Microelectronics-Photonics (MEPH)
Ken Vickers
Program Chair
248 Physics
479-575-2875
E-mail: microep@cavern.uark.edu
Web: http://www.uark.edu/depts/microep/
Biological Engineering Faculty:
• Professor Li
• Assistant Professors Kavdia, Kim, Ye
Chemical Engineering Faculty:
• Professor Ulrich
• Associate Professor Beitle
Chemistry Faculty:
• Professors Fritsch, Gawley, Peng
• Assistant Professor Tian
Civil Engineering Faculty:
• Professor Selvam
Computer Science/Computer Engineering Faculty:
• Associate Professor Lusth
Electrical Engineering Faculty:
• Distinguished Professors Varadan (V.K), Varadan (V.V.)
• University Professor Brown
• Professors Ang, Elshabini, Mantooth, Naseem, Schaper
• Associate Professors Barlow, Burkett, El-Shanawee, Manasreh
• Research Associate Porter
Industrial Engineering Faculty:
• Associate Professor Mason
Management (WCOB) Faculty:
• Professor Todd
Mechanical Engineering Faculty:
• Professors Bhat, Malshe, Schmidt
• Associate Professors Gordon, Tung
• Assistant Professor Zou
Microelectronics-Photonics Faculty:
• Research Associate Professor Foster
Physics Faculty:
• Distinguished Professors Salamo, Xiao
• Professor Singh
• Research Professor Vickers
• Associate Professors Bellaiche, Oliver
• Assistant Professors Fu, Li
• Research Associate and Adjunct Professor Shultz
Degrees Conferred:
M.S., Ph.D. in Microelectronics-Photonics (MEPH)
This multidisciplinary program prepares students for pursuing careers in the development and manufacturing of high tech materials, devices, and systems in such industries as photonics, telecommunications, microelectronics, and MEMs. It is expected that typical students in this program will be full-time students residing on campus, but provisions may be made to support remotely located part-time students already engaged in professional careers.
Philosophy of Graduate Education: All entering graduate students from June 1 through May 31 of the following year are formed into a Cohort. Cohort members form a natural work group during their first twenty-four months of graduate school, and the Cohort receives training in how to effectively apply their academic knowledge in professional group environments such as research- or teaching-based academic departments, large governmental research labs, or industrial settings. The Cohort training also fosters a supportive graduate community atmosphere that enhances the likelihood of academic success of all the program’s graduate students.
The techniques used for this training have been developed at the University of Arkansas under the financial sponsorship of the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program, and the Department of Education’s Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) program. Through these methods, our graduate students exit our degree programs with the equivalent of one and a half years of on-the-job training in management techniques useful in a technology-based professional career setting.
Prerequisites to Degree Program: Applicants to the program must satisfy the requirements of the Graduate School as described in this catalog and have the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Microelectronics-Photonics program (GSCMEP).
Candidates must have completed a Bachelor of Science degree in either engineering or science, and candidates’ academic backgrounds will be evaluated by the GSCMEP for suitability to the graduate program. To be admitted to graduate study in Microelectronics-Photonics (microEP) without deficiency, candidates are required to have completed a math course sequence through differential equations, a calculus-based physics course sequence through introduction to quantum mechanics, and a junior-level introduction to electricity and magnetism. Other undergraduate deficiencies may be identified during the evaluation process, and degree completion will be contingent on successful completion of these identified deficiencies.
Prospective students from foreign countries in which English is not the native language must submit nationally recognized standardized testing results on written English proficiency for consideration to the Graduate School during the admission process. Students may be given conditional admittance pending demonstration of English language skills in appropriate courses at the University of Arkansas. Students wishing to apply for graduate assistantships that require direct contact with students in a teaching or tutorial role in a department must meet that department’s English Language proficiency test requirements and the requirements of the Graduate School for such GA positions.
Requirements for the Master of Science Degree: Students choosing this degree program will be assigned an initial advisor upon acceptance to the program. This advisor will be their Cohort Manager during that academic year. Students will work with the
Students in this degree program can choose either a research path or an independent project path. The minimum course hour requirements for both paths are as follows:
Research Independent Project
Topic Course Hours Course Hours
Science 6 6
Engineering 9 12
Business 3 3
Technical elective 9 15
Research thesis 6 0
Independent project 0 3
Total hours 33 39
Four core courses have been defined that are required of all students completing microEP degrees. These courses are ELEG 4203 Semiconductor Devices; PHYS 5774 Introduction to Optical Properties of Materials; ELEG 5213 Integrated Circuit Fabrication Technology, and MGMT 5383 Intra/Entrepreneurship of Technology. Students that have acquired the knowledge contained in these courses through prior education may petition the microEP program
Additional core courses to develop operations management skills also have been defined for microEP students. During year one of their graduate studies at the University of Arkansas, students are required to take MEPH 5811 Research and Operations Management Seminar in both fall and spring semesters and MEPH 5821 Ethics for Scientists and Engineers in their first summer. During year two, students are required to take MEPH 6811 Research and Operations Management Seminar in both fall and spring semesters and MEPH 5831 Proposal Writing and Management in their second summer. In addition, all cohort members participate in two days of industrial-style inventiveness and team training during the week directly preceding the start of fall classes. Three of these six credit hours may be used as M.S. technical electives, and the other three may be applied as Ph.D.-level technical electives.
Research thesis hours will be chosen from the department of the student’s research adviser (PHYS 600V, ELEG 600V, etc.) and will require a written thesis successfully defended in a comprehensive oral exam given by the thesis committee. Independent project hours will be under MEPH 588V Special Problems in Microelectronics-Photonics and will require a written project report successfully defended in a comprehensive oral exam given by the advisory committee.
Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree: Students choosing this degree program will be assigned an initial advisor upon acceptance to the program. This advisor will be their Cohort manager during that academic year. Students will work with the
Candidates for the Ph.D. program are expected to have completed a Master of Science degree in either engineering or science, with each candidate’s academic background being evaluated by the GSCMEP. Doctoral candidates in Microelectronics-Photonics are expected to have proficiency in the core course work of the Master of Science in Microelectronics-Photonics at the University of Arkansas. This core is described in detail in the handbook of the Microelectronics-Photonics program and is the knowledge area that will be tested in the Microelectronics-Photonics specific candidacy exam administered in the spring semester of each academic year.
Students who have graduated with a Master of Science degree in Microelectronics-Photonics from the University of Arkansas will be expected to take the Microelectronics-Photonics Ph.D. candidacy exam in the spring semester after M.S. graduation. Students requesting admission to the Ph.D. program with a Master of Science degree in another discipline will be required to take the Microelectronics-Photonics Ph.D. candidacy exam within four semesters after M.S. graduation.
Students who fail to pass their candidacy exam will have a joint consultation with their major professor and their Cohort Manager to formulate a specific action plan to correct student deficiencies identified by the exam. The student will be allowed to retake the exam one additional time during the next scheduled examination period.
A Ph.D. curriculum will be defined to meet each student’s research interests as well as the Microelectronics-Photonics program’s interest in course breadth. It is to be expected that certain Master of Science degrees will be poorer matches to the Microelectronics-Photonics program focus areas and will therefore require a greater number of graduate courses in the Ph.D. curriculum as a requirement for graduation.
The course plan for each student must include a minimum of 30 hours of graduate coursework beyond the Master of Science degree requirements. Specific courses will be chosen by the student and must be approved by the student’s doctoral advisory committee. The coursework list for the Ph.D. degree will then be combined with the courses completed during the student’s Master of Science studies to assure that the combined course list includes:
a) at least 27 hours of 5000- and 6000-level courses in science and engineering,
b) at least six hours of courses relevant to the management of technology,
c) no more than six hours of special problems and no more than nine hours of special topics courses,
d) and no more than three hours of MEPH 5811/6811/5821/5831 after completion of the M.S. degree.
In addition to these conditions, the 18 hours of research dissertation required by the Graduate School will be taken under departmental course numbers such as PHYS 700V, CHEG 700V, CHEM 700V, ELEG 700V, etc. as appropriate to match to the department of each student’s major research professor.
(MEPH) MICROELECTRONICS-PHOTONICS
MEPH5613 Introduction to Advanced Computation for Scientists and Engineers (Su) Introduction to computer modeling in science and engineering and their advantages. Review of programming needed for modeling applications. Introduction to finite difference and finite element procedures to solve science and engineering problems. Importance of visualization and grid generation. Prerequisite: senior standing or graduate student in science or engineering
MEPH5713 Advanced Nanomaterials Chemistry (Fa) Most science and engineering graduates will one day face materials problems. Nanomaterials are evolving to be the backbone of high-tech industry. Modern as well as future industry demands more and more scientists and engineers with materials chemistry knowledge. Learn how to understand materials from the perspective of funamental chemistry principles, be exposed to the frontiers of materials science and technology, and build up a picture of tomorrow’s materials. Pre- or Corequisite: lab experience in physics, chemistry, or biology. Prerequisite: general chemistry.
MEPH5723 Science of Nanostructures (Sp) This is a cross-disciplinary course that is focused on teaching nanoscience and engineering by studying surface science, the building and analysis of quantum-confined structures, and related nano manufacturing processes. Students will achieve an integrated knowledge of the concepts of surface science, quantum mechanics, nano processing and manipulation, and techniques of materials research. Prerequisite: MEPH 5713.
MEPH5811 Operations Seminar (Sp, Su, Fa) Weekly seminar of Microelectronics-Photonics candidates for the Master of Science degree to discuss issues that impact a technical gropu’s operational effectiveness. Topics to be discussed include ethics, applications of procedures, cultural impact on operations, and team based methodologies. Discussions of current events in the interaction between technology and human affairs will be included as appropriate. Prerequisite: graduate standing.
MEPH5821 Ethics for Scienctists and Engineers (Su) This course will introduce methods useful in the practice of ethical decision making in the high technology academic and industrial work place. An emphasis will be placed on applying the methods discussed in the text to student and instructor past professional experiences. Prerequisite: graduate standing
MEPH5831 Proposal Writing and Management (Su) Advanced scientific and engineering research and development typically requires significant resources to be successful. This course introduces the student to the factors that impact proposal success in both the academic and industrial arenas; it demonstrates different approaches to writing the content of different sections of successful proposals; and it introduces the student to the legal responsibilities and ramifications of proposal management. At the end of the class, each student will have ready for submission at least one proposal to an appropriate funding agency for their research group. Prerequisite: graduate standing
MEPH587V Special Topics in Microelectronics-Photonics (Sp, Su, Fa) (1-3) Consideration of current microelectronic-photonic topics not covered in other courses.
MEPH588V Special Problems in Microelectronics-Photonics (Sp, Su, Fa) (1-3) Opportunity for individual study of advanced subjects related to a graduate degree in Microelectronics-Photonics to suit individual requirements.
MEPH6811 Operations Seminar (Sp, Su, Fa) Weekly seminar of Microelectronics-Photonics candidates for Doctor of Philosophy degree to discuss issues that impact a technical group’s operational effectiveness. Topics to be discussed include ethics, applications of procedures, cultural impact on operations, and team based methodologies. Discussions of current events in the interaction between technology and human affairs will be included as appropriate. Prerequisite: graduate standing.