RESEARCH
 
This is not only the page about my research, but also the page about something that I day-dream as well as night-dream. Research is something that runs naturally within me, all the times. The very basic idea of research -innovation- is too exciting to resist!

          When I was applying for graduate studies in the US, I had research as one of my prime objectives in my mind, if not the only one. After I got an offer, a friend in India advised me to concentrate on the courses instead of research because he said that a Master's student doesn't have much room to do research. But I was bent upon to use the Master's opportunity for research. I felt very strongly that equally good and considerable research can be done by a Master's student as compared to a PhD one. After I arrived in the US, some of my seniors here said the same thing as my friend in India. But I was not ready to change my opinion at all. Since at that time I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to go ahead for a PhD or not, I made it a point to give research my full. And I'm glad I did it.

           I firmly believe in the concept of fast and good research.I feel that the pace of research can be greatly enhanced (without sacrificing the quality) by thinking hard and materialising the ideas by means of hard work. I try my best to achieve this. Sometimes, I succeed; sometimes, I don't. Well, that's life...

           Now, let me come to my research area. William Blake has aptly 'described' it,  years before it even germinated, in his following lines:

"To see a world in a grain of sand
 And heaven in a wild flower,
 Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
 And eternity in a hour."
 
          Yes, this is the essence of Microelectronic Materials and Processing! It is an area:
 
where 100 angstroms of thickness is huge,
where you worry about atomic percentages less than 1,
where 5 dust particles are enough to destroy your efforts of days and days,
where you distinguish between one-half and three-fourth monolayer of atoms,
where precision leaves precision far behind,
where dimension runs in a sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-scale of dimension,
where nothing has a minimum, and the maximum is not far from the minimum you expect!
Sometimes, I feel that I am 5microns and 6 angstroms tall!
 
Seeing the way how the semiconductor technologies are progressing, we might soon have to invent smallest length units. The usefuleness and drive behind going tinier and better are so intense that frantic research is a minimum requirement.
In this field, I am working on Silicon Oxynitridation with my advisor Professor Christos Takoudis.

           What motivates me the most in research is the power to think (actually think wildly), apply and then just believe! I am a person who relies very strongly on instincts. And this has been a lot helpful to me. But mind you, not every feeling is an instinct! So, it's not easy to recognize an instinct.

           I might not be going ahead for a PhD, but I think I've at least proved my point through my Master's. And if God permits, I'll hopefully end my education with a PhD.

           - Sanjit Singh Dang
July 05, 1998; 03:56am
Chicago