Remote Microelectronics Fabrication Laboratory MEFLab

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been a move towards using remote laboratories in engineering education. The majority of these laboratories are static, involving limited user-controlled mechanical movements. The University of South Australia has developed such a laboratory, called NetLab that has been successfully utilized for teaching both on-campus and transnational programs in electrical and electronics engineering. Following this success, we are now developing a remote laboratory for microelectronic fabrication, MEFLab. The first stage of the development is a remote laboratory for visual inspection and testing of electronic circuits directly on the silicon wafer under a microscope which is normally conducted in a cleanroom. The major challenge of this project is the accurate positioning of micro-probes remotely over the internet. This paper presents the details of the setup of this new remote laboratory, with a particular emphasis on the development of the hardware, software and graphical user interface.