Marla DowellMonday, November 4, 2024 – 5:30 PM
Abstract
Metrology plays a key role in semiconductor manufacturing. As devices become more complex, smaller, and multi-layered, the ability to measure, monitor, predict, and ensure quality in manufacturing becomes much more difficult and uncertain. For example, modern chips may contain over 100 billion complex nanodevices that are less than 50 atoms across—all must work nearly identically for the chip to function. Today, the semiconductor industry faces some of these metrology challenges with workarounds and inadequate tools, limiting production yields, impacting quality, and increasing costs. As greater demands are put on semiconductor device performance and material requirements, these challenges will continue to intensify.
The 2022 NIST Report Strategic Opportunities for U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing identified seven grand challenges that if overcome will support increased production, innovation, and competitiveness in the domestic semiconductor industry. The CHIPS Metrology Program has aligned its R&D portfolio with these grand challenges, emphasizing measurements that are accurate, precise, and fit-for-purpose to produce microelectronic materials, devices, circuits, and systems.
This work leverages NIST’s proven measurement science expertise, foundational communications and computing research capabilities, standards development contributions, and stakeholder engagement practices to address the highest priority metrology challenges identified across industry, academia, and government agencies. This talk will highlight research activities that support measurements for materials, processing, and interfaces of interest to the semiconductor research and manufacturing communities.
Biography
Marla Dowell is the Director of the CHIPS Metrology Program and NIST Boulder Laboratory. Dowell is expanding and advancing NIST’s efforts to deliver a robust measurement science foundation for the semiconductor industry. Most recently, she served as director of the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory, the leading national laboratory for advanced communications standards and measurements. Dowell began her NIST career as a researcher in the field of optical metrology for photolithography. Her work has enabled better optical measurements for photodynamic therapy to treat cancer, laser safety, communications, and manufacturing.
Dowell has served the broader NIST community as a member of the NIST Assessment Review Board, NIST Safety Council, and the NIST People Council. For over 15 years, she has served as a mentor in NIST leadership programs. She has represented NIST on national and international standards committees for optics and photonics as well as external advisory committees on research innovation, photonics, and communications. Dowell has been recognized for her work fostering collaborations and leading high-performance research organizations with numerous awards, including the Presidential Rank Award, NIST’s Allen V. Astin Award, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award from George Washington University.
Dr. Dowell is a fellow of SPIE, a senior member of IEEE, and a member of AAAS, and APS.