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Revolutionizing Technology
Sandia is a world leader in the technology required for development,
fabrication, and production of microelectronic, photonic, micromachine and
microsensor devices and products.
Sandia also has the ability to integrate these devices into complete
microsystems. Microsystems that sense, think, act, communicate and self-power
will make our nation more secure, revolutionize our industries, and will make
the revolution in biology a reality.
Compound Semiconductor Research Laboratory
Distinguishing Strengths
Include materials growth and development, device and product design,
fabrication technologies for silicon and compound semiconductor devices,
advanced packaging technologies, reliability, failure analysis and product
delivery for extreme environments.
Sandia's two major facilities, the Microelectronics Development Lab and the
Compound Semiconductor Research Lab, provide the ability to conduct research
and to turn that research into real products for critical applications.
MESA Program
DOE and Sandia have begun a significant expansion of these capabilities with
the MESA program to
provide the ability to seamlessly integrate advanced simulation with agile
manufacturing to provide a faster, better, cheaper process for providing novel
microsystems to support the enduring nuclear weapons stockpile and other
critical needs of the nation. The MESA Institute provides an opportunity for
university students to develop first-hand experience with Sandia's advanced
technologies.
MESA project
Sandia's microsystems pioneering work began in the 1960s with the invention
of the laminar flow clean room. Virtually every microdevice fab in the world
uses the clean room.
The MDL has over 30,000 square feet of clean room space. |
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Radiation-hardened Integrated Circuit Electronics
Galileo required radiation-hardened integrated circuit electronics
to survive Jupiter's radiation belts.
In the 1970s Sandia established its leadership in radiation-hardened
integrated circuit electronics. The ability of the Galileo spacecraft to
survive Jupiter's radiation belts was made possible by the integrated circuits
supplied by Sandia.
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers
In the 1980s Sandia established a capability in optoelectronics that led, in
the 1990s, to advances in VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers) and
other devices. VCSELs are revolutionizing the worldwide optical communications
network.
Also, in the 1980s Sandia began pioneering work in Strained Layer
Superlatices, providing the ability to make customized semiconductor
materials.
Base for Critical Microelectronics Processing Equipment
In the 1990s Sandia began a cooperative program with US industry to
improve the manufacturing equipment and processes used to make microdevices.
This cooperative national effort helped ensure a US supplier base for critical
microelectronics processing equipment.
It also led to the establishment of a virtual national laboratory to develop
a new paradigm in the ability to define ultra-small devices, Extreme
Ultra-Violet lithography.
Furthermore, in the 1990s Sandia developed SUMMIT™, a groundbreaking
capability in surface micromachining.
Established and start-up companies are using SUMMIT™ to bring unique
new devices to the marketplace. Lastly, the 1990s saw the development of a
broad range of capabilities to make novel microsensors.
The dawn of the new millennium saw no let up in Sandia's leadership in
realizing the full promise of microsystems. The chem-lab-on-a-chip is but one
example of Sandia's growing capability to develop an integrated
microsystem. |
