Applied Materials
is advancing semiconductor research with an equipment and service donation to
the University of California, Berkeley’s Nanofabrication Laboratory in
the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).
CITRIS is a center of excellence for graduate students, faculty and industrial
researchers to create nanotechnology solutions for many of the world’s
most pressing social, environmental and health care issues.
“In order to accelerate breakthrough technologies, we believe it is important
for students to work on advanced equipment and gain hands-on experience working
on semiconductor devices,” said Om Nalamasu, Deputy CTO and Vice President
of Advanced Technologies at Applied Materials. “We are pleased to be part
of CITRIS and look forward to working together with students and faculty, and
to a stronger affiliation with the University.”
Applied Materials’ gift consists of processing equipment and a service
contract valued in excess of $5 million. The systems complement Applied Materials
equipment that was donated to the university in 2002.
“These advanced systems will be used by our engineering students to accelerate
groundbreaking research in semiconductor and related nanofabrication technology
that may fuel an array of new discoveries,” said Shankar Sastry, Dean
of the College of Engineering. “We thank Applied Materials for its continued
support as these tools will be valuable to the University’s programs.”
CITRIS will foster work on novel semiconductor devices and their integration
with nanowires/nanotubes, microelectomechanical systems (MEMS), optoelectronics,
and bioelectronics. The systems donated by Applied will be used to deposit two
of the most critical thin films that are part of next-generation integrated
circuits: epitaxy and gate dielectrics.
In addition, as a result of Applied Materials’ investment and continued
support, UC Berkeley will dedicate a collaborative laboratory within CITRIS,
known as a “Collaboratory,” to Applied Materials and it will be
devoted to energy research. The Collaboratory is a key feature of CITRIS, providing
faculty, students and industrial researchers with spaces for project-driven
collaboration. The capability of The Collaboratory combines well with Applied
Materials’ solar strategy to bring significant change to the industry
by developing new technologies that enable lower cost-per-watt solutions for
solar cell manufacturing — with the goal of making solar power a significant
alternative source of global energy.