High Voltage, Pulsed Power Electronics and Charged Particle Optics Expert

Expertise

Summary

Providing 40 years-experience in the arena of charged particle optics, high voltage, pulsed power electronics, thermal analysis, and UHV systems.  Consultancy work helping customers solve technical problems, create effective new designs, and manage technical projects.  Track record of producing creative and novel problem-solving opportunities and addressing a myriad of problems.  Challenges are enjoyed by taking a strategic approach to data driven discovery.  Execute technology assessments, creating risk mitigation strategies for newly developing ideas and products.  Ability to create strong collaboration within projects teams.

• High Voltage Design and Analysis and Troubleshooting.
• Computer simulation for Electromagnetic Field analysis.
• Electron and Ion Optics---Optical design and analysis with electro static lens.
• Design Reviews and Risk Analysis.
• Technology Assessment for New Product Design.
• Materials Selection for Ultra High Vacuum, High Voltage, Mechanical, Thermal Properties.
• Contamination Analysis.
• Strong laboratory skills: Fascile and masterful working with high voltage equipment, pulsed power systems, magnetic field generating equipment, UHV systems, electromagnetic measurements, noise analysis, etc.
• Computational electromagnetics for high voltage analysis, charge particle beam trajectories, analysis of secondary electron trajectories etc.
• Computer codes: Lorentz (Integrated Engineering Software(IES))), Munro (Munro Electron Beam Software ((MEBS))), General Particle Tracer (Pulsar Physics ((GPT))), Alternative Transient Phenomena (ATP). Etc.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Staff Scientist, 1990 - Present

• Deployed to the Advanced Technology Department, Analytical Instrumentation Group (AIG), Materials and the Structural Analysis Division to work closely with key FEI scientists for the development of Schottky electron emitters and Ga LMIS liquid metal ion sources and associated charged particle optical systems.
• Subject matter expert in multiple domains: Computer simulation of charged particle beams, detailed design of charged particle beam forming systems, detailed testing of charged particle beams and beam detectors, high voltage analysis and design, plasma beam forming systems, materials characteristics relevant to UHV and charged particle beams, UHV surface analysis and contaminations.
• Sharing knowledge beyond primary technical domain: Onboarding new adjacent or disruptive technologies.
• Ownership of multiple aspects of large complex projects driving them to completion.
• Develop technical roadmaps, defines standards and procedures, and sets requirements for future technologies and products.
• Support and encourage new discovery and implementation of novel analytical data-driven approaches and methodologies.
• Drive strategic thinking to advance intellectual property (IP) landscape and push product advancement via intelligent risk taking.

Major Accomplishments:

• First demonstration of a 100keV Schottky electron source for electron beam lithography (per below listed publication)
• Designed electron beam delivery system root platform for electron and ion columns still used today.
• Major role in the development of FEI’s first focused ion beam (FIB) system with integrated SIMS.
• Majority design of a wide variety of charged particle beam forming systems used in electron and ion microscopy tool made originally by FEI and continuing under this company.
• Design of charged particle beam detectors, low noise signal analysis and image acquisition.
• Analysis and understanding of a myriad of contamination problems.
• Analysis and understanding of a myriad of high voltage discharge problems.
• Developed skillful detailed methods and toolkit for high voltage design via computer simulations.
• Conducted numerous studies on charged particle focusing systems, lens designs and modifications.
• Developed and in current development of multiple novel concepts in charged particle beam forming systems both within use today throughout the current fleet of microscopy products and for the future.
• Serve as coordinator and initial developer of Advanced Technology Department’s high- performance computing (HPC) facility consisting of two high compute clusters plus supporting infrastructure.
• During many years, have managed both the columns and physics laboratories and perhaps known as the person with the most detailed knowledge of the majority of laboratory instrumentation. Largely due to being the purchaser of a majority of the existing instrumentation.

Hughes Aircraft Company, Torrance, CA, Member of Technical Staff, 1983 - 1990

• Design of new space charge limited electron guns via computer simulation and laboratory experimentation.
• Direct electron optics laboratory.
• Oversee and direct testing of electron guns for current density distribution and performance criteria.
• Provide technical assistance with wide variety of problems involving microwave amplifiers, pulsed power systems, high voltage discharge and surface analysis of cathode contaminations.

Major Accomplishments: 

• Developed computer automated stepper motor control system for probing the 3D current density distribution function of space charge limited electron guns with automated data analysis to compare experimental performance with computer simulations.
• Using a variety of computer simulation tools, developed a new electron gun with >99% beam transmission via electrode synthesis from self written computer code.
• Spearheaded and solely executed a major study of surface contamination versus cleaning methods via a novel self designed and self made computer automated UHV electron stimulated desorption apparatus.
• Selected to spend a year under mentorship studying space charge limited electron optics. Worked with Mentoron a wide variety of his projects, at several universities etc.
• Most of the work delved more deeply into the computation of space charge limited beam formation.
• Spearheaded and solely executed several studies on high voltage discharge, ceramics coating technologies, and the testing of high voltage design methodologies.

Honors & Publications

Credentials 

• Physics graduate coursework: Over two years work in a laser lab: Experimenting with metal vapor ion lasers, gas discharges, cathode physics, and atomic spectroscopy.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-IEEE

Publications and Patents 

• Author-Co-Author of peer reviewed journals, handbooks and conferences
• Inventor of numerous U.S. patents 

Education

• B.S. Engineering Physics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO