Gaining a global microelectronics perspective

Microelectronics are critical to almost every facet of our lives. However, the underlying technologies and what it’s like to work in the microelectronics, or semiconductor, industry are still a mystery to many people, including some engineering students.

As Arizona seeks to develop infrastructure and talent pipelines to strengthen the domestic microelectronics industry, this understanding is vital to its growth. The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University is helping bridge the gap in many ways, including a new faculty-led study abroad experience to help students connect with the field on a deeper level.

Over the summer, 14 Fulton Schools students experienced firsthand the technology, people and culture of the thriving microelectronics industry in Taiwan. The students saw how the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, leverages its place in the microelectronics industry, which includes one of the world's largest and most advanced semiconductor companies, TSMC. The company is expanding its U.S. footprint with fabrication facilities under construction in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Led by David Allee, a Fulton Schools professor of electrical engineering, with course contributions by Robert Monahan, assistant director of academic services in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Fulton Schools, the experience explored the history and technology of the microelectronics industry as a way to prepare for its future in Arizona and beyond.

Allee, who has served as a technical consultant to prominent companies in the semiconductor sector, says comprehensive technical knowledge and a global perspective are key skills for today’s engineers.

“The program was designed to achieve an understanding of the history, the technology and a different culture other than ours,” says Allee, who is also the associate director of the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering. “I want to broaden students’ perspectives beyond the narrow confines of specialized engineering knowledge. Engineering is more fun that way.”

The experience attracted students from multiple engineering disciplines, including those earning their degrees from around the world via ASU Online. Participants applied their individual interests to the program and gained the motivation to pursue more microelectronics opportunities through courses, academic research, internships and more.

“After this experience, I gained real-life, current, practical knowledge of how the industry developed, where it is now and where it could potentially go,” says Tasia Grzecka, an electrical engineering senior who recently returned to school through ASU Online in the process of changing careers.

“I am hoping to take what I learned from the experience to assist with research at ASU,” Grzecka says. “I also learned more about the TSMC fabs being built right here in Arizona and may explore opportunities there.”

The technical part of the experience was designed to be accessible to all engineering students who have taken basic circuits, physics and chemistry courses. This foundation prepared them to carry out the steps of fabricating integrated circuits, which are key parts of microelectronics.

Students also learned about the history of integrated circuit technology development, starting with the 1947 invention of the transistor, which controls electrical signals in a semiconductor device.

In addition to key technical advances, students explored the economics and politics that drove the industry to its present-day state. After examining the initial rise of the chip industry in Silicon Valley in California, students learned about the dominance of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, and the current impacts of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act in the United States.

Studying and living in Taipei gave students a sense of how Taiwan’s culture, history and geopolitics play a role in the country’s microelectronics industry.

Allee says experiencing the region’s Confucian and collectivist culture and how it contributes to TSMC’s business practices is important in understanding how the strengths and limitations of any culture can affect the success of the microelectronics industry.

The participants also visited TSMC’s headquarters in Taipei and learned about the region’s business culture from guest speakers.

The timing of the experience also happened to coincide with COMPUTEX Taipei, an international computer and technology exposition that some of the students decided to attend.

Bryan Diebag, a U.S. Navy veteran earning his electrical engineering degree online while living in Japan, says the experience was perfectly timed, enabling him to see how the labor-intensive process of packaging is used in making real products.

“It was truly a direct classroom-to-industry, same-day experience only possible because we were learning in the heart of the semiconductor industry,” Diebag says.

Allee says he hopes to formally integrate COMPUTEX Taipei into the Taiwan microelectronics study abroad trips in future years.

“They get to see all the participants — all the leaders and captains of industry — and the discussions of the technical breakthroughs in real life beyond a classroom,” Allee says.

The class’s final project involved pairs of students exploring the challenges and opportunities of building up the microelectronics industry in another country or region. The comprehensive project tied together all the major components of the course.

Diebag and his project partner, electrical engineering senior Jared Barrett, created a strategy for the United States. They identified financial, resource, market, regulatory, operational and security advantages and disadvantages in the country that would contribute to rebuilding the domestic semiconductor industry.

Their findings included ways to build on the country’s design, research and development strengths; strategies for domestic workforce development; methods to address the infrastructure and business needs, particularly in Arizona; and international trade and collaboration needs.

“I now feel like I could have an educated discussion about the industry’s history, design, operation and manufacturing processes,” Diebag says. “This knowledge and exposure will be invaluable in interviews for jobs or internships."

The study abroad program in Taiwan will continue for at least another two years, enabling more students to gain a global perspective of the industry and apply their learning to domestic microelectronics opportunities and potential international careers.

Diebag says at the start of the course he had heard of the CHIPS Act and some of the most prominent companies in the industry, but he knew very little about how it all worked. The 15-day experience in Taiwan changed all of that.

“The semiconductor industry was on the fringes of my occupational radar initially because of how little I knew about the core technology involved,” Diebag says. “Now I am actively targeting internships and future job prospects.”

More Fulton Schools students can also learn about the history and future of the semiconductor industry closer to home in a new course that will be offered in spring 2025 on the ASU Tempe campus.

FSE 494: History and Technology of Microelectronics will expand on the lessons and discussions of the industry’s international history and future growth in the U.S., including the potential effects of CHIPS Act investments. Monahan, who developed the Taiwan experience curriculum, will teach the course.

As the industry continues to evolve in Arizona and the U.S., Monahan says his course will help students better understand what is happening and how it will affect their studies.

“My goal is for students to know that working in the microelectronics industry is not just an in-demand career path with good pay but is critical for humans to thrive in the modern world,” Monahan says. “If they know this, I think they’ll be more likely to pursue it with confidence and excitement.”