Super smooth microchips
Bringing Chemistry to Life
English - November 25, 2020 16:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsChemistry Science Life Sciences chemicals electronic chemicals chemical synthesis polymer chemistry analytical chemistry atmospheric bctl biochemistry lauren zarzar carbohydrates Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
If you thought chemistry is basically just boiling stinky mixtures in a flask, this is the episode for you. There is no better demonstration for how chemistry is foundational to practically all sciences and technologies. What Dr. Tina Li does at CMC Materials is finding new ways to ensure semiconductor layers in electronic components manufacturing are as smooth as possible, to allow the deposition of as many layers as possible on a single wafer. This is the key to enable increased complexity and computational power for all electronic devices.
Dr. Li explains how this “sanding” at the nanoscale level works. Selective chemical reactions work in synergy with abrasion to achieve unbelievable levels of smoothness, measured in nanometers. We discuss the chemistry that helps enable our smartphones and computers, but also about a journey of professional and personal growth and what it means to do chemical research in an industrial environment.
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About Your Host
Paolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy. He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo’s career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides.
He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you’ll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he’ll call himself a “maker” at heart.