UROP Project

Materials Screening for Interconnects

Microelectronics, Materials, Computing, Engineering

Research Mentor: Mehrdad Kiani,
Department, College, Affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: mkiani@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Engineering, Physics, Chemistry
Project Location: IRCB, College of Engineering
Research Assistant Transportation Required: FSU Bus
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Tuesday, September 2
  Start Time: 2:00
  End Time: 2:30
  Zoom Link: fsu.zoom.us/j/9841704857

Project Description

Increasing computing needs driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning applications require faster processing speeds and more energy-efficient microelectronics. The high resistivity of interconnects, which are the wires that connect transistors, are a major bottleneck for increasing processing speeds in modern computer chips. For continued Moore's law scaling, new interconnect materials are needed that decrease resistivity and mitigate electromigration at <40 nm length scales. In this project, you will fabricate and test new candidate interconnect compounds at the nanoscale. After fabricating nanowires of various diameters, you will determine resistivity scaling with size and identify the most promising compounds for future microelectronics.

Research Tasks: Literature review, lab work, materials characterization, analytical/computational modeling

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Understanding of electromagnetism and micro/electronics (such as intro Physics course).
Any previous lab work would be beneficial but not necessary.
Competency with Matlab or Python would be beneficial but not necessary.