Figure 1. Interdepartmental Liaison between Electrical Engineering & other Departments
BHATTACHARYA, Pradeep1, DABIPI, Ibibia2 & MAJLESEIN, Hamid3
#124 J. B. Moore Hall, Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA-70813, U.S.A
1 bhattach@engr.subr.edu
2 dabipi@engr.subr.edu
3 hamid@engr.subr.edu
Abstract: Frontier area technological developments in Photonics and Fiber Optics is some of the most motivating and important topics of research. Electrical Engineering education now needs newer initiatives to enhance learning using these principles and elective subjects demonstrating practical developments. Such commitments by the undergraduate curriculum and education will aid students in successful career planning. Our job is to help them accomplish their objectives and goals. Some of the prominent characteristics required for private-sector and federal attention are hi-tech operation, dependability, and compatibility of research and analysis of various industrial problems. Such directions should have a capability of involving defense and environmental applications. Many industries know that the impact of industrial technology on education has introduced a major change in engineering curriculum, which is taking place with industry-academic cooperation. We plan to modify our Fiber optical technological electives with more of new from future photonics and applications of integrated night vision in Helmet - mounted displays. It will cover developments of reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, providing ability to add and drop wavelengths using existing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). Other primary developments will involve aircrew helmet and fire and defense applications. However, the focus still remains on improving electrical engineering curriculum and improves undergraduate education. Since industries tend to finance research at schools that will provide a near term payoff and a long-term productivity, it is becoming a rule of thumb to have state of the art facilities. Federal funding can help a lot in this matter, if scientists and engineers are to be productive. In an HBCU (historically black college and university) like ours we are renovating research laboratories about 30 yr. old and adding many new electrical systems that have to be laid out. We are developing a microwave and fiber components laboratory. We are also designing computer aided, ergonomically structured; laboratory to function as microelectronics processing laboratory and will discuss disadvantages and advantages. The department intends to allow full creativity in the design to address specific thrust areas of science and technology education using innovative approaches. Industries such as Hewlett Packard and Motorola have agreed to help our research and senior design projects by guiding them to the ends that are profitable as business ventures. Five different specialization fields are trying to improve their program. First is Communications, second is Processing and Characterization in the area of Solid-state Electronics, third is Microwave and Fiber Optics, fourth is Power System and Machines and the last but not the least is Control Systems
Keywords: University-Industry Engineering Education, photonics, new laboratory, electives
For the last five year, learning with technological advances is the new paradigm of technology thrust-based education. What students do to advance their careers is nobody's business. But educating students for an entry-level position that meets the demands of the industry depends on the educators and the engineering curriculum. Universities network with industries to get what is new and innovative for them to learn and teach. Newest courseware in photonics use algorithms, devices and systems for optical information processing. Without much loss of generality, an average student learns by search, read and apply rule. In context of modern and future technological developments, photorefractive fibers, optical devices, materials and systems and interfaces to computers are the applications industries are headed towards. Demand of larger bandwidth is growing at a phenomenal rate as a result of data volumes expanding as much as 36% annually [1]. This necessitates the installation of more fiber and coupling components, which is expensive for new entrant corporations leasing fibers from third parties. The technology therefore needs students/interns having experiences of how passive components handle many fiber-optic tasks [2]. These experiments are easy to perform in the laboratory with fused fiber couplers or subsurface planar waveguides. Similarly prism coupler offers unique advantages compared to traditional thin film techniques like ellipsometry. Another approach is to incorporate wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology, which delivers more capacity quickly and by comparison with the other choices, more economically. Thus, the use of optical fibers developed for telecommunications together with the science relating it to wavelength multiplexing, switching and amplification - which is now known as 'photonics'- holds the key to photonics future. Another area we wish to integrate in such a laboratory is studies of night vision in helmet mounted displays.
One expects that in meeting the challenge of developing new request for technological support, university and industry will work together to support laboratories with the existing federal funding. We are in the process of developing a new laboratory elective for microwave and photonics.
While industry continues to spend more on R&D, its involvement with development of engineering laboratories is not steadily increasing. Therefore no seed money could be given to researchers and new experimenters to develop new innovations from the existing funds and infrastructure. If industries will give small ad hoc grants to the colleges of engineering, especially the departments of interest, a monetary base would be able to initiate such research. In our case, industries like Bell Core, Lucent Technologies, Hewlett Packard, Raytheon and Motorola have assured us of partnership support to pool and attract funding for the Electrical Engineering Department. Motorola has participated with us in producing a mentorship program in which they mentor chosen students with the help of professors in the Electrical Engineering Department every year and fund their work to completion at the end of two semesters. These mentees are trained as summer interns in respective groups of the sponsor and absorbed directly as they graduate from the University, if deemed fit or economically viable. They have also installed an award to attract students for an essay contest for futuristic products and technologies, every semester. This helps to kindle a fire of inquisitiveness in them and find the person suitable for their job without interviewing them.
New trends in photonics are delved in our newly designed elective course "Microwave and Photonics" and their associated laboratory. In the communication world, the maximum transmission speed has been pushed upwards many times in recent years. Since the early 1990s, Plesiochronus Digital Hierarchy (PDH) networks are mostly replaced by Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) type and its US equivalent, the Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET). The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) quantifies basic transmission rates with SDH, and the highest today is about 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) per fiber. Some national and even metropolitan networks are keen in transmitting up to 40 wavelengths, each capable of carrying 2.5 Gbps, down a single fiber. This aspect is worth testing and characterizing in laboratory experiments. Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is not a new concept but is only now becoming feasible to implement commercially. WDM technology which also includes the Dense WDM (DWDM) splits the single laser generated light wave carried by an optical fiber into several wavelengths, each amounting to an individual 'color' of the band, and each carrying a high capacity information channel - voice, data and video in digital form. This transmission is done by a combination of filtering and multiplexing the numerous signals. Until recently, commercially available WDM systems, such as those from Marconi Communications (UK), have been favored [1] for point-to-point installations. One knows that the optical amplifiers can extend the range and the signals can be regenerated, they have remained as systems carrying light waves from A to B and pioneered as operational systems in US for World-Com and Sprint. Marconi Communications [2] was the first to develop the ability to add and drop at the optical layer, so enabling the WDM systems to be introduced in any communication network nearer the access point-in other words-closer geographically to the end users with all the advantages of optical, rather than electromagnetic transmission. All the optical routing and testing of the service flexibility of transmission at our laboratory will be made by using Marconi Communications' new PMA-8 (or their latest model of Photonic multiplexer access system). This is world's first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, available commercially from early 1999. It enables services delivered at the optical level over a fully managed and resilient fiber ring. Modified rings with a PMA at each site linking, for example numerous big industries or metropolitan locations such as financial district can be designed on SDH principles with added advantage of WDM providing access from each node.
Another new thrust area is of night vision optical devices used in a helmet-mounted display. We will study integrated night vision in helmet mounted displays as it places additional constraints on the helmet than safeguarding the pilot's or the users head. This kind of situation is faced in armed forces and marines too when active in operations. Night vision goggles (NVG) and use red and infrared (IR) light from the stars, moon and the night sky intensified and amplified sufficiently to be presented to the eye as a visible image. We will study the use of such image intensifier tubes to produce bright monochromatic (closer to green) electro-optical image. The human visual response operates in daytime illumination conditions, whence the region of greatest sensitivity peaks near 550nm wavelength. However, at night, far fewer light photons are visible and only large, high contrast objects are normally visible. Fine-detail and low contrast objects are not resolvable by the human eye; its rod and cone like photoreceptors must receive large numbers of visible light photons to register an image. If one looks at the night sky spectrum one observes that the spectral intensity in the range of 800-900nm is five to seven times more than the visible region around 500nm. On the other-hand reflectivity of all target objects rise in the near - IR, and surprisingly the reflectivity of green vegetation is four times higher in 800-900nm region than at 500nm. Image intensifiers provide a tool for taking advantage of low light environment with low contrast by effectively amplifying the available near IR light and presenting the user with an image that is insufficiently bright to be clearly visible. This is without being adapted to dark conditions of visibility. Our laboratory can easily perform image intensifier tube calibrations for their spectral response curves. Another important feature of concern is that energizing power for the goggles is provided by dc batteries located within the front bracket or mounted remotely, say in the rear of the helmet. More research is required to make them rechargeable mechanically or long-lasting when quickly charged by some means. We will evaluate all available types integrated night vision helmet-mounted display systems (HMDs).
The past combat experiences have shown the need to provide the aircrew with information on aircraft altitude and status. Target weapon aiming applications require appropriate symbols and the position coordinates of the target to position or steer the missile seeker, gun or sensor. Commercial pilots also need navigation and aircraft status information a thermal imager can be useful for some applications. Apart from making things cost effective pilot safety and comfort plays a large role. In many advanced helmets, increased head supported mass and poor center of gravity results in pilot fatigue. This is compounded by safety aspects during risk of ejection from fast jets or in rotary - wing applications. Satisfactory twenty four hour helmets are yet to be designed for long distant or space missions, where these helmets can be adapted within a gaslight bubble, which is another aspect of research.
The Electrical Engineering Department has gradually established an optical lithography print shop. Using masks bought from out of state vendors, printing can be achieved at the Electrical Engineering Dept using our HTG-3000ATV exposure system. Our students can also perform optical pattern generation and patterning can also be done at the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, (CAMD) at Baton Rouge. AutoCAD was used to get the mask designs. X-ray mask fabrication and deep level X-ray processing to fabricate high aspect ratio sensors will be carried out at CAMD. Since CAMD has a class 100 cleanroom any such study can be fruitfully planned and supported. Students like such hands on experiences. In addition, it provides help in getting summer internships and co-op positions. Manufacturing success needs excellent product technology and excellent process technology. Product technologies determine on what we supply as a raw material (students). Setting up good and working research laboratories enhance their effectiveness.
The big question is how and why does one select a federal source? Researchers at University Departments usually do not have sufficient research equipment and facilities at their disposal and need greater amounts of money than national laboratories. Therefore, they join industrial consortiums or larger laboratories for customized help and technical support. Those who join the latter need more federal funding to complete their time lines and spur new applications. Federal funding delivers greater and stronger infrastructure and longer lifetime, and this makes the industrial research progress from the laboratory to the market place rapidly. Novel hybrid manufacturing processes like MESFET fabrication without photoresist [3] can be investigated. Working together with industry and federal assistance on development of such devices can change the world of semiconductor manufacturing. This type of collaboration optimizes device structures and improves the growth of semiconductor materials and their process integration. To get out of the crunch of limited funding, most of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCU's) have taken the median approach of using some good old equipment donated by the industries and some new prototype equipment bought by title III funding. The focus still remains on improving electrical engineering curriculum and improves undergraduate education. Since industries tend to finance research at schools that will provide a near term payoff and a long-term productivity, it is becoming a rule of thumb to have state of the art facilities. Federal funding can help a lot in this matter, if scientists and engineers are to be productive. In an HBCU like ours we are renovating research laboratories that are 20 to 30 yr. old and adding many new electrical systems that have to be laid out. We are planning to form an ergonomically designed computer aided laboratory to function as microelectronics processing laboratory. Modernization is the underlying theme in today's technological market and we recommend for 8"-12'' fabrication facilities to be slowly built in federally or industrially financed laboratories. We see industries are using large wafer sizes but no special attention is being paid to fund such university efforts. For our application area right now we are demanding X-ray lithography and high aspect ratio processing. We have sought support funds from BOR (Louisiana Board of Regents) and the Department of Energy (DOE). We have also written proposals to NSF, in collaboration with LSU, for device design and new materials laboratory but have not heard of acceptance of our planned applications. The pitfall of such an effort is that very soon we will lose labs, which can handle big challenges. The reason for requesting DOE assistance was that it had primarily funded CAMD with a $20 million initiation grant and might also help people employed near to it financially to use it for more involved productive technology
In the 21st century multitasking and multidisciplinary teamwork is the way to go. Fashionable research soon becomes offbeat. It is important to reposition components of ones project to various industries and funding agencies by advancing exceptional skills in key areas where training can be imparted to junior faculties and students. The biggest challenge one faces today is not the competition but the need to stay on track. Thus, strategic planning and technological innovation should go hand in hand. The present trend of political effort to balance the federal budget could force major reductions in federal research. However, new technological innovations will promote enthusiasm in industry and extend frontiers in teaching and learning. It will help hands on engineering experiences and dissuade good students to get degrees from virtual universities. What is contained in the research funding is really the main question? Currently the unbiased university research in engineering consists of both process and a product. Most of the industries have a wrong notion that application oriented research is going to come out from universities. To date universities do less applied research and even less development [4]; industry has traditionally dominated those areas because the university laboratories now get much more component of funding for student training than moneys for including new generation capital equipment. However, as we know that, the times are changing and this distribution will be changing. The mix-up is in the short range inference people derive to the question, "What have the university produced for the research dollars they have received?" The only answer obtained is: Competent graduates at all degree levels, who only need to have a strong basic-foundation. Some parts of this research can be reintroduced as a refresher course.
In such settings, one can learn important concepts in innovations that will enable business managers and project engineers to take time out of the innovation cycle and improve overall efficiency and competitiveness. Special techniques examined can span: brain storming, storyboarding, market research application, focus group feed-back, quality function deployment and shareable software usage.
Research practice is basically used for physical analogies and demonstrations to illustrate the magnitude of experimentally sensed or calculated quantities. It is like asking students to pick up 100ml bottle of mercury and a 100ml bottle of water before explaining them density. It is very important to give experimental observations before presenting the general principle and lead them to inferring things inductively, if not quantitatively. It has been found that old engineering laboratories are not stimulating and interesting for the students. Although cooperative learning environments are no longer buzzwords research brings in a group learning concept very easily. If it is involved in courseware as a special subject the coursework becomes terrific. Our department selected X-ray irradiation of wafer scale devices as a project to evaluate the ionization damage and electrically active traps created in gate oxides. We work on electrical characterization of device parameters and evaluating new annealing methods in our laboratory. Since the recent industry thrust is < 0.25 µm feature size, a lot can be investigated and used to support training of students in an advanced processing and characterization laboratory. This is the reason for expanding to create the present laboratory into a state of the art > 8" - advanced semiconductor-manufacturing laboratory [5]. Another selected project is fabrication of corrosion sensors. It is in collaboration with the department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and utilizes NASA funds.
Although after two years of budget battles in the United States Congress, 1998 R&D plan got $75.5 billion, an increase of 2.2% in comparison to that in 1997, there are mixed feelings about funding for research, equipment and graduate students [6]. Except for a few prominent industries, not all industries have come out to help, because of the economic landslide in Asia and similar reasons. Although the market conditions are improving, all of these conditions raise very important questions on improving research infrastructure. It was found from last year's ASEE prioritizing survey of issues that funding was the second in the order of priority. It covered areas of research, such as, fellowships, graduate assistantship and equipment. Leading companies say R & D must change with times [7], as they need research on the technologies that the world still needs. This is the precise reason why Engineering Laboratories have to be competitive. These industries have very strong words for universities: It needs to wake up and smell coffee and they do not know how to partner - Universities can't even partner within their own departments. We have come to understand and solve these problems at Southern University, as there is a need for some principle of unity, since without it the curriculum flies into pieces. Departments of Engineering are beginning to search answers to the questions, such as, "What is that all engineering graduates should know and be able to do to be successful in a continuously changing world?"
Electrical engineering is considered by students as highly mathematical, demanding, unrewarding, incomprehensible and old fashioned. We have to propose cooperative education project [8] where things are real and perceivable. We have to find more creative, exploratory design synthesis exercises, hands on hardware and laboratory experiences.
Opportunities to participate in team work with people at different levels of experience and diverse backgrounds. Participation in complex material projects, interaction with faculty and students at other institutions and writing combined proposals. Research will give us flexibility in structuring new electives and minors. Explicit consideration for creative use of time with less drudgery and routine lectures should be there. Provide motivating experiences and sensitivity to variation in teaching styles with rapid transfer of new technologies in to the curriculum. We know that the US industries and federal funding resources already have these issues [9] and applications, but they forget that to stay competitive globally, funding for engineering laboratories is absolutely necessary [10]. Industries should know that abandoning internal (University-corporate) basic and applied research in favor of outsourcing arrangements is a dangerous strategy in the long run (Economic Crisis in Asia). To make the most of funding for university based research, industries as well as the federal government should also fund mid-range applied research. This would enable to educate engineers of the future with the following virtues: (i) Broad interests, (ii) Communication and team skills, (iii) Creativity and innovation skills, (iv) Ideal work habits, (v) Strong ethics, (vi) experiences in industrial basic research, (vii) Desire for continuous learning (viii) Leadership ability and (ix) Action oriented personality. This can be achieved by providing ideal research atmosphere and encourage programs between basic and applied research. A preliminary step has been taken which was initiated with title III funding. Some industries and government agencies have also initiated (AMP) mentoring funds for minority participation. But on the overall there is no strong incentive that industrial basic research support will improve in collaboration with industry except a small number of very large corporations like Motorola and Intel. A balance of applied basic research, innovative quick-to-market development and good business decisions are essential ingredients for becoming an industrial technology leader today.
Figure 1. Interdepartmental Liaison between Electrical Engineering & other Departments
State of the art Laboratories will enhance not only the student but also the entire Electrical Engineering Department at Southern University. It will provide an ideal research atmosphere to all other departments and proliferate more double degree courses (see Fig. 1)