The Virtual CVD Learning Platform

The virtual CVD learning platform provides a capstone experience in which students synthesize engineering science and statistics principles. They apply design of experiments (DOE) in the context similar to that of industry with a wider design space than is typically seen in the undergraduate lab. The virtual CVD learning platform contains a numerical simulation of a chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) reactor and is based on fundamental principles of mass transfer and chemical reaction, obscured by added "noise". The virtual CVD learning platform is available for interested educators; moreover, it is self-contained so that it can be placed with versatility where it fits in a given program's curriculum. While the platform chosen is specific to the microelectronics industry, it is expected the lessons learned may be applied to any process. The software application contains a 3D graphical user interface, the calculation engine, a database, and an instructor interface with integrated assessment tools. A robust assessment plan using a model of cognition based on a modification of Bloom's taxonomy of learning is described. This assessment was implemented in Winter 2006