Note that details from time at Applied Materials and Micron Technology are limited due to information control agreements.

2021-Present

Senior Process Engineer

Qorvo Inc.

    • Design, support, and improvement of thin-film manufacturing processes for on-chip RF filter products.


2019-2021

Postdoctoral Researcher

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Materials Science Center & Computational Science Center

    • Development of vapor phase, ultra-high vacuum, thin film deposition equipment

    • Development of advanced materials characterization capabilities.

    • Mentorship of multiple graduate students and their thin-film growth and characterization experiments

    • Development of research data database architecture and file transfer protocols

    • Synthesis and characterization of new nitride based thin film materials

    • Drafted, reviewed, and submitted work for publication in peer-reviewed journals

    • Presented in and attended meetings as needed for collaboration and education

2015 - 2019

Graduate Student Research Assistant

Colorado School of Mines, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Materials Science Center

    • Reactive co-sputtering of piezoelectric nitride thin films and dielectric materials

    • Use of combinatorial high-throughput methods for rapid investigation of processing/characterization space

    • Thin film materials characterization on spatially-resolved mapping systems

    • Characterization method development: hardware and software

    • PVD growth chamber maintenance, improvement, design, diagnostics, and repair

    • Wide-angle X-ray scattering beamline experiments at synchrotron facilities

    • Metallization via E-beam evaporation for device fabrication

    • Presented findings at local, domestic, and international conferences

    • Drafted, reviewed, and submitted work for publication in peer-reviewed journals

    • Presented in and attended CSM, NREL, and DMREF group meetings

2018

Process Engineering Intern

Applied Materials, Dielectric Deposition Products Group

    • Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of dielectric layers

    • Investigated active processing parameters and established response of each parameter on film properties

    • Worked to develop new capabilities and outcomes from the chamber hardware

    • Prepared customer product demonstration, from understanding needs to delivery of films

    • Submitted service and repair requests, worked with lab technicians to diagnose/fix issues on tools

    • Presented findings at weekly meetings and working groups for various projects

    • Developed understanding of process and added capabilities of hardware to fulfill customer needs

2015

Associate Surface Scientist

Micron Technology Inc., Surface Analysis Laboratory

    • Performed complex characterization of thin films and film stacks to support an international semiconductor memory company in research, development, and production

    • Analyzed thin films using SIMS, AES, XPS, and AFM to answer materials science questions

    • Characterized electrical properties of thin film using four point probe, mercury probe, and Hall measurement systems

    • Designed and constructed computer programs for data manipulation to improve lab efficiency and decrease cycle time

    • Submitted reports to manufacturing, research, development, and quality control engineers to explain and document the outcomes of their submitted study

2013 & 2014

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials for Energy and Sustainable Development Group

    • Processed many compounds using solid state ceramic processing method

    • Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of combinatorial thin film libraries

    • X-ray diffraction to verify phase, lattice changes, and film texturing

    • Neutron diffraction and GSAS refinement of bulk powders for structural determination

    • Drafted papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals

    • Measurement of resisitivity and Seebeck coefficients of bulk and thin film materials

    • Presentation of findings at annual SURF colloquium - 2013 & 2014

2012 - 2014

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Boise State University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Functional Ceramics Labratory

    • Solid state ceramics synthesis through powder ball milling and calcination

    • Designed, installed, and maintained high temperature furnace for ceramic sintering

    • Density and porosity measurements of green and sintered bulk ceramic pellets

    • X-ray diffraction of bulk powders to determine phase purity and structural parameters

    • Scanning electron microscopy of thermally-etched bulk ceramics to characterize porosity and grain size

    • Drafted and presented project poster - 2012, 2013, & 2014 BSU Undergraduate Research Conference

    • Presented project findings at MS&T conference 2013