REU Site: Engineering Applications of Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) Laser Light

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

This renewal REU Site program, hosted by the Extreme Ultraviolet Engineering Research Center (EUV ERC), at Colorado State University is a collaboration between a diverse group of research engineers and scientists from Center member institutions and industry leaders. The goals of this REU Site are to offer research opportunities to a group of diverse undergraduate students in a technically and scientifically challenging field that is becoming critical to industry, with a strategy that will strengthen industry involvement and will continue expanding the program to enable broader participation. The Center conducts research and trains engineers and scientists in the area of lasers and photonics, focusing in particular on the generation and application of EUV light. This laser-generated shorter wavelength light is opening new revolutionary opportunities in science in areas including nanotechnology, materials, chemistry and biology. Moreover, it will have an enormous economic impact by enabling the mass production of the next generations of computer processors and memory. The EUV ERC REU program will provide students with a unique opportunity designed to understand EUV science and technology and to become involved in EUV-related research projects that are technically and scientifically challenging, and highly interdisciplinary. The Center faculty and research labs are producing cutting-edge research and have partnerships with industries that are leaders in the development and commercialization of products that will be at the forefront of the next generation of technology, including critical tools for the fabrication of all future cell phones and computers. During a 10 week summer program the intent is to increase the student interactions with corporate members of the Center who are world leaders in EUV technologies and applications, and to involve the participation of Center graduates now in industry. REU students who will complete a first summer of research in a EUV ERC lab will have the option to continue their research the following summer in an industry lab, with internships funded by industry. The REU Site will further broaden participation by joining efforts with Prof. Wesley Sims (Morehouse College) and Prof. Willie Rockward (Morgan State Univ.), which are both Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and Prof. Professor Edwin Fohtung (New Mexico State Univ.), a minority serving institution. A successful REU instills confidence in students to make educated choices about their future careers as engineers and scientists. It enhances their competitiveness for strong graduate programs, and prepares students for career opportunities in coveted industry positions. The program will contribute to educating a workforce is a field of critical national economic importance for global competitiveness in which industry is experiencing a very significant shortage. Very few educational programs exist in the world to train a new generation of engineers and scientists proficient in EUV science and technology. The proposed program will be conducted in close partnership with industry and will contribute to fill this void. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.