Materials Processing & Applications Laboratory

This laboratory is under the direction of Prof. Peter J. Gielisse. The research programs focus on the development of processes that put high performance materials into actual system or device applications. As such, programs tend to be interdisciplinary and cooperative research efforts are often carried out in direct interaction with industrial firms. The laboratory's aim is to provide novel ideas, approaches and innovations towards solutions of engineering problems in cutting edge technologies and to educate students in complex real-life settings.

The laboratory has developed a magnetometer system for non destructive analysis of materials. This system provides a novel high sensitivity tool for materials processing control, and (on-line) evaluation of the critical current capabilities of long length high temperature superconducting tapes. The use of this new technology for real time quality control in manufacturing is likely to improve product quality and lower product production cost.

With an in-house developed optical scattering system (OSS), we can explore the characteristics of surfaces in the spatial frequency domain. Full surface characterization, coupled with computer operation, is accomplished under high-speed, noncontact and area averaging conditions. Delicate surfaces can be rapidly "finger printed" in this fashion as required e.g., in microelectronics manufacturing.

In the modeling area, a software design tool for multilayer structures is being developed. It combines analytical solutions to stress analysis at material interfaces with hybrid element FEM singularity point stress analysis. It will provide a software based solution to residual thermal stress analysis in multilayer film structures.

The laboratory is also active in the physical vapor deposition of thin films, particularly the deposition of AlN and cubic BN for eventual applications as active semiconductors, passive devices, optical coatings, radiation resistant devices and passivation layers. Si-Al-O-N thin films are being evaluated for high power, high energy capacitor structures.

Physical property measurements of materials are being conducted in a variety of areas, one example of which is the measurement of the thermal expansion of materials at cryogenic temperatures by digital micro-image processing. Deformation of the samples is recorded with two CCD cameras while image processing is accomplished with a high resolution frame grabber, an auxiliary high speed processor board, and an iconic programming language.