Joel Thomas

Current

Research Assistant at Electrochemical Nanofabrication and Nanomaterials Synthesis Laboratory

Past

Statistical Analyst at University of Houston
Software Engineer at Infosys

Education

University of Houston
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology

Connections

128 connections

Industry

Semiconductors

Websites

Joel Thomas’s Summary

I am currently working as a Research Assistant in 'Electrochemical Nanofabrication and Nanomaterials Synthesis Lab' at University of Houston under Dr. Stanko R. Brankovic. Here I am working towards my thesis titled, "Modeling of Copper Surface Morphology Evolution during Electropolishing". This research is aimed to enhance the understanding of planarization of copper interconnects during fabrication using electropolishing which will work alongside of Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP).

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND INSTRUMENTAL PROFICIENCY

•Instrumentation & Techniques: Electrochemical Methods (Electropolishing, Electroplating, Linear Sweep Voltammetry), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) with NPGS and E-Beam Lithography Tool, SEM with FIB (Focused Ion Beam) and EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy), AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), Resist Spin Coater, Wet Etching, Ellipsometer, Alpha Step Profilometer, Sputtering System, Thermal and E-beam evaporation (PVD), Potentiostat/ Galvanostat along with Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE), Semitool ECD Raider, and Altera DE2 Board.

•Application Software/Database: NPGS, DesignCAD LT, Pspice, CALP, COMSOL, SILOS, Quartus, Microcal Origin, Mathcad, MS Office, MS Visio, Adobe Photoshop, DB2, SQL, SAS, and SPSS.

•Programming Languages: Matlab, Verilog, VHDL, C, C++, COBOL, JAVA, HTML, and PHP.

•Assembly Languages: INTEL 8085/8086 Microprocessor, PIC Microcontroller.

•Operating System: UNIX, WINDOWS, MAINFRAME OS/390 and z/OS.

Joel Thomas’s Specialties:

Semiconductor Process, Data Analysis, Modeling and Simulation Programming.

Joel Thomas’s Experience

Research Assistant

Electrochemical Nanofabrication and Nanomaterials Synthesis Laboratory

(Nanotechnology industry)

June 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

–Research aimed to enhance the understanding of planarization of copper interconnects during fabrication using electropolishing which will work alongside of CMP.
–Expertise in Planarization and Electroplating of Copper using novel electrochemical techniques for micro and nanofabrication.
–Modeled Cu Surface Morphology Evolution during Electropolishing and its simulation by image analysis in Matlab.
–Designed and printed sub-micron and nm features using e-beam lithography on Silicon wafers.
–Deposited 10 to 100 nm thin films of Ti, Ta, Au, etc. using PVD (sputtering, thermal and E-beam evaporation).
–Surface morphology analysis using SEM, AFM etc.
–Setup new fab tools: Semitool ECD Raider M.
–Designed custom PMMA recipe and worked with wet etching.
–Worked in Class 10 and Class 100 clean room facility.

Conferences and Publications:

–Symposium Presentation on “Modeling of Copper Surface Morphology Evolution during Electropolishing”, Joel C. Thomas and Stanko R. Brankovic at 38th Semi-annual TcSUH Student Symposium, Houston, TX Dec. 2009.
–Symposium Paper and Presentation on “Modeling of Copper Surface Morphology Evolution during Electropolishing”, Joel C. Thomas and Stanko R. Brankovic at First International Symposium on Nanotechnology, Energy and Space, Houston, TX Oct. 2009.
–Conference Paper and Poster Presentation on “Modeling of Cu Surface Morphology Evolution during Electropolishing”, Joel C. Thomas and Stanko R. Brankovic at Graduate Research Conference, Houston, TX May 2009.
Statistical Analyst

University of Houston

(Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

January 2008 — December 2008 (1 year )

–Performed statistical analysis on research data and surveys conducted at UH using statistical software (SPSS and Excel VB).
–Delivered clear and concise documentation on all data analysis.
–Chi-square tests, reliability tests, factor analysis, regression analysis, etc.
Software Engineer

Infosys

(Public Company; INFY; Information Technology and Services industry)

November 2005 — July 2007 (1 year 9 months)

–Software application development, maintenance and testing at CMMI level 5 for a fortune 500 client.
–Business requirement analysis and data analysis using DB2, SQL and SAS.
–Coordinated and worked on projects with clients from various locations across time zones.

Joel Thomas’s Education

University of Houston

Master of Science , Electrical Engineering , 2007 — 2009

Relevant Course Work:
•Nanoscale Design & Fabrication,
•MEMS & Nanodevices,
•Microlithography,
•Material Science of Thin Films,
•Solar Cells Design & Fabrication,
•VLSI Design,
•Advanced Hardware Design,
•Advanced Digital Design.
•Stochastic Processes.

Research and Academic Projects:
•Master’s Thesis: Modeling of Copper Surface Morphology during Electropolishing.
•Modeling of Electron Beam Lithography system for multi-pass and gray scale imaging using MATLAB.
•Modeling of Optical Lithography system using MATLAB to study the relation between pitch, exposure, and feature size.
•Modeling and simulation of one of the legs of silicon microrobot on COMSOL Multiphysics for MEMS.
•Design and simulation of “4 bit NAND Full Adder” using CALP and PSPICE.
•Design, simulation and demonstration of “Numerical Score Prediction Game System” with DE2 board, Keypad, 7-segment display and triggers using SILOS and QUARTUS.

Activities and Societies:

Member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), UH Nanofabrication Facility, Texas Center for Super Conductivity (TcSUH), Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, Houston Bridges( an association to help International Students).
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology

Bachelor of Engineering , Electrical and Electronics Engineering , 2001 — 2005

Project:
•Development of a model with Micro-controller to demonstrate the application of GPS for “GPS Based Collision Mitigation and Vehicle Guidance”.

Additional Information

Joel Thomas’s Websites:

Joel Thomas’s Interests:

new technology, gadgets, technical blogging, beta testing, driving, outdoors, photography

Joel Thomas’s Groups:

Member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), UH Nanofabrication Facility, Texas Center for Super Conductivity (TcSUH), Phi Beta Delta Honor Society, Houston Bridges( an association to help International Students).