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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A Whole New Engineer, David Goldberg, Mark Somerville Oct 2014

A Whole New Engineer, David Goldberg, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

A Revolution Is Coming. It Isn’t What You Think. This book tells the improbable stories of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and the iFoundry incubator at the University of Illinois. That either one survived is story enough, but what they found out together changes the course of education transformation forever: How trust is key to unleashing young, courageous engineers. How engineers need to move from a narrow technical education to one that actively engages six minds. How emotion and culture–not content, curriculum & pedagogy–are the crucial elements of change. How all stakeholders can collaborate to disrupt the status quo.status …


Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno Jun 2014

Olin College: Re-Visioning Undergraduate Engineering Education, Lynn Stein, Mark Somerville, Jessica Townsend, Vincent Manno

Mark Somerville

The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering was created to address several perceived needs for engineering graduates of the future and to be an experimental laboratory for engineering education. As such, Olin College is not only dedicated to innovation within its boundaries but also to catalyzing change throughout the engineering enterprise. The curriculum aims to support life-long learning, teamwork, communication, and contextual understanding, along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative skills.


A Physical Model For The Kink Effect In Inalas/Ingaas Hemt’S, Mark Somerville, Alexander Ernst, Jesus Del Alamo Jul 2012

A Physical Model For The Kink Effect In Inalas/Ingaas Hemt’S, Mark Somerville, Alexander Ernst, Jesus Del Alamo

Mark Somerville

We present a new model for the the kink effect in InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs. The model suggests that the kink is due to a threshold voltage shift which arises from a hole pile-up in the extrinsic source and an ensuing charging ofthe surface and/or the buffer-substrate interface. The model captures many of the observed behaviors of the kink, including the kink's dependence on bias, time, temperature, illumination, and device structure. Using the model, we have developed a simple equivalent circuit, which reproduced well the kink's dc characteristics, its time evolution in the nanosecond range, and its dependence on illumination.


Degradation Uniformity Of Rf-Power Gaas Phemts Under Electrical Stress, Anita Villanueva, Jesus Del Alamo, Takayuki Hisaka, Kazuo Hayashi, Mark Somerville Jul 2012

Degradation Uniformity Of Rf-Power Gaas Phemts Under Electrical Stress, Anita Villanueva, Jesus Del Alamo, Takayuki Hisaka, Kazuo Hayashi, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

We have studied the electrical degradation of RF-power PHEMTs by means of in situ 2-D light-emission measurements. Electroluminescence originates in the recombination of holes that have been generated by impact ionization. The local light intensity, thus, maps the electric-field distribution at the drain side of the device. This allows us to probe the uniformity of electrical degradation due to electric-field-driven mechanisms. We find that electrical degradation proceeds in a highly nonuniform manner across the width of the device. In an initial phase, degradation takes place preferentially toward the center of the gate finger. In advanced stages of degradation, the edges …


Determining Dominant Breakdown Mechanisms In Inp Hemts, Mark Somerville, Chris Putnam, Jesus Del Alamo Jul 2012

Determining Dominant Breakdown Mechanisms In Inp Hemts, Mark Somerville, Chris Putnam, Jesus Del Alamo

Mark Somerville

We present a new technique for determining the dominant breakdown mechanism in InAlAs-InGaAs high-electron mobility transistors. By exploiting both the temperature dependence and the bias dependence of different physical mechanisms, we are able to discriminate impact ionization gate current from tunneling and thermionic field emission gate current in these devices. Our results suggest that the doping level of the supply layers plays a key role in determining the relative importance of these two effects.


Film Thickness Constraints For Manufacturable Strained Silicon Cmos, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, M. Currie, J. Yap, F. Singaporewala, V. Yang, T. Langdo, J. Carlin, Mark Somerville, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara Jul 2012

Film Thickness Constraints For Manufacturable Strained Silicon Cmos, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, M. Currie, J. Yap, F. Singaporewala, V. Yang, T. Langdo, J. Carlin, Mark Somerville, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara

Mark Somerville

This paper studies the effect of the strained silicon thickness on the characteristics of strained silicon MOSFETs on SiGe virtual substrates. NMOSFETs were fabricated on strained silicon substrates with various strained silicon thicknesses, both above and below the strained silicon critical thickness. The low field electron mobility and subthreshold characteristics of the devices were measured. Low field electron mobility is increased by about 1.8 times on all wafers and is not significantly degraded on any of the samples, even for a strained silicon thickness far greater than the critical thickness. From the subthreshold characteristics, however, it is shown that the …


Physical Mechanisms Limiting The Manufacturing Uniformity Of Millimeter-Wave Power Inp Hemt's, Sergei Krupenin, Roxann Blanchard, Mark Somerville, Jesus Del Alamo, K. Duh, Pane Chao Jul 2012

Physical Mechanisms Limiting The Manufacturing Uniformity Of Millimeter-Wave Power Inp Hemt's, Sergei Krupenin, Roxann Blanchard, Mark Somerville, Jesus Del Alamo, K. Duh, Pane Chao

Mark Somerville

We have developed a methodology to diagnose the physical mechanisms limiting the manufacturing uniformity of millimeter-wave power InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT's on InP. A statistical analysis was carried out on dc figures of merit obtained from a large number of actual devices on an experimental wafer. Correlation studies and principal component analysis of the results indicated that variations in Si delta-doping concentration introduced during molecular-beam epitaxy accounted for more than half of the manufacturing variance. Variations in the gate-source distance that is determined by the electron-beam alignment in the gate formation process were found to be the second leading source of manufacturing …


Strained Si On Insulator Technology: From Materials To Devices, T. Langdo, M. Currie, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, M. Erdtmann, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, C. Vineis, J. Carlin, A. Lochtefeld, M. Bulsara, Isaac Lauer, Dimitri Antoniadis, Mark Somerville Jul 2012

Strained Si On Insulator Technology: From Materials To Devices, T. Langdo, M. Currie, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, M. Erdtmann, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, C. Vineis, J. Carlin, A. Lochtefeld, M. Bulsara, Isaac Lauer, Dimitri Antoniadis, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

SiGe-free strained Si on insulator (SSOI) is a new material system that combines the carrier transport advantages of strained Si with the reduced capacitance and improved scalability of thin film silicon on insulator (SOI). We demonstrate fabrication of 20% Ge equivalent strain level SSOI substrates with Si thicknesses of 100 and 400 Å by hydrogen-induced layer transfer of strained Si layers from high quality graded SiGe virtual substrates. The substrate properties are excellent: wafer scale strained Si film thickness uniformities are better than 8%, strained Si surface roughnesses are better than 0.5 nm RMS, and robust tensile strain levels are …


Fully Depleted N-Mosfets On Supercritical Thickness Strained Soi, Isaac Lauer, T. Langdo, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, M. Currie, C. Leitz, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara, Mark Somerville, Dimitri Antoniadis Jul 2012

Fully Depleted N-Mosfets On Supercritical Thickness Strained Soi, Isaac Lauer, T. Langdo, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, M. Currie, C. Leitz, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara, Mark Somerville, Dimitri Antoniadis

Mark Somerville

Strained silicon-on-insulator (SSOI) is a new material system that combines the carrier transport advantages of strained Si with the reduced parasitic capacitance and improved MOSFET scalability of thin-film SOI. We demonstrate fabrication of highly uniform SiGe-free SSOI wafers with 20% Ge equivalent strain and report fully depleted n-MOSFET results. We show that enhanced mobility is maintained in strained Si films transferred directly to SiO2 from relaxed Si0.8Ge0.2 virtual substrates, even after a generous MOSFET fabrication thermal budget. Further, we find the usable strained-Si thickness of SSOI significantly exceeds the critical thickness of strained Si/SiGe without deleterious leakage current effects typically …


Work In Progress- Understanding Discomfort: Student Responses To Self-Direction, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, John B. Geddes, Rob Martello Jul 2012

Work In Progress- Understanding Discomfort: Student Responses To Self-Direction, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, John B. Geddes, Rob Martello

Mark Somerville

The literature consistently reports that students express some degree of discomfort when they are thrown into self-directed learning environments. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of an investigation of the causes of student discomfort in several different self-directed project-based courses. Our results suggest that student motivation and opportunities for the development of deep understanding and transferable skills are important in creating a positive self-directed learning experience. Negative experiences and student discomfort in self-directed environments may stem from problems with self-regulation, low self-perceptions of content learning, lack of personal engagement with the topic, and difficulties related to the social …


Non-Traditional Assessments For New Learning Approaches: Competency Evaluation In Project-Based Introductory Materials Science, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, Steven Krumholz Jul 2012

Non-Traditional Assessments For New Learning Approaches: Competency Evaluation In Project-Based Introductory Materials Science, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, Steven Krumholz

Mark Somerville

Over the last twenty years, NSF and the engineering community have called for systemic changes in engineering education, including an emphasis on contextual understanding; increased teaming skills, including collaborative, active learning; and an improved capacity for life-long, self-directed learning. In addition, ABET has called for engineering graduates that demonstrate an ability to apply science and engineering, and ABET requires assessment processes designed to measure student achievement of learning outcomes. Olin College has responded to these calls for change by embracing new learning approaches and assessment techniques, and by developing project-based courses that encourage experiential understanding of content and aid the …


Work In Progress - A Provisional Competency Assessment System, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra, Jonathan Chambers, Ellen Cooney, Kristen Dorsey, John Geddes, Gill Pratt, Kathryn Rivard, Ann Schaffner, Lynn Stein, Jonathan Stolk, Stephen Westwood, Yevgeniya Zastavker Jul 2012

Work In Progress - A Provisional Competency Assessment System, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra, Jonathan Chambers, Ellen Cooney, Kristen Dorsey, John Geddes, Gill Pratt, Kathryn Rivard, Ann Schaffner, Lynn Stein, Jonathan Stolk, Stephen Westwood, Yevgeniya Zastavker

Mark Somerville

Over the last two years Olin College has been defining and implementing a provisional system to develop and assess student competency levels. The system particularly emphasizes the importance of creating a community of practice that includes not only faculty but also staff and students. In this paper we provide an overview of the design process, and comment on the results of our first year of implementing the system.


Drowning In Method, Thirsty For Values: A Call For Cultural Inquiry, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra Jul 2012

Drowning In Method, Thirsty For Values: A Call For Cultural Inquiry, Jonathan Stolk, Mark Somerville, Debbie Chachra

Mark Somerville

A decade or more has passed since publication of most calls for reform in engineering education. In the ensuing time, there has been significant work on the design, implementation, and transferability of appropriate methodsand techniques - accompanied by, in most cases, little discussion of the values and beliefs of the people involved. But many theories of change rely on a fundamental shift in human beliefs and values, and purport that institutionalization of methods is impossible without this shift. Given this, now may be a reasonable time to re-visit the questions: What are the values of people involved in engineering education, …


Engineering Students' Conceptions Of Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, John Geddes, Mark Somerville, Robert Martello Jul 2012

Engineering Students' Conceptions Of Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, John Geddes, Mark Somerville, Robert Martello

Mark Somerville

Researchers have developed numerous theories and developmental models to describe self directed learning, lifelong learning, and self-regulated learning. The literature includes a large body of research that illustrates the cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, affective, and behavioral attributes of self-directed learners; the influences of social and physical environment on self-directed learning development; and the roles of self-perceptions, causal orientations,learning conceptions, and demographics in determining certain self-directed learning responses. But how do undergraduate engineering students characterize and critique self-directed learning? This paper evaluates the responses of engineering students to questions regarding the definition of self-direction and the primary positive or negative factors contributing …


The Search For Design In Electrical Engineering Education, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, Mark Somerville, Gill Pratt, Jill Crisman Jul 2012

The Search For Design In Electrical Engineering Education, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, Mark Somerville, Gill Pratt, Jill Crisman

Mark Somerville

The importance of "design" in engineering education is well established and a cornerstone of most new engineering curricula as well as accreditation criteria Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) programs view many elements of design in ways similar to other engineering disciplines. However, in some respects other disciplines within engineering, such as Mechanical Engineering (ME), view design in broader terms, and perhaps gain value that electrical and computer engineering educators may miss. This paper describes how design is typically viewed in ECE programs, bow it's viewed in other engineering areas, particularly ME, and suggests some new possibilities for enhancing design education …


Engineering Students' Definitions Of And Responses To Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Mark Somerville, John Geddes Dec 2009

Engineering Students' Definitions Of And Responses To Self-Directed Learning, Jonathan Stolk, Rob Martello, Mark Somerville, John Geddes

Mark Somerville

COLLEGE INSTRUCTORS have struggled with a lack of self-directed learning (SDL) development in their students for many decades. Self-direction is by no means a new topic in teaching and learning, but it is one of growing significance in engineering educational discourse. In 1969, Carl Rogers articulated the need for flexible, independent learners: Teaching and the imparting of knowledge make sense in an unchanging environment. This is why it has been an unquestioned function for centuries. But if there is one truth about modern man, it is that he lives in an environment which is continually changing . . .We are, …