2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The semiconductor industry is critical to the U.S. economy, driving cutting-edge innovation and technological advancements. In recent years, the United States has faced unprecedented challenges in this sector including supply chain disruptions, shortage of talented and skilled workforce, and intense competition from foreign chip manufacturers. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing has dropped significantly, from about 37% in 1990 to approximately 12% in 2023 [1]. In response to this concerning decline, the U.S. government has initiated programs to increase domestic manufacturing, such as the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to boost advanced chips production in the U.S, prompting an urgent need to bolster workforce readiness [2, 3].
In this paper, we discuss our efforts and experiences in an industry-sponsored project that aims to address this need by preparing ‘fab-skilled’ engineers through the development and implementation of a lab-based ‘Integrated Circuit Fabrication’ course. By integrating theoretical knowledge with practical hands-on experience, the course is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to excel in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This paper outlines the course structure, pedagogical approach, industry and academic partnerships, and expected outcomes. The ‘IC Fab’ course is implemented at an emerging R2 institution in partnership with a top-tier R1 university. The course includes key topics related to semiconductor manufacturing, and special emphasis is given to the labs and a design project, together accounting for 50% of the course assessment. Students fabricate various discrete semiconductor devices (including p-MOSFET, n-MOSFET, resistors, diodes) and integrated circuits (including, Ring Oscillator, and various CMOS-based logic circuits) on a 2-inch Silicon wafer during 11 laboratory sessions spanned throughout the semester. The labs are conducted in a Class 100 cleanroom and are designed to teach learners the necessary fabrication processes and device characterization steps including photolithography, etching, doping, oxide growth, metallization, and electrical characterization techniques of the fabricated devices and circuits. Through this course, students also become familiar with various microelectronic device manufacturing equipments and facilities, including wet benches, spin rinse dryer, mask aligner, spin coater, diffusion furnaces, physical vapor deposition (PVD) system, reactive ion etching (RIE) system, and various characterization instruments including Hot Probe, Optical Ellipsometer, 4-point Probe Resistivity measurement system, Probe Stations, source-measure units (SMU), and Digital Oscilloscopes.
In this paper, we discuss the anatomy of the course structure, the details of the laboratory exercises, lab infrastructure, and the impact of the course based on our analysis of the student surveys. The survey questions consisted of rating scale and open-response questions to measure knowledge, competency, lab skills, and students’ job readiness. Survey results are analyzed quantitatively using statistical indicators such as mean, median, and frequency distribution, and qualitatively using thematic analysis. The course equips students with fundamental concepts of semiconductor fabrication processes, materials science, practical IC design, and device fabrication principles. In addition, students learn industry standards, safety protocols, and basic cleanroom practices. Our approach in implementing this course can serve as a role model for many other universities to create similar infrastructure to accelerate the training of undergraduates in semiconductor manufacturing, thus creating ‘Fab-skilled’ engineers to better support the immediate needs of the U.S. semiconductor chip industry.