Application for Scholarship Cornell

Asif Islam Khan

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE of Asif Islam Khan (Ph.D. Applicant for Fall 2008 Quarter) My purpose of applying at the PhD program of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell U. stems from the fact that the state-of-the-art researches done here on nanotechnologies, especially on nano-photonics and -electronics are closely aligned with my research interests and some of my research experiences. My interest in quantum mechanics instilled in me a profound intellectual curiosity for the mysteries of Nature at the nanoscale since secondary school. And through the course of my undergraduate training as an electrical engineering at Bangladesh U. of Engineering and Technology, the most reputed and highest ranked engineering university in the country, I got a good research exposure to the art of engineering the Nature at the nanoscale that motivates me to pursue my graduate studies in nano-science and -technology. In my 3rd year, I along with one friend developed a non-equilibrium Green function (NEGF) based Schr¨ odinger-Poisson solver for 1-D nanostructures which gave me my maiden insight into quantum phenomena at the nanoscale. Our self-motivated research on effects of wave function penetration into gate oxide on electron distribution in nanoscale double gate (DG) MOSFETs won us the 1st prize in IEEE R-10 UG Student Paper Contest ’06. As I started my 4th year research on computational nanoelectronics under Prof. Anisul Haque, my first challenge was to find a suitable topic that was technologically important and tractable under my intellectual capability and knowledge base as an undergraduate student and our limited computation resources. Having surveyed Int’l Roadmap for Semiconductors ’05 and literature on device modeling and scaling issues and emerging devices, I found that, although effects of wave function penetration into gate oxide on different parameters (gate capacitance, drain current) have been examined for bulk MOSFETs, such analyses have always been done using 1-D models and hence have neglected 2-D effects, such as DIBL, which become extremely important with device scaling. Hence, we decided pursue a systematic study of how wave function penetration effects on ballistic drain current in nanoscale double gate MOSFETs evolve with the scaling of dimensions (gate length and silicon body thickness) using a 2-D quantum device model. For this research, I mastered some of the most advanced concepts in quantum transport through Datta’s seminal text ‘Quantum Transport: Atom to Transistor’ on my own with hands-on modeling experience through MATLAB coding. I incorporated a NEGF based, unconventional and accurate technique to apply open boundary condition at the gate-oxide interface in the solution of the 2-D Schr¨ odinger equation in the simulation scheme. It is satisfying to mention that submission of our manuscript to ‘J. Appl. Phys.’ is in the offing and we would be the first to demonstrate and explain the relation between device scaling and wave function penetration effects on ballistic drain current when published. I also participated in an interdisciplinary quantum logic research and reported for the first time in literature ion trap realizable ternary quantum version of some reversible logic circuits, including Fredkin gate in the IEEE 37th Int’l Symp. Multiple Valued Logic ’08 (ISMVL2008). As a recognition of our group’s research, I have recently been selected as a reviewer of the multiple-valued quantum logic track for ISMVL 2008 to be held at Texas in May ’08. Through my research involvements, I got an excellent training on the art of scientific research - the art of explaining numerical results not as mathematical or programming artifacts, rather as physical phenomena, the art of scientific writing relying less on equations and using concepts accessible to intended audience, and on exercising analytical ability, adherence and intellectual integrity. And with this exposure, I am confidence to be able to handle the rigor of graduate level research. Through my IEEE activities I got a training on management, leadership and interpersonal skills. I served IEEE BUET Student Branch (SB) as the Secretary during ’04-’05 and as the Chair during ’05-’07. I was the brainchild of two new activities, IEEE BUET SB Paper Contest ’06 and IEEE Xtreme Programming Contest, ’06. Both of these activities upheld our SB in the international arena; out of the 3 papers from our branch 2 (including 1 of mine) won the top 2 prizes in IEEE Page 1 of 2

Asif Islam Khan

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

R-10 Student Paper Contest ’06 and one BUET team, x33d was placed 9th in the programming contest, making our branch the only one in R-10 to secure a place in the top 10. As a recognition of the concerted effort of all the IEEE volunteers under my leadership, the plant tours of our SB was featured by ‘The Institute’, the newspaper of IEEE, in Editor Kathy Kowalenko’s article ‘Organizing tours to technical facilities’ in the Dec. ’05 issue. Having to manage such diverse range of academic and leadership activities, I groomed into myself excellent personal management skills like time management, perseverance and punctuality. In view of such experiences, I feel that I will be able to adapt into cooperative milieu of the graduate research and also fit into leadership roles in research and in my career. Having read some of the papers of ‘Cornell Nanophotonics Group’ and having conceived the scope and tremendous impact of their research, especially that of the recent seminal work on Si based all-optical on-chip switching devices, I can firmly say that my interests are closely aligned with this group’s research. I have developed a strong foundation in electromagnetism through UG courses ‘Electromagnetic Fields and Waves’ and ‘Microwave Engineering’ and graduate course ‘Microwave Theory and Techniques’ and self motivated reading of ‘Feynman lectures of Physics, vol. II’. I find my background on electromagnetism and quantum theory of solids are also strong enough to understand the basic principles of nanophotonic structures. My computational modeling skills that I developed for nanoelectronic device modeling and current research involvement in evolutionary/genetic algorithm for automated design of multivalued quantum logic circuits can also be effective for theoretical predictions and design of novel nanostructured photonic devices. This group’s research on all optical switching, plasmonic structures, photonic structure design and bio-sensing are of my particular interests. Prof. Tiwari’s research on nanoscale electronics and compound and heterostructure electronic devices is also parallel with my interests and my research expertise too. Besides, research of ‘Semiconductor Optoelectronics and Quantum Optics Group’ is also of my interest. Having maintained excellence in academic and research credentials and leadership activities1 in my undergraduate level, I am confident that I would also be able to excel in the graduate research at Cornell University. It was not until I attended the nanomaterial workshop at the Abdus Salam Int’l Center for Theoretical Physics that, I could perceive the diverseness of nanotechnologies and its distinctness from other promising fields like astrophysics, neuroscience in its impact on society. As I am guiding several students on quantum logic research and saw my 2nd year students grasping eagerly and proactively ideas of Moore’s law, nanomachines, top-down and bottom-up in their first electronics course with me, I feel I have an innate ability to convey basic and new concepts and motivate students to explore and research. I believe, being a professor of nano-science in a research university, I can further Feynman’s vision not only by advancing the state of the art nanotechnology, but also by illuminating new avenues of thought for my students. Through my detour research on engineering history and socio-technology that won the 2nd prize in IEEE History Paper Contest ’04 and IEEE Enterprise Award ’06 respectively, I could perceive social implications of technology. Having mingled with the best minds of the South Asia from backgrounds as diverse as from fine arts to engineering at the 1st SAARC University Students Exchange Program at Delhi in Dec. ’07, I could understand how people from other disciplines view the role of technology in shaping society’s future and I could perceive why it is necessary to guide technological developments to fulfill society’s expectations. As the future of nanotechnology has inspired as much caution as optimism, I intend also to utilize my expertise into policy issues to safeguard its advancement towards a direction that is peaceful and addresses some of the most intriguing problems of our society. Graduate study in ECE at Cornell U. with its strength in nano-research and long held reputation for producing veritable leaders in the science and technology arena will give me the perfect opportunity to advance towards my career goal. 1

My resume with a complete http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/aikhan/cv.pdf.

list

of

awards

Page 2 of 2

and

publications

is

avaiable

at