Short courses to support growth within the semiconductor sector

Are you interested in skills to support the semiconductor industry? Could you, or your organisation, benefit from some short courses to help upskill and reskill those working in the sector?

As part of CSconnected Strength in Places Fund (SIPF), Cardiff University is coordinating the development and delivery of a suite of short courses designed to support the CPD needs of CSconnected, the compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales. Courses are a combination of online and in-person bite-sized introductions to key areas of the industry. They have been created in consultation and partnership with companies in the CSconnected cluster to ensure they are relevant and useful.

The first three of these courses are already live and open for bookings - Cleanroom Protocols, Introduction to compound semiconductor photonics, and Introduction to compound semiconductor electronics. Further courses are in development and will be launched over the coming months – and it’s intended that others will follow.

Cleanroom Protocols

Open for bookings – on demand - ideal for new starters as part of induction training.

An online course that takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

This course provides an overview of what it is like to work in a cleanroom environment for nanoscale production. It covers typical working practices as well as general principles for safe working.

Topics covered:

• The international classification standards of cleanroom
• The variety of cleanrooms in which different organisations operate
• What the different classifications mean in terms of typical working practices
• The general principles of working in a cleanroom environment, including:
  • How to gown up correctly
  • How to enter the cleanroom correctly
  • How to clean tools correctly
  • Expected behaviour
  • How to work in a clean way
  • The cleanroom air flow and filtration process
• General health & safety risks of working in a cleanroom environment, including how to work safely with different chemicals
• Dealing with general health and safety incidents, such as chemical spills and gas/fire alarms.

Introduction to Compound Semiconductor Electronics

Open for bookings

This course introduces the technology of compound semiconductor electronics and its applications.

It consists of two parts – online materials which participants can do in their own time (Part 1), and an in-person, practical session which builds on learning from the online materials and provides a valuable opportunity for participants to see semiconductor technology in action (Part 2). Parts 1 and 2 must be booked separately.

Introduction to Compound Semiconductor Photonics

Open for bookings

This e-learning course will provide (or enhance) knowledge of compound semiconductor photonics technology and its applications. This is an introductory level course that could be suitable for people from a wide range of backgrounds.

This is an online course that you can undertake in your own time. The training will take approximately 3.5 hours to complete.

Topics covered:

• silicon photonics
• compound semiconductor photonics
• simple physics behind semiconductor properties
• photonic integrated circuits (photonic chips), including:
  • waveguides
  • grating couplers
  • resonators
  • filters
  • switches and modulators
  • foundries
• demystifying key words/concepts from the sector

Introduction to Wire Bonding

Open for bookings

This course will upskill you in a theoretical and practical knowledge of the wire bonding process as a key microelectronic interconnection technique.

This will help you understand how wire bonding equipment works and will also inform better decision making when implementing the wire bonding process.

Gain theoretical and practical understanding of the wire bonding process as a key microelectronic interconnection technique.

Topics covered:

• Examples of wire bonding and machinery
• Materials used for wire bonding
• Steps in the wire bonding process, including:
  • Known wire material requirements
  • Target sample/product setting
  • Pre-recipe searching
  • Bonding
• Ball and wedge bonding techniques
• Parameters affecting the ‘recipe’, including:
  • Time
  • Ultrasonic Power
  • Force
  • Temperature
  • Wire materials – Gold, Aluminium, Copper
  • Ball, wedge, and ribbon bonding
  • Wire shape – tail, bridge height, etc
• Fundamentals of ultrasonic, thermosonic, and thermocompression bonding
• Current carrying capacity and fusing limits
• Metallurgical interactions
• Trouble-shooting – what can go wrong during processing and in service
• Advanced wire/ribbon bonding processes – laser and laser/ultrasonic
• Equipment manufacturers and the supply chain
• Validation of the process – quality and tests
  • Wire pull
  • Ball shear
  • Wire pull and ball shear failure mode interpretation (ball lift, shear, wire break on 1st, 2nd bond)
  • Loop height
  • Ball diameter

Upcoming courses

About CSconnected Strength in Places Fund (SIPF)

CSconnected is the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster based in and around South Wales (UK). CSconnected SIPF is a 55-month project with a total value of £43 million, supported by £25 million of government funding provided through UK Research and Innovation’s flagship Strength in Places Fund.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the CPD courses on offer/in development, please contact Kate.