Below is what I wrote for my Master of Engineering project description:
Description of Project:- Design and verification of integrated optical receiver circuit with integrated photodetector on commercial BiCMOS SiGe process. Target performance for the optical receiver is a 100k ohm transimpedance gain and a bandwidth of 2.5 Gbps using 1.8V power supply.
- Investigate circuit techniques to improve performance of integrated optical receiver/photodetector pair in silicon-germanium material system.
- Analysis and optimization of integrated photodetector design.
ECE design skills required:- Analog integrated circuit analysis and design theory
- CAD tools for integrated circuit design and simulation
- Optical semiconductor device physics
- Printed circuit board design
- Soldering and wiring of discrete electronic components
- Lab equipment operation:
- multimeter, voltage/current sourcemeter, pseudo-random bit sequence signal generator, bit-pattern error rate detector, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, oscilloscope, laser source, optical receiver, probe station, wire bonder, scanning electron microscope, chip dicer, optical/infrared microscope, electric drill, sheet metal shear.
It makes me think that it is actually pretty involved and I gotta know a lot of theory and know how to operate many machines to get it done. Normally I just think about what to do next and try to finish the homework that is due tomorrow. This week I finally have less things to worry about so I can take care of some administrative stuff.
I am also in the process of getting a user account for Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility (CNF). That will allow me to use the wire bonder and possibly the SEM to facilitate my work. I need my advisor's approval first and then there is a day-long training to go through before I can use anything in CNF.
On to something less technical: This weekend is Fall Break and I won't have classes until next Wednesday. I am planning to go to the Adirondacks for fun. In the middle of the vast mountain and forest there is a few lakes and camping grounds. There we can rent boats and go hiking and maybe fishing. It sounds like fun, if weather permits. In any case I think we will have a good weekend.
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