research projects will be guided by the five faculty investigators. Each of the REU students will work closely with their faculty mentors and give periodic seminars on their research progress. As part of the research experience, the participants will take a summer-long course on semiconductor microfabrication methods. This course teaches fundamental knowledge and skills needed for successful completion of the research projects. The REU students will be recruited from ISU, schools with accredited engineering programs in the Midwest, Midwestern liberal arts colleges with physics and chemistry programs, and schools that have traditionally had large African-American and Hispanic enrollments. We expect that a significant fraction of the REU participants will eventually enroll in graduate school, at ISU or elsewhere.
