Why Silicon Photonics? - Institute of Microelectronics - A*Star

People
IME is indeed an excellent training
place for researchers and engineers
specializing in semiconductor
research.
Zhao Hui
a former PhD student attached to IME.
Graduated recently from the National University of
Singapore (NUS), Zhao Hui is one of the pool of students
who have pursued their PhD project in a research
institute through A*STAR research attachment programme. She
was attached to IME’s Nano-Electronics & Photonics (NanoEP)
Programme for three years under the Joint Microelectronics
Laboratory (JML) scheme from the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering.
When the editorial team caught up with the young post graduate,
she was all perky and excited about the interview. The bubbly
graduate was fast to get down to the interview and quipped, “The
attachment opportunity in IME was arranged by my university’s
supervisor but the main motivation factors for me were its first
class facilities and expertise in the field of nanofabrication.”
Zhao Hui recently joined one of the largestelectronic design
automation (EDA) company for IC industry, Synopsys, as a
Corporate Application Engineer. Looking back on her attachment
in IME, she said, “I had gained and picked up important technical
knowledge from my attachment in IME. I was given opportunities
to propose and test out my ideas through experiments with the
comprehensive facilities in the institute. These had given me
invaluable hands-on experience of the equipment and processes
in nano device fabrication.”
Zhao Hui was working on the design, fabrication and characterization
of Nanowire devices during her attachment. “I
had simulated, designed, and fabricated the test keys for
femto-farad nanowire capacitance measurement. The fabricated
devices were used for measurement of current and capacitance.
Series resistance and carrier mobility were then extracted for
further device study”, she disclosed. Under the guidance of Dr.
Subhash, Zhao Hui’s research work on “CBCM Measurement of
Femto-Farad Nanowire Capacitance” was published in IEDM
2008. This is the first demonstration of a single channel silicon
nanowire capacitance and mobility extraction. “It provides a very
simple and innovative approach to measuring extremely small
capacitances accurately. I am very proud and pleased of the
result and I want to thank the team for their contribution”, Zhao
Hui continued.
”My supervisor at IME was Dr. Subhash Chander and I could
not wish for any better or friendlier supervisor than him. Apart
from his expertise in modeling and characterization, he is
also a very patient and bighearted mentor. His generosity in
sharing his knowledge and patience helped me most during
my attachment. As a very hands-on person, he would sit down
with us to brainstorm, whenever we experience any difficulties
in the research work. Through his guidance, I learnt that to be
an outstanding researcher, apart from overcoming the technical
challenges, it also involving prioritizing, working in a team and
managing stress. I am extremely fortunate to work with IME and
Dr. Subhash over the past 3 years. It is an experience I would
cherish forever.”
18 Institute of Microelectronics