An interdisciplinary research unit in the College of Engineering at the
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), the Center for
Compound Semiconductor Microelectronics (CCSM) is investigating the
materials, devices, circuits, and systems required for the information
age. The Center¹s vertically integrated research program is focused on
areas with high potential payoff for the U. S. microelectronics and
optoelectronics industries. CCSM projects impact a broad range of
product areas such as lightwave communications, high-speed data
processing, wireless communications, biomedical engineering and
environmental sensing.
Many CCSM research projects are carried out in direct collaboration with industry. These interactions provide product-oriented problem definition, direct involvement of industry colleagues in planning and executing the research programs, and industry-oriented educational experiences for UIUC students. Founded in 1986 as a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center, the original goals of the CCSM focused on the development of the engineering science and technology base for fabricating optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) and applying them in optical interconnect systems.
The CCSM vision of a new generation of high-speed communications and data processing technology based on optical interconnects has motivated pioneering developments in device concepts, growth techniques, and processing technologies.
The current CCSM research programs are organized into four topical areas: the Optoelectronics and Photonics area and the Semiconductor Materials and Quantum Structures area encompass lightwave communications and parallel optical interconnects programs; the Microelectronics for Wireless Communications area is a direct outgrowth of the CCSM¹s historic strengths in III-V semiconductor transistor and integrated circuit (IC) programs; and U of I's formidable, multi-disciplinary research team is applying its knowledge of microelectronics, microfabrication techniques, and bioengineering to help advance the MEMS field.