Chipping in at the Albany Nanotech Complex

Working at Tokyo Electron's (TEL) North American R&D headquarters gave me a glimpse into the complex and exciting world of the semiconductor industry. The company is located in the Albany Nanotech Complex, the most advanced public R&D site for semiconductor technology, which is made up of some of the largest players in the industry. In this one-of-a-kind public–private partnership, I was given the chance to collaborate with IBM, GlobalFoundries, Micron, TSMC, and Samsung.

I initially joined TEL as an equipment engineering co-op, where my primary responsibility was coordinating the install of pre-alpha semiconductor manufacturing tools into the facility. In this role, I was given an enormous amount of responsibility to the point where I didn't feel like a co-op — I felt like a full-time employee. Whether communicating with key stakeholders to ensure timely deliverables or updating senior management on tool installation progress, I never felt limited by my co-op status. I was truly given the freedom to explore, innovate, and, most importantly, learn.

Being the first Drexel co-op at TEL gave me the unique opportunity to strengthen not only my project management skills, but also the underlying technical foundation needed to succeed in the cutting-edge field of nanoscale engineering.

Every TEL intern has their own project to present at the end of their internship. I immediately got to work designing, developing, and deploying a fully fledged project management software product to track tool installations at the complex. Additionally, I chose to split my time at TEL by working with the 3-D integration team, which specializes in hybrid wafer bonding and advanced packaging solutions. Through this team, I gained a wealth of knowledge about cutting-edge chip architecture while acquiring hands-on experience in metrology and chip fabrication. I also designed and built a novel laboratory tool to measure the bonding energy of silicon wafers, which was included in my final presentation alongside my work with the equipment engineering team.

Working in a facility credited with some of the most important breakthroughs in nanotechnology gave me an indescribable sense of purpose and reward during my co-op. In fact, the chip technology inside the device you're reading this on was first discovered less than a decade ago at the Albany Nanotech Complex. Being the first Drexel co-op at TEL gave me the unique opportunity to strengthen not only my project management skills but also the underlying technical foundation needed to succeed in the cutting-edge field of nanoscale engineering. It was an amazing experience to be able to "chip in" at one of the respected companies in the semiconductor industry.