Graduate /
Statement of Purpose for PhD in electrical engineering, mainly applying for solid state devices [11]
As an R&D engineer in the __Company, I am passionate for pushing the boundary of devices by harnessing nanomaterials. From my student to work life, I am strongly interested in this big picture covering materials, devices and semiconductor physics. Since my university studies, my research project in photovoltaic devices involving semiconductor quantum dots aroused my interests in these fields. It is working in the electronic industry that inspired me: the challenges are to overcome the limits of miniaturization. Materials science and physics are the drivers to new devices. Hence, I am determined to dedicate myself to the research in nanoelectronic materials and devices to rejuvenate the field.
My objective is to become a researcher in nanostructures for various applicable devices, especially with Ge/Si nanowires and two-dimensional crystals such as graphene. Since The University of __ has long been famous for the Microelectronics Research Center and the collaboration among multiple groups range from fabrication to modeling, I look forward to doing research here.
My enthusiasm is demonstrated by past activities focusing mainly on nanomaterials and semiconductor fabrication. One of them is leveraging the low overpotential of the active sites in enzymes to design highly catalytic elctrocatalysts by electrospun nanofibers. Another one is experimenting with carbon nanotubes, graphene, matal oxides and conducting polymers to enhance the performance of supercapacitors as an intern in __. By tuning graphene materials in the carbon nanotube composites, outstanding charge transport properties can be achieved. Moreover, I constructed a reasonable mechanism about the phenomenon appeared in the experiments based on many relevant studies. That aroused my interests in investigating and applying the magic of the materials to boost electronic devices.
A crucial part of my decision-making process is the internship in __, which served as a master thesis and affected 25% of my overall graduate grade point average. Turned to working in __ and participated in the research forum of the company, inspired me to pursue my research interests in academia.
It was researching in semiconductor fabrication for __ that illuminated my future prospects for electronic devices. In the research forum of the company, talks on the physics of extreme-bandgap semiconductors and two-dimensional crystals that drive new devices such as low power electronics hugely stimulated me. Aside from that, I clarified that my strengths are utilizing fundamental sciences to drive technology breakthroughs. My university studies in Electronics, Light-Matter Interaction and Quantum Physics made me sharp in identifying key issues arose from physical mechanisms. Also, additional fundamental knowledge in plasma physics and tool hardware design facilitated plasma etch development, as all these design concepts and parameters interact with each other and contributed to fabrication results. Thus, I look forward to specializing my knowledge further and further.
My responsibilities as an R&D engineer include researching in __ using __ technology. The purpose is to overcome lithography challenges through new patterning method. I co-worked with colleagues and achieved to provide larger process window. New structures are achieved and a patent is under application for this work. I learned to develop film scheme, process flows and dry etch process recipes, and various tools such as optical emission spectroscopy, critical-dimension scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope analysis. I also utilized design of experiment (DOE) to analyze results statistically using JMP and MS Excel, and optimize the parameters for improving selectivity in gate etch process.
In the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, my research interests coincide with those of Professor __, Professor __and Professor __. My research vision is to develop Ge/Si core/shell nanowire field effect transistors. Moreover, to work on fundamentals in semiconductor nanowires, bandgap engineering, structures and carrier transport behaviors. I expect to apply those to the technology-driven industry and bring convenience to daily life.
My research enthusiasm for electronic materials and devices has prepared me to take it as my life-long career, and I can make a great contribution in the field if with the aid of The University of __.