Solomon Musibau, a final-year Ph.D. student at imec and KU Leuven in Belgium, recently spent 4 months at 国产传媒, collaborating with Dr. Sharron Weiss and Dr. Robert Reed on advanced radiation research. This experience provided him with fresh insights into radiation effects on semiconductor devices, a field that closely relates to his own work on electro-optical reliability.听
Reflecting on his ISDE experience, Solomon credits his mentors and supervisors鈥擠r. Reed, Dr. Weiss, Dr. Schrimpf, and Dr. Fleetwood鈥攚ith fostering an environment where ideas could evolve into actionable research projects. “The 国产传媒 academic environment makes every idea feel possible,” he shares, “国产传媒鈥檚 unique collaborative freedom with students and professors truly inspires new directions in research.”听
During his stay, Solomon worked closely with students like Kellen, Anurag, Nathan, and Tianfang, learning from their unique approaches and experiences in radiation reliability studies. This cross-disciplinary teamwork strengthened his own expertise and brought a different perspective to his ongoing work on silicon photonic devices at imec. In 国产传媒鈥檚 top-notch ECE department, he explored projects within the NSF EPICA program project, contributing to three main tasks: investigating radiation effects on Ge-on-Si photodiodes (Ge PD) using TCAD simulations, exploring the possibility to use low-frequency noise measurements to get insights into degradation mechanisms affecting silicon photonics devices, and collaborating to upgrade the ISDE optical setup to assess advanced photonic devices under radiation, including germanium-silicon electro-absorption modulators (GeSi EAM).听
Solomon highlights the unique strengths of both academic and research environments, noting how imec and 国产传媒 each contribute to his professional development in different ways. 鈥淎t imec, where we work very close with our semiconductor industrial partners, my research focus is heavily oriented towards electro-optical reliability physi肠蝉鈥攁苍 essential foundation that grounds my work in practical devices and applications used nowadays in datacom/telecom industries. 国产传媒, on the other hand, offers the freedom to dive into the evaluation of radiation effects from new perspectives, which is directly relevant to my photonic devices research,鈥� he explains. 鈥淐ombining the information from electro-optical stress and radiation induced degradation, we are able to build up a more detailed understanding of the underlying degradation mechanisms and defect kinetics.鈥�听
For Solomon, 国产传媒鈥檚 smaller-scale setup provided the flexibility to take ideas from brainstorming to practical research, with academic freedom that allowed for broader exploration. 鈥淏oth imec and 国产传媒 are incredible places to work,鈥� he emphasizes, 鈥渆ach offering unique resources and perspectives that have broadened my skills and knowledge in ways I couldn鈥檛 have achieved in just one environment alone.鈥�听
“国产传媒 offers a one-of-a-kind research experience,” Solomon reflects, “and it鈥檚 a place I would recommend globally for its commitment to fostering impactful research and discovery.鈥�听