by Francisco J. García Sánchez
ICCDCS 2000, was successfully held on March 15 - 17, 2000 at the Camino Real Hotel, in Cancun, Mexico. The Conference's title contains the word "Caracas" as a recognition to the city where it first took place in 1995. The second edition was held in 1998 in Venezuela's Margarita Island. The aim of this series of conferences, being held biannually at different locations in the Caribbean basin, is to provide a proper interdisciplinary forum for Region 9 to facilitate the exchange of recent information, knowledge and experience, pertaining to research, development, design, technology and applications of electron devices, the implementation of circuits, and their application to systems.
On this third occasion total attendance reached near 200 participants from North and South America, Europe, and Asia. The conference was co-organized by Simón Bol’var University (USB), Venezuela, and the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), Mexico; with the technical co-sponsorship of ED and CAS Societies; and the support of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN), Mexico, and Motorola, Inc, USA.
The program was divided into 15 oral sessions: 5 on Solid State Devices, 4 on Solid State Circuits, 3 on Telecommunications, 1 on Digital Signal Processing, 1 on Power Electronics, and 1 on Instrumentation and Measurement. Sessions were commenced with invited talks by experts from each specific subject area. Additionally there was a Plenary Session featuring two Keynote Speakers: Gustavo Arenas, Corporate Vice-President of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector (SPS) for Latin-America, and Gilbert Declerck, President and CEO of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC), in Belgium. Eighty-six papers were presented by authors from 30 countries.
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On Thursday evening there was a Panel Discussion Session dealing with "Electronics in Latin-America: Status and Per-spectives." It was organized and moderated by Dr. Magali Estrada, chair of the EDS Mexico Chapter. A group of distinguished panelists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela presented their particular views on the subject to initiate the discussion. A special public session and ceremony, "Technology Licenses for Engineering Education in Ibero-America" was held during ICCDCS 2000 on March 15, where Motorola and Synopsys announced and signed two academic licensing agreements with the Ibero-American Science and Technology Edu-cation Consortium (ISTEC), a non-profit organization comprised of educational, research and industrial institutions. These licenses for educational and R&D purposes will be available through ISTEC to Latin American universities members of the Consortium. Motorola's academic license, gives educators and students access to its family of core-based digital signal processor technology and advanced DigitalDNA. Synopsys granted academic licensing of its Electronic Design Automation software. By having hosted this dual licensing agreement, ICCDCS hopes to contribute to broaden the knowledge base of state-of-the-art design practices in Latin American, fostering advanced scientific, engineering and technology education and academic research in the region.
Several social events were arranged, including two cocktail receptions and a conference banquet. The banquet was held at an exclusive resort in Isla Mujeres, a small tourist attraction island a few miles off the coast from Cancun. The boat round trip and the dinner itself, which included live music and dancing, provided the ideal social gathering settings for strengthening personal relations among the participants. At dinner's end Prof. Adelmo Ortiz-Conde (USB), ICCDCS Steering Committee Chair, announced the coming fourth conference, which will take place during the first quarter of 2002 in the southern Caribbean Island of Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dr. Juin J. Liou of the University of Central Florida, was elected as the next General Chair.
–Adelmo Ortiz-Conde, Editor
The ED/SSC Baltimore Chapter hosted the EDS Distinguished Lecturer Dr. M. Ayman Shibib on June 8th, 2000, at the Historical Electronics Museum in Linthicum, Maryland. Dr. Shibib talked about dielectric isolation (DI) and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) for analog and high voltage integrated circuits.
Dr. Shibib started by reviewing the different types of DI and SOI substrates. The conventional DI process requires the deposition of a very thick polysilicon layer that acts as the substrate of the oxide isolated silicon islands. He presented then an overview of the three SOI substrates prepared by: oxygen implantation (SIMOX), layer splitting, and bond-and-etch-back.
Dr. Shibib then presented the progress of device technologies in DI and SOI spanning the past 20 years from the early eighties to the present. He noted an interesting observation about the progress of DI and SOI device technologies that started around 1982 with the introduction of high voltage bipolar DI technologies moving to bipolar-CMOS-DMOS DI technologies around 1987. The next development came around 1992 with the introduction of complementary bipolar devices in SOI, followed by bipolar-CMOS-DMOS in SOI around 1997. It was noted that the interval of these technology development steps was roughly about five years.
Examples of applications of DI technologies were presented in telecommunications (analog line cards), optically coupled solid state relays, automatic test equipment and high voltage motor control. Then, Dr. Shibib discussed the limitations of the DI substrates in terms of maximum wafer diameter size and ability to define fine linewidth. He argued that for SOI wafers these limits do not exist, and presented the applications of SOI technologies to high speed amplifiers, analog-front-end digital subscriber lines, pin drivers for automatic test equipment, plasma display panel drivers, automotive and radio-frequency (RF) ICs.
The issues of using SOI substrates were discussed next: cost, availability, power dissipation, defect density and gettering. Dr. Shibib concluded by stating that SOI is particularly suited for analog and power ICs; the cost of SOI substrates limit their wide spread use for analog applications although advanced digital technologies are finding significant benefits in SOI, and that SOI is very useful for system-on-a-chip that includes ultimately digital, mixed signal, analog and power.
–Ayman Shibib, Editor
by Arokia Nathan
The chapter has hosted two very interesting lectures this year, which were well attended by IEEE members, including students. All lectures were held at the University of Waterloo.
On January 25, Dr. Yervant Zorian, Chief Technology Advisor of LogicVision presented a lecture on Embedded-Quality for test. He described the basic concept of embedding test functions onto IC design, and further elaborated on associated challenges and quality risks when dealing with the emerging deep submicron technologies and the complex system-on-chip, which now needs a new wave of embedded quality insurance functions. Dr. Zorian discussed such design for quality trends and solutions, and analyzed their impact not only on go/nogo test, but also on a set of expanded quality insurance functions to support debug, measurement, diagnosis and repair.
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Honorary Doctor of Engineering, Henry Baltes, addressing the Faculty of Engineering graduating class, University of Waterloo. |
On June 16, we had Professor Henry Baltes from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland, who presented a very interesting lecture on technology transfer, from Research to Commercialization. He started with two quotations: (1) "It is impossible to prevent technology transfer; you better hand it over as long as you get something in return." (2) "It is useless to look for technology ready to transfer at a University; there is none." The talk went on to reconcile this seeming contradiction. Dr. Baltes described the transfer of science to technology and technology to products based on his 20 years of experience with universities, companies, and transfer organizations. He elaborated on the notorious transfer obstacles and provided three promising transfer methods with examples from the area of integrated microsystems, which include CMOS compatible MEMS, a flow sensor spin-off company, an infrared intrusion detection microsystem, and monitoring of the wire bonding process.
On June 17, the chapter celebrated the conferral of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering, University of Waterloo, upon Professor Henry Baltes. The ceremony took place at the Spring Convocation of the University of Waterloo. In his convocation address to the graduating class from the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Baltes talked about the changing world and globalization, and how we belong to the class of people benefiting from these changes because of our technical education. But he also pointed out that while being part of this globalization is crucial for the survival of individuals and whole countries, we should also be aware of those who are left behind, which include individuals, whole societies, and perhaps even one whole continent. He gave specific mention of the works of Dr. Ralf Dahrendorf, Professor of Economics at Oxford and the Global Responsibility project proposed by the Swiss theologist Hans Küng, which is now being pursued by the Global Ethics Foundation.
The chapter also celebrated the conferral of Distinguished Professor Emeritus, on Dr. Jiri Vlach, at the Spring Convocation of the University of Waterloo. Dr. Vlach was a former professor of the University of Waterloo. He is an IEEE Life Member and the recipient of Semi-Centennial Medal of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society.
Both of these events were well celebrated in terms of a technical get-together of IEEE members from both the University of Waterloo and companies in the region, including ComDev International Ltd., DALSA Inc., and Gennum Corp.
–Arokia Nathan, Editor
by Andreas Wild
The third edition of the International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems, MSM2000, took place in San Diego, California, USA, on March 27-29, 2000. The Conference was dedicated to modeling, simulation and scientific computing supporting the integration of heterogeneous elements into monolithic structures, in a multi-disciplinary context, bringing together researchers, designers, programmers, and tool vendors in various disciplines, providing a frame for a fruitful dialogue and cross-fertilization.
MSM2000 had 15% more submissions than last year, featuring more than 200 papers from 31 countries, in addition to substantive keynote lectures, delivered by recognized leaders in the field. The oral presentations and poster sessions consisted of papers roughly classified in two main categories: methodology, including computer aided design systems, algorithms, numerical methods and advanced models, and applications in semiconductors, materials, DNA chips and chemical devices, micro-electromechanical devices, sensors, actuators, optical and imaging devices etc. The poster sessions generated the highest interest, sparking discussions way beyond the allocated time.
The next edition of the International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems MSM2001 will take place at the Hilton Oceanfront Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA, March19-21, 2001. The home page URL is http://www.cr.org/MSM2001 .
–Paul Yu, Editor
by Dr. Ninoslav Stojadinovic
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Panelists at the opening ceremony of MIEL. |
The 22nd International Conference on Microelectronics (MIEL 2000) was held from 14-17 May 2000 at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, University of Nis, Yugoslavia. The conference was organized by the IEEE ED/SSC Yugoslavia Chapter in co-operation with the Faculty of Electronic Engineering and Ei-Holding Co. - Nis and under the auspices of Serbian Ministry of Science and Technology and Yugoslav Ministry of Science and Development, Yugoslav Ministry of International Cooperation, Yugoslav Academy of Engineering and City Assembly of Nis.
This year the MIEL conference reached a majestic age of a quarter century and this anniversary represented a timely opportunity to give insight into the evolution of this world known conference, while records and memories are still intact. MIEL was founded in 1974 in the former Yugoslavia as an annual event. The conference became a real international event in 1984, when for the first time a significant number of foreign participants attended. Because of disintegration of Yugoslavia, the conference was not held in 1992 and was re-established in 1993 as a biennial event. For the 1995 and 1997 occurrences, the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) provide technical co-sponsorship support. This year, the conference received co-sponsorship support from the EDS for the first time.
The quarter century of MIEL coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Nis, and on that occasion, the ED/SSC Yugoslavia Chapter and the Faculty decided to present awards for outstanding contribution to the MIEL conference. At the MIEL 2000 opening ceremony, the Chapter awarded Prof. Gady Golan, Prof. Juin Liou, Prof. Adrian Rusu, Prof. Krishna Shenai and Prof. Hei Wong, and the Faculty awards went to the Bulgarian Academy of Science, Interuniversity Microelectronics Center - IMEC, Prof. Elena Atanassova, Prof. Vitezslav Benda, Prof. Helmut Detter, Prof. Vyacheslav Pershenkov and Prof. Gerhard Wachutka.
This MIEL edition was originally scheduled for September 1999, but because of the sad war events in Yugoslavia in the first half of 1999 it was rescheduled for May 2000. These events and their consequences had put the organizers into great difficulties, which had been overcome by the great efforts and enthusiasm of the organizing staff and with the help and understanding of IEEE. We are particularly thankful to the EDS for their understanding and continuous support and to the IEEE Region 8 Conference Committee, which provided valuable support at the critical moment.
As in previous years, topics covered by the technical program included all important aspects of microelectronic devices and circuits, ranging from Semiconductor Physics and Technology, Device Physics and Technology, Hybrid Technologies, Microsystems Technologies, Power Devices and ICs, Device Reliability and Characterization, and Circuit Design and Testing. A separate session was devoted to each of these seven sessions in the MIEL 2000 program. The short courses, Power Devices and ICs and Microsystems Technologies, were held on 14 May 2000. The total of 45 domestic and 47 foreign participants took part at the conference, representing 27 countries from all over the world (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, USA, and Yugoslavia). The total of 13 keynote invited papers and 93 regular papers (44 in oral and 49 poster sessions) were presented. The conference proceedings (two volumes, 766 pages) were published through the IEEE Book Broker Program.
Based on evaluation of the quality of the papers and presentations, three Best Paper Awards were presented to A. Vujanic (Technical University of Vienna) for an oral paper "Silicon microstructure for precise measurements of mechanical moments", to J. Nicolics (Technical University of Vienna) for a poster paper "Investigation of the thermal performance of micro- whisker structured silicon heat spreaders for power devices", and to P. Igic (University of Wales, Swansea) for student paper "Investigation of the thermal stress field in a multilevel aluminum metallization in VLSI systems using finite element modeling approach". The international scientific journal Microelectronics Reliability also awarded the paper "Rise-time effects in ggnMOSt under TPL stress" by G. Boselli, T. Mouthan and F. Kuper from University of Twente.
As is among best traditions of MIEL conferences, the social program of this year's conference was particularly rich, with a conference banquet and gala-dinner as highlights. In general, besides the high quality of presentations, MIEL conferences are flavored by the friendly atmosphere and great hospitality of the organizers and people of Nis. This special charm adds to very positive impressions participants bring from MIEL and Nis and is one of the reasons why one rarely attends MIEL just once: one who comes once will almost certainly come again. So, we are very much looking forward to welcoming old and new friends at MIEL 2002 in Nis.
by Jordan N. Kolev
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Prof. Krishna Shenai, Prof. G. Mollov, Prof. Philipp Philippov, and Prof. Georgi Stoyanov at the Laboratory for Semiconductor and Hybrid Technologies directed by Prof. Philippov at the Technical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria. |
Prof. Krishna Shenai, Editor-in-Chief of IEEE EDS Newsletter and EDS Distinguished Lecturer visited the IEEE Bulgaria Section on June 29 - July 4, 2000, and gave two lectures at the Technical University of Sofia, and the Technical University of Varna, on "RF MicroSystem Technologies" and "Power Electronics in the New Millennium." These talks were attended by over 50 people consisting of students, faculty, and researchers from local industries. Prof. Shenai also visited several research institutes including the Telecommunication Institute and a mobile exchange donated by Ericsson. He discussed how IEEE EDS can help its members in this region and pointed at specific membership programs of interest to its members.
by Sergei Zagriadski
During spring 2000, the ED/MTT/AP St. Petersburg Chapter technically supported and co-sponsored several large- scale conferences and hosted a number of seminars.
The 25th International Symposium on Spin Waves was held in St. Petersburg from May 16-19, 2000. It was organized by the Council on Condensed Matter of the Russian Academy of Sciences and A.F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute and was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. Contributions concerning the following main topics were presented: spin waves in thin films and multylayers; nonlinear phenomena and relaxation processes; magnetic excitations in low-dimensional substances and disordered media; interactions of spin waves with other excitations; spin waves in giant-magnetoresistance materials; scattering of neutrons and other particles from spinwaves; dynamics of magneto-domain walls. Over 70 participants attended the Symposium and presented over 60 oral and poster papers.
The International Seminar "Day on Diffraction Millennium Workshop" (May 29 - June 1, 2000) was organized here by the Faculty of Physics of the St. Petersburg State University, University of Florence, St. Petersburg Branch of Steklov Mathematical Institute, University of Michigan and Euler International Mathematical Institute. It is an annual seminar on mathematical methods in the diffraction theory, traditionally held since the late 1960-s. This year the seminar was co-sponsored by the Russian Foundation for Basic Researches and the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society. The Seminar brought together over 90 scientists working in the area of mathematical theory of diffraction and propagation and researchers interested in applications of wave phenomena of various nature. Over 70 oral reports were presented by participants from Russia, U.K., USA, Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Turkey.
The 7th International Student Seminar on High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) and Ferro-electrics at Microwaves was held June 3 - 8, 2000 in Birmingham, England. It was organized by the University of Birmingham and St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University.
A student competition in problem solving for junior students studying radio engineering in regional Universities (April 24, 2000) was organized by the St. Petersburg State Technical University and the St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University. Over 30 students from 6 universities took part in the competition and three winners received monetary awards from the ED/MTT/AP St. Petersburg Chapter.
For further information about conferences organized by the chapter in the St. Petersburg area please contact Prof. Sergei Zagriadski; E-Mail: zagr@radio.stu.neva.ru.
by Michael Davidovich
An international conference, "Analytical Theory of Automatic Control and its Applications," was held at The Saratov State Technical University (SSTU), June 5-9, 2000. The conference Chairman was Prof. V.A. Podchukaev (SSTU). There were 105 participants and 67 presentations structured into five oral sessions: analytical methods of analysis for automatic control systems, analytical methods of synthesis for automatic control systems, machine intellect, combined synthesis, and algorithmic, technical and program support of modern systems of automatic control. The conference is continuing the traditions in the area of automatic control at SSTU, which were started several years ago by previous conferences in 1997 and earlier events.
The chapter has also held two technical presentations on ED and AP topics and an administrative meeting. For more detailed information, please contact Dr. Michael Davidovich, Chapter Chair (david@star.sstu.runnet.ru).
by Oleg Stoukatch
Efforts to increase the level of IEEE activities in the Siberia and Far East regions of Russia are in progress. There has been significant progress in the last several years. A good example is the International Symposium, "Application of the Conversion Research Results for International Cooperation" (SIBCONVERS): while SIBCONVERS'95 hosted about 50 participants, the 1999 edition of the conference, which was technically co-sponsored by IEEE, was attended by 300 participants from 8 countries.
Another effort was the formation of the ED/COM/AP/MTT/EMC Tomsk Chapter. The Interim Chapter Chairman is Oleg V. Stoukatch (Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics). In the first half of this year, the chapter has held two technical meetings and we plan to hold another four meetings by the end of the year. In April, we presented the 1994 IEDM Videotape Course to our students and plan to extend this direction of our activity by borrowing more tapes from the EDS Videotape Library.
Currently, the chapter programs are focused on three main aspects: an effort to increase membership by participation of scientists and students in IEEE activities; the utilization of Videotape library; and co-operation in organizing international conferences covering various aspects of radioelectronics, radars, UHF elements production, CAD used for this purpose, and material science. We will continue to make efforts to include our specialists in the scientific and educational process worldwide; and in this respect, count on further precious assistance of IEEE.
by Zaur Tchakhnakia
Elections for new chapter officers were performed. Prof. R. Zaridze, Chapter Chair, and Dr. N. Khuchua, Chapter Secretary, were re-elected for the next term. Dr. Z. Tchakhnakia, Department Head of I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, was elected as Chapter Vice Chair, and Dr. D. Karkashadze as Chapter Treasurer.
Preparation of the chapter's presentation for the 2000 IEEE Division I & IV Region 8 Chapters Meeting in Paris were discussed at the recent chapter meeting. It was decided that Zauri Tchakhnakia would represent the chapter at the meeting and give a report on chapter activities. Among other important issues, the rotation of chapter members in 2001 was discussed, as well as the status of preparation for the Symposium "Direct and Inverse Problems of Electromagnetic and Acoustic Wave Theory", to be held in Tbilisi in November, 2000.
Scientific and technical information in the field of antennas and propagation and semiconductor technology (Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi Technical University, Institute of Physics of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, etc.) has been obtained and disseminated. The chapter organizes regular meetings with students, aimed to better explain the goals of IEEE and its activities.
–Ninoslav Stojadinovic, Editor
by Gady Golan
The 18th Annual Conference of the Israel Vacuum Society (IVS), was held on November 17, 1999, in Weizmannn Inst. Rehovot. The sessions were: nanocrystals and vacuum dots, Surface interactions in biosystems, Nanocharacterization, Integrated microsystems and MEMS.
The "Giga scale CMOS technology" workshop was held at the Technological Academic Inst., Holon, on November 21, 1999. Opening lecture: Dr. Gady Golan: "Application of Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Tunnel Microscopy For Microstructure Investigation Of Neutron Irradiated Silicon Detectors" The lecture is available on video. Five student pairs presented their final projects. The best presentation won a $50 prize and a formal letter from IEEE-ED Israel Chapter.
The 2001 President-Elect of IEEE, Prof. Joel Snyder, visited Israel in March 30-31, 2000. Prof. Ady Seidman, Chairman of IEEE Israel, joined him throughout his professional visits to Israeli universities (Technological Inst. of Holon), as well as to some of the Israeli leading industries. Prof. Snyder gave a lecture at the Technological Institute of Holon to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering students. Following his lecture an open discussion was initiated on the trends in the electrical engineering industry world-wide. At the end of his trip to Holon, Prof. Snyder had visited the Microelectronics Center, directed by Dr. Gady Golan.
The IEEE ED Israel Chapter arranged a meeting at the Technological Academic Institute - Holon on May 4, 2000. The main event at this meeting was a lecture of Mr. Alex Axelevitch (a Ph.D. student) on "Bilayer structure of Pd-Al2O3 thin films for UV vidicon applications". The meeting was organized by Dr. Gady Golan and Prof. Nathan Croitoru, IEEE ED Israel Chapter Chair. The audience was mostly composed of local students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technological Inst. of Holon.
IEEE ED Israel Chapter arranged a meeting at the Technological Academic Institute - Holon on June 1, 2000. The main event at this meting was a lecture by Dr. Gady Golan, Secretary of IEEE ED Israel Chapter on: "Atomic Force Microscopy Investigation of Dislocations Structure And Deformation Characteristics In Neutron Irradiated Silicon Detectors". The audience was mostly composed of local students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technological Inst. of Holon.
–Gady Golan, Editor
by Salvatore Bellone
During the last year the chapter organized a series of seminars:
In November ,1999, Prof. Mikael Ostling of the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm,
(Sweden) as an EDS distinguished lecturer gave two talks on "Silicon Carbide Based
Devices" and "Silicon Carbide: Material and Processing" held respectively
at the University of Salerno and at the University of Naples. Besides a profound
introduction into material and process problems, Mikael Ostling gave an excellent overview
regarding SiC-based new high power and high frequency devices. These lectures were
attended by about 30 scientists of the region and more than 200 students. The event has
also helped promote the IEEE/EDS activities to the audience, which resulted in the
following affiliation of more than 30 new student members for EDS.
In May 2000, Prof. Martin Green, from the University of New South Wales, Sidney (Australia), gave two lectures, titled "Photovoltaics: Important Issues and Applications of the Next Decade" and "High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells" also within the EDS Distinguished Lecturer program. These lectures, held in Salerno and Portici and jointly organized with the National Research Centre for Photovoltaics (ENEA, Portici), gave the opportunity to listen to an excellent overview regarding the state-of-the-art of silicon-based photovoltaics, and also help to stimulate discussions between local electron device specialists and students about the future developments in photovoltaics.
Another event sponsored and co-organized by our chapter was a seminar cycle (June 2000) in Naples and Salerno regarding information technology. One aim of this event was to bring together academics with the local semiconductor industry. Ing. Giuseppe Savarese, Micron (Avezzano), spoke about "Recent developments regarding semiconductor memories," Ing. Roberto Sabella, Ericsson Research Centre (Rome), introduced questions regarding the "Technology and evolution of telecommunication networks," and Dr. Massimo Melanotte, ST Microelectronics (Catania), gave a lecture on "Non-volatile memories: technology and future developments." In connection with this seminar cycle, also attended by a large number of students, the possibility of having graduating students develop their thesis subject in collaboration with industries was discussed.
We plan to organize a further meeting on microelectronics in October 2000, and intend to use this event eventually for the formation of a local student chapter.
–Christian Zardini, Editor
by Chennupati Jagadish
The ED/LEO Australia Chapter hosted a recent visit from EDS Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. Alfred Ipri from Sarnoff Research Laboratories, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Dr Ipri gave an excellent seminar on "Flat Panel Displays" at the Australian National University in April, which was attended by about 30 people.
The 11th International Semiconducting and Insulating Materials Conference, held at the Australian National University during 3-7, July 2000, was technically co-sponsored by the Australian Chapter. The conference was attended by 80 participants from 19 countries. Topics covered included: Gallium Nitride, Low-Temperature Gallium Arsenide, Quantum Well Intermixing, Quantum Wires, Quantum Dots, Silicon Carbide, Zinc Selenide, Optoelectronic Devices, MESFETs. The conference social program included dances by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island artists.
For further information about Chapter activities, please contact the Chapter Chair: Professor C. Jagadish, Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200. TEL: 61-2-6249-0363, FAX: 61-2-6249-0511, E-Mail: c.jagadish@ieee.org
by Dalma Novak
The LEO/ED Victorian Chapter hosted a recent visit from EDS Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. Alfred Ipri from Sarnoff Research Laboratories, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Dr. Ipri gave an excellent seminar on "Flat Panel Displays" at the University of Melbourne, on the 27th of April, which generated much interest from the audience of approximately 35.
On the 10th of July, the Joint Chapter presented a seminar by Professor Gunnar Edwall from Ericsson Generic Technologies, Ericsson Radio Systems AB, who discussed "Photonics Components in the Terabits Society".
For further information about chapter activities, please contact Dr. Dalma Novak, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parville VIC 3052, Australia, TEL: +61-3-9344-5789; FAX: +61 3 9344 7412, E-Mail: d.novak@ee.mu.oz.au.
by K.S. Chari
The Chapter organized the following events in the last quarter to serve different sections of the members more effectively:
The Chapter together with the Electronics Science Dept. of Kurukshetra University organized the NASEt-2K to foster students' interest in science and engineering and the activities of ED/MTT from the northern region of India. The symposium consisted of theme talks, design competitions, hardware model demonstrations and a quiz. The Chapter instituted 10 awards for the Symposium. The Symposium was held 7-8 April 2000 and was attended by about 200 students. The award winners for the various competitions are: Paper presentations (Electronics & Computer section) – Mukesh Sethi and Kapil Mahawar, Tarun Das and Ramandeep Singh (REC Kurukshetra), Saurabh Gupta and Nishant Kulshereshtha (KU), Tarush Verma (SIMIT Radaur); Technical Quiz – Sunil Taya and Pankaj Mittal (Electronics Dept, KU), Sachin, Vikas Rai, Ashwini and Harsh (University College, Kurukshetra), Swati (Computer Science Dept, KU), Tarun (REC, KU); Hardware competition – Rakesh Kumar, Pramod Kumar and Mohan Kumar (DCE, Delhi), Deepak Gupta, Balakrishnan Gupta and Punit Gupta (JMIT Radaur), Balkar Saini (Electronic Science Dept, KU), Vikas and Piyush (UCK, Kurukshetra). Prof. PJ George, Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mrs Anurekha Sharma, Ms Portia Sharma and Mr Sandeep Chouhan and student volunteers of the Electronics Science Dept. hosted the event. The Chapter Chair, Dr. KS Chari, from the Ministry of Information Technology, inaugurated the Symposium and the hardware contest and delivered the keynote address.
The fourth meeting was held at Kurukshetra University on 7th April, 2000. The Chapter Chair addressed the STAR faculty of the schools and chapter STAR coordinator Ms. Anurekha. The meeting discussed the program for the next 6 months.
Components and Devices was delivered by Mr. N. Mansharamani, the Former Deputy Director of Instruments Research and Development Organization (Dehradun) at the Ministry of Information Technology on 26th June 2000. About 50 participants attended the lecture. The talk touched on the different aspects of laser communication, the components and devices driving the developments in the area and the prospects offered by this mode of communication as a high speed and secure link.
Prof. (Ms) Bharathi Bhat, from IIT Delhi and a Chapter Ex-com member, have attended the MTTS Chapter Chairpersons Meeting held in Boston on 13th June 2000 and presented the progress of various chapter activities and initiatives.
The chapter, in association with the Fibre Optic Association Inc. (USA), will organize the Fibrecom 2000 at Aurangabad. This event will provide a common forum for the industry and users within the country. The Seminar was scheduled for 1-2nd July 2000.
For further information, please contact Dr. K.S. Chari, Director, Micro Electronics & Photonics Division, Department of Electronics, C.G.O. Complex, New Delhi, India, TEL: 91-11-4361464; FAX: 91-11-4363082; E-Mail: chariks@usa.net.
by Juzer Vasi
During the April-June, 2000 time period, the Chapter organized a well-attended talk on "Quantum Computing" by one of the pioneers in the field, Dr. Lov K. Grover of Bell Laboratories, USA on 20th April 2000. During his talk, Dr. Grover touched upon various issues, including the theory of quantum computation, the potential benefits, and the possibility of fabricating devices which could form the basis of a quantum computer. He used the example of exhaustive search which requires N steps using a classical computer, but could be accomplished in square root of N steps using a quantum computer. Over one hundred persons attended the talk. The audience included computer scientists, physicists as well as electrical engineers.
The Chapter is co-sponsoring, together with the IEEE Bombay Section, a seminar on "VLSI: Systems, Design and Technology" to be held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay December 9-11, 2000. This seminar will focus on several aspects of VLSI, and will have invited, contributory and tutorial papers. For further information, please visit the website: www.ee.iitb.ernet.in/~microel/ or contact by email: vsdt2000@ee.iitb.ernet.in.
For further information, please contact Juzer Vasi, Electrical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India. FAX: +91-22-5783480, E-Mail: j.vasi@ieee.org.
by Burhanuddin Yeop Majlis
Prior to the 2000 IEEE International Conference on Semiconductor Electronics (ICSE2000), the ED Malaysia Chapter is organizing a series of IEDM Video Short Course. This short course is open to university staff and students. The first video short course entitled, "MBE and MOCVD-New Structures and Devices," was held at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on May 31, 2000. The second IEDM video short course entitled "Advanced Devices Characterization and Test Methodologies" will be held at the same place on September 23, 2000.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Burhanuddin Yeop Majlis, Director, UKM-TM Microelectronics Research Centre, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. TEL/FAX: 603-89265861, E-Mail: burhan@vlsi.eng.ukm.my
by Y. C. Ng
A 4-evenings (June 6-9) video course on Sub-100 NM CMOS was organized by the IEEE Electron Devices Society, IEEE REL/ED/CPMT Singapore Chapter and Singapore Section Continuing Education Program, and in association with The School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Nanyang Technological University. The turnout was extremely good with more than 95 attended as both graduate students and IEEE members. For further information, please contact Dr. S. H. Ong, TEL: +65-5595-452. E-Mail: soon.huat.ong@nsc.com.
–W. K. Choi, Editor
by Se-Geun Park
The 2000 Asia-Pacific Workshop was held at Okinawa, Japan for 3 days from June 28. The theme of the Workshop was "Fundamentals and Application of Advanced Semiconductor Devices." It was jointly organized by the Institute of Electronics Engineer of Korea (IEEK), the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) of Japan, and IEEE ED -Tokyo Chapter. The annual workshop has been held under the name of "Advaced LSI's and Devices" for 7 years, and the title was changed in order to encourage more participation from the Asia and Pacific region. 48 papers were presented and the number of participants was 69 from Japan, Korea and France. Next year's workshop will be held in Korea in July. The organizing committee hopes to have wide participation, engineers and scientists from university, research institution and industry, from the Asia-Pacific region. For more details, please contact Professor Roh of Sunkyun-kwan University (yhroh@yurim.skku.ac.kr).
–Hisayo Momose, Editor
by Jin-Jun Feng
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From the right, Dr. Ming-Qing Ding, Director Jin-Jun Feng, Prof. Xian-Ping Wu, all from Beijing Vacuum Electronics Research Institute; Prof. Paul Yu (speaker), University of California, San Diego; Prof. Yong-Zhen Huang, Institute of Semiconductor, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof. Wei-Xi Chen, Beijing University |
On June 21, 2000, the EDS Chapter in Beijing organized a Distinguished Lecture at the Beijing Vacuum Electronics Research Institute. The invited speaker, Professor Paul Yu, is an EDS Chapters/Regions Committee member and his presentation topic was "Recent Advances in Photonic Devices for RF/Wireless Communication Applications". The presentation provided a tutorial discussion on the requirements of microwave photonics link for CATV and wireless communication applications, and the challenges to the optical devices such as lasers, external modulators and optical detectors for meeting these requirements. The meeting was well attended, with members from Peking University and the Institute of Semiconductors. After the presentation, we discussed the recruitment of new IEEE members in China, and the possibility of forming new EDS student chapters at various Universities in the Beijing area.
by Tahui Wang
The 2000 Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology Workshop, sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices Society, Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) and TSMC-Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., was held in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan June 14-15. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together researchers and engineers actively engaged in research and development to discuss and exchange experiences and ideas on manufacturing technology advancement.
This workshop attracted more than 90 participants. Two keynote speeches were given, "Perspective of the Semiconductor Manufacturing from IC Design" by Shelton Lu, VIA and "Technical and Business Issues of 300mm Implementation" by Randy Goodall, SEMATECH. 19 papers from local industry, universities and research labs were presented on various perspectives of technology strategy, production planning, yield enhancement and cycle time improvement, CIM system and process control. For more information, please contact Carl Chang, TSMC-Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, TEL: 886-3-5785112, E-Mail: carl.chang@tasmc.com.tw or visit TSIA web site, http:// www.tsia.org.tw
By Tahui Wang
The Election of Chair and Vice-Chair of the ED Taipei Chapter was held June 22. From the voting of less than 300 active members and student members, Dr. Steve S. Chung, Professor of Dept. of EE, National Chiao-Tung University, was elected as Chair and Dr. Y-K. Su, Professor of Dept. of EE, National Cheng-Kung University and also Director of Engineering Division, National Science Council, was elected as Vice-Chair. For more information contact Prof. Chung TEL: 886-3-5731830, FAX: 886-3-5724361, EMail: schung@cc.nctu.edu.tw .
–Tahui Wang, Editor