Dr. Ross Goroshin

Research Scientist at Google Brain, Montreal

Biography:

Speaker Biography TBA

Dr. Frédéric Nabki

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure

Abstract:

Similarly to lasers or to integrated circuits, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are a disruptive technology that makes possible new applications and that can improve existing systems. MEMS allow for cost and scale reductions that make them interesting in areas touching communications, biomed, aerospace and automotive. Moreover, MEMS are a driver in many sensors that enable the Internet of Things. Accordingly, the MEMS market will see strong growth in the next three years (13% per year - Yole Développement) and involves several emerging applications that include sensors and actuators.

Achieving this potential requires MEMS and microelectronic circuits tightly integrated through manufacturing technologies, and combined with innovative and specialized interconnection techniques. However, this integration is difficult because of incompatibilities between the manufacturing processes, design complexities of circuits connected to the MEMS, and high packaging costs.

This seminar aims to briefly present MEMS by addressing their operating principles, design, fabrication, and some of their applications.

Biography:

Frederic Nabki received the B.Eng. degree (Hons.) in electrical engineering and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, in 2003 and 2010, respectively. In 2008, he joined the Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, where he was an Associate Professor in microelectronics engineering. In 2016, he joined the École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, a constituent of the University of Quebec, as an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering.

His research interests include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and analog, RF, and mixed-signal integrated circuits, specifically focusing on the creation of next generation MEMS processes and devices, the integration of MEMS devices with CMOS systems, the modeling of MEMS devices, and the design of integrated circuits such as analog to digital converters, sensor interfaces, and ultra-wideband wireless transceivers. He has coauthored two book chapters and over ninety publications. 

He holds eight issued patents and ten pending patent applications related to MEMS, ICs, and CMOS/MEMS monolithic integration. Through his research projects, Prof. Nabki introduced the first SiC surface micromachining technology enabling above-IC resonators and transducers, a disruptive ultra-wideband wireless transceiver technology, and unique monolithic laterally movable MEMS with integrated SiN waveguides for optical communication systems. These innovations are currently being commercialized by MEMS Vision inc., stemming from his Ph.D., SPARK Microsystems inc., which he co-founded, and Aeponyx inc., with which he collaborates through R&D efforts.

Prof. Nabki is a member of the Communications and Microelectronic Integration Laboratory (LACIME) at ETS, and is a cofounder of the institutional Research Centre on the Co-design and Fabrication of Microsystems at UQAM (CoFaMic). He also jointly manages the Microtechnology and Microsystems Laboratory (Micro2). He served as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Montreal Section of the IEEE from 2013 to 2017, and was local arrangement chair of several international IEEE conferences held in Montreal. He was a recipient of the Governor General of Canada’s Academic Bronze Medal and the UQAM Faculty of Science Early Career Research Award. He holds or has held financial support from the Microsystems Strategic Alliance of Quebec (ReSMiQ), the Quebec Fund for Research in Nature and Technology (FRQNT), the Ministry of Economy, Science and Innovation (MESI) of Quebec, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).