An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories Fiscal Year 2002 (2002) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2 Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
2 Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
Pages 13-56
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 13... ...
Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory 13
|
From page 14... ...
Nye, and its Vice Chair, Constance J Chang-Hasnain, this assessment of the fiscal year 2002 activities of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory is based on site visits by individual panel members, a formal meeting of the panel on February 2122, 2002, in Boulder, Colorado, and documents provided by the laboratory.~ 1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, Summary of 2001 Project Status Reports (10/1/2000-9/30/2001J, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., January 29, 2002.
|
From page 15... ...
The strategic plan also explicitly acknowledges the core NIST competency in measurements and emphasizes support for measurement accuracy, accessibility, and applicability as part of KEEL' s role. The plan also states that, independent of organizational structure, the laboratory' s work is grouped in four major programs: Foundation for All Electrical Measurements, Electronics Industry, Electrical Industries, and Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
|
From page 16... ...
The Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory is organized in six divisions and two offices: Electricity Division, Semiconductor Electronics Division (SED) , Electromagnetic Technology Division, Radio-Frequency Technology Division, Optoelectronics Division, Magnetic Technology Division, Office of Microelectronics Programs (OMP)
|
From page 17... ...
In the Electromagnetic Technology Division, a programmable direct current (DC) Josephson voltage standard was transferred to the Electricity Division to be calibrated against existing standards and used in the Electronic Kilogram Project.
|
From page 18... ...
difference standards and measurement techniques to support the makers of electronic test equipment for a wide variety of industries, testing and reliability characterization of dielectric structures for the semiconductor industry, and development and dissemination of standards for the magnetic data storage industry. The laboratory also supports other communities, including other government agencies, law enforcement, and other NIST laboratories.
|
From page 19... ...
sought by and awarded to the laboratory. Roughly two-thirds of the rise in OA funding predicted between FY 2001 and FY 2002 is within the Office of Law Enforcement Standards, where all funding is external, but other divisions (Radio-Frequency Technology, Electromagnetic Technology, and Magnetic Technology)
|
From page 20... ...
Some progress has been made in a few individual cases, as in the renovation of the nanoprobe imaging laboratory in the Magnetic Technology Division and the remodeling of several large laboratories in the Electromagnetic Technology Division. However, the number of problems continues to outweigh any progress.
|
From page 21... ...
in the Electricity Division, the revision of the mission statement in the Magnetic Technology Division, the progress made on purity measurements for semiconductor gases in the Optoelectronics Division, and the delivery of standards systems to users at NIST Gaithersburg in the Electromagnetic Technology Division. The panel is pleased with responsiveness to the assessment report observed over the past year, but has some concern about the speed and completeness of some of the responses.
|
From page 22... ...
DIVISIONAL REVIEWS Electricity Division Technical Merit The mission of the Electricity Division is to provide the world's most technically advanced and fundamentally sound basis for all electrical measurements and associated standards in the United States. The Electricity Division's programs involve three principle elements: (1)
|
From page 23... ...
In addition to the use of a portable Josephson-array device for ILC work, the Voltage Metrology project is moving toward the use of a programmable array for the voltage calibration services provided to its customers. KEEL enjoys a steady demand for calibration of saturated cell voltage standards from its customers.
|
From page 24... ...
The program's calibration services are highly utilized, and to all appearances they are handled in a manner completely satisfactory to its customers. It produces quality, current publications and has a high degree of internal involvement with other NIST projects.
|
From page 25... ...
The farad and ohm are basic electrical units, and maintaining dependable, consistent, and traceable standards for them must continue to be a core priority for the Electricity Division. In addition, relating the U.S.
|
From page 26... ...
The work on it is approximately 50 percent complete. Division Resources Funding sources for the Electricity Division are shown in Table 2.2.
|
From page 27... ...
aThe number of full-time permanent staff is as of January of that fiscal year. There were also 9 nonpermanent and supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and temporary or part-time workers.
|
From page 28... ...
Division managers need to encourage the use of training programs. Semiconductor Electronics Division Technical Merit The mission of the Semiconductor Electronics Division is to provide leadership in developing the semiconductor measurement infrastructure essential to improving U.S.
|
From page 29... ...
Technology developed by the Semiconductor Electronics Division provides 1inewidth measurements traceable to the atomic spacing of silicon. A 200-mm silicon wafer 1inewidth metrology standard was delivered to International SEMATECH in 2001.
|
From page 30... ...
standards as well. The Thin Film Process Metrology project focuses on the characterization of candidate advanced gate dielectric materials for CMOS technology, including oxynitrides, high-k metal oxides, and metalsilicates.
|
From page 31... ...
This technique can measure the properties of cantilever beams constructed with one material, two different materials, or the sandwiches of many materials that are found in semiconductor devices. This work has substantial technical merit in improving metrology for semiconductor industry thin films; it should be readily transferable, since it has been developed using standard silicon-based technologies.
|
From page 32... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Semiconductor Electronics Division, through its in-depth knowledge of semiconductor measurement needs and an excellent strategic planning process that continues to improve each year, has engaged in key programs that have immediate and long-term benefit to the semiconductor industry. Two new long-range competence projects, SM3 and Molecular Electronics, are expected to result in the development of new laboratory capabilities and to enable NIST to be prepared for key future developments.
|
From page 33... ...
. The Semiconductor Electronics Division and the Office of Microelectronic Programs have played a key role in International SEMATECH and Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
|
From page 34... ...
Division Resources Funding sources for the Semiconductor Electronics Division are shown in Table 2.3. As of January 2002, staffing for the Semiconductor Electronics Division included 37 full-time permanent positions, of which 31 were technical professionals.
|
From page 35... ...
In the Thin Film Process Metrology project, the resources are leveraged through extensive collaborations with industry and academia, where most of the test samples are fabricated. This gives the division little control over the quality of the test samples it measures, especially the high-k dielectrics.
|
From page 36... ...
In a collaboration with the Optoelectronics Division, researchers in the High-Speed Microelectronics project have completed an initial comparison between the sampling scope nose-to-nose and electrooptic sampling system calibrations. Good results were obtained from this comparison.
|
From page 37... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness Through the Power and Voltage Standards project, the Scattering Parameters and Impedance project, and the Noise Standards and Measurements project, which all focus on calibration services, the division provides industry with a variety of core measurement services in RF power, impedance, voltage, and noise. It also provides transfer standards over the frequency range 10 kHz to 1 10 GHz.
|
From page 38... ...
Division Resources Funding sources for the Radio-Frequency Technology Division are shown in Table 2.4. As of January 2002, staffing for the division included 52 full-time permanent positions, of which 48 were for technical professionals.
|
From page 39... ...
Broad guidelines for strategic planning should be developed at the laboratory level, whereas the division level is appropriate for detailed planning and ownership. As with all the divisions, the Radio-Frequency Technology Division should develop long-range plans based on technology trends, and these long-range plans should be incorporated in the KEEL budget process to provide adequate personnel, facilities, and equipment resources.
|
From page 40... ...
Electromagnetic Technology Division Technical Merit The stated mission of the Electromagnetic Technology Division is to enhance the nation's competit~veness by creating, developing, and promulgating state-of-the-art measurement capabilities and standards using quantum phenomena, the low thermal noise available at cryogenics temperatures, and fabrication of specialized integrated circuits, including nanometer-sized devices; emphasizing electrical standards; using unique technical capabilities to assist other NIST organizations with exceptionally difficult measurements; determining data, theory, models, and materials necessary to effectively apply results; and assisting other industrial, government, and scientific organizations to adapt divisiondeveloped techniques to their needs. The Electromagnetic Technology Division is focused on developing electronic standards and measurement techniques based on quantum effects unique to cryogenic and nanoscale devices.
|
From page 41... ...
The projects tend to be smaller than those in other KEEL divisions. The Electromagnetic Technology Division has a well-focused research agenda and is doing outstandin~ work in each of its four Projects.
|
From page 42... ...
A milestone in the Cryogenic Sensor project has been the placement of an x-ray microcalorimeter in the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory. This instrument is now in full operation and is achieving unprecedented energy resolution in the microanalysis of thin film and particles.
|
From page 43... ...
This effort is directly relevant to NIST's Strategic Focus Area on information technology. Program Relevance and Effectiveness Each of the Electromagnetic Technology Division's four projects has well-defined goals directed to The Quantum Voltage Project seeks to develop new voltage satisfying an identified customer need.
|
From page 44... ...
This is just one of many efforts within the division that could benefit the emerging homeland security SEA. Division Resources Funding sources for the Electromagnetic Technology Division are shown in Table 2.5.
|
From page 45... ...
Optoelectronics Division Technical Merit The mission of the Optoelectronics Division is to provide the optoelectronics industry and its suppliers and customers with comprehensive and technically advanced measurement capabilities. stancards, and traceability to those standards.
|
From page 46... ...
The panel believes that the electro-optic sampling research performed in the Optoelectronics Division is particularly important for next-generation systems and needs to be accelerated if possible. Since high-speed measurements require increasing bandwidths, the encroachment of noise into the measurements is unavoidable.
|
From page 47... ...
Based upon the study of PMD issues, the division should consider forming an industrywide forum on PMD to develop a more complete picture of the problem and its impact on various applications. The importance of wavelength standards for optical communications systems cannot be overestimated, and the role of the Optoelectronics Division in providing these important standards is extremely important.
|
From page 48... ...
The panel continues to encourage emphasis on the development of in situ techniques for real-time analysis of purity. The panel strongly supports the development of alloy composition SRMs and the refining of measurement techniques to determine the alloy composition and thickness of compound semiconductor epitaxial layers.
|
From page 49... ...
For example, best practices and instructions for key measurement techniques could be placed on the division's Web site, SRMs could be more heavily marketed at meetings of groups such as the International Society for Optical Engineering and the Conference on Lasers and Electrooptics, and division staff could expand their involvement with professional societies and in organizing conferences. Division Resources Funding sources for the Optoelectronics Division are shown in Table 2.6.
|
From page 50... ...
economy and improve the quality of life by providing measurement science and technology primarily for the magnetic technology and superconductor industries. The panel was gratified to see the mission statement modified to include the phrase "strengthen the U.S.
|
From page 51... ...
NRS has also been used for noninvasive probing of fields caused by currents. NRS has been used in failure analysis and on-chip metrology in the semiconductor industry and has application to relay aging and fault detection.
|
From page 52... ...
Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Magnetic Technology Division's superconductor work is well aimed at meeting needs of the U.S. superconductor industry and its big project customers in the U.S.
|
From page 53... ...
Division Resources Funding sources for the Magnetic Technology Division are shown in Table 2.7. As of January 2002, staffing for the division included 13 full-time permanent positions, of which 1 1 were for technical professionals.
|
From page 54... ...
NA = not applicable. aData are not available for years prior to FY 2000, as the Magnetic Technology Division was formed in September 2000 in a reorganization in which several projects were moved from the Electromagnetic Technology Division to this new division.
|
From page 55... ...
OLES' s primary customers are the criminal justice and public safety communities. In the criminal justice area, OLES supports law enforcement, courts, corrections, and forensic science activities.
|
From page 56... ...
OLES reports that thousands of law enforcement and public safety workers are alive because of the improvements in equipment and procedures that this office has facilitated over the past 30 years. Funding sources for OLES are shown in Table 2.8.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.