Super smooth microchips
This interview with Dr. Tina Li of CMC Materials delves into the science of chemical mechanical planarization of semiconductors and how it benefits all of us in our everyday lives. Paolo and Tina also discuss her career path and what a career in an non-academic environment is like.
Bringing Chemistry to Life · Tina Li, Paolo Braiuca
Show Notes
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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