The cells are arranged so that the final, lowest energy, distribution of the electrons populating the cells represents the solution of the problem reflected by the array. This student project is geared to investigating a similar, but simpler, method that eliminates the cellular structure. The student will be responsible for developing a Java-based simulation and will assist in proving that these novel quantum dot structures are indeed useful for general purpose computing. Such information passing is usually vulnerable to in-transit copying. As microcircuits are made smaller and more compact, even nano-scale corrosion events can impact circuit performance.
Corrosion can occur during chip fabrication because of exposure to rinse solvents.
This project will use electrochemical methods of surface analysis to detect and quantify corrosion in microcircuit components on IC chips. Various self-assembling organic monolayers will be examined for corrosion protection capability, and their performances compared. Students will evaluate their data to make recommendations about IC process chemistries and chip fabrication technology. For instance, much of what we know about the structure and properties of the earth's subsurface comes from electromagnetic geophysical measurements made on the surface and in boreholes. The objective of this project is to measure the electrical properties of some well-characterized soil and rock samples saturated with different fluids, and to relate these properties to hydrogeologic parameters of interest such as porosity, permeability, pore fluid content and chemistry.