Project Description

A key aspect of practical semiconductor education is focused on familiarity with the navigation and composition of fabrication equipment and instrumentation, processes, and cleanroom operations. Therefore, we propose an intentional and multifaceted focus on expanding cleanroom capacity. Specifically, ACCAD’s effort in this project is using simulation and virtualization (AR/VR/XR) to enable early engagement with cleanrooms and fabrication instrumentation.   

With a primary goal of providing access to critical physical infrastructure and instrumentation earlier in students’ educational experiences, the partnership will leverage simulation and virtualization with the current infrastructure (e.g., cleanrooms, semiconductor fab/testing equipment, metrology/electron microscopy) of The Ohio State University and the University of Dayton to infuse such activities earlier in the curriculum.  

Specifically, through the expertise of researchers at ACCAD, we are developing virtual replications of relevant spaces, instrumentation and cleanroom process (complementary to the AR/VR modules being developed by the University of Cincinnati), which will provide simulated engagement to ready students for use of physical cleanrooms and relevant instrumentation, whether working on an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.  

The partnership will investigate the efficacy of virtual access in comparison to physical access. Such an effort builds on ACCAD's previous work on the Virtual Field Lab and Virtual Patient projects. Commercial products for the pharmaceutical industry have been found to provide 34-54 percent improvement in key competencies (e.g., knowledge of procedures, comfort using cleanroom terminology, comfort explaining compounding procedures to others) following adoption of this approach.

Project Team

Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD)

• Jeremy Patterson – Graphics Research Specialist
• Maria Palazzi – Professor of Design
• Mila Gajic – Graduate Research Assistant

College of Engineering

• Derrick Tillman-Kelly

College of Education and Human Ecology

• Rick Voithofer

Kent State University

• Peggy Shadduck

Nanotech West Lab

• John Carlin – NTW Director
• Dave Hollingshead – Manager, Research Operations
• Aimee Price – Manager, Nanofabrication

Academic Consultants

• Tyler Grassman, Materials Science and Engineering
• Siddarth Rajan, Electrical and Computer Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering