Non-chemically amplified resists for 193-nm immersion lithography: Influence of absorbance on performance

The feasibility of three polymer systems for use as non chemically amplified resists for 193 nm lithography are discussed. The three systems are polycarbonates, polyphthalaldehydes and polysulfones. In general it was found that increased absorbance resulted in higher sensitivity to 193 nm light. However, the exception to this was the polycarbonates, which were found to undergo crosslinking due to an alkene group present in the polymer backbone. Although polyphthalaldehydes were very sensitive, their absorbance values were too high to be useful in a commercial environment. Absorbing polysulfones were found to be sensitive to 193 nm light and initial patterning results have been presented

A large-scale undergraduate research project: You can do it and we can help

The first recommendation of The Boyer Commission Report (1998) was that research-based learning be made the standard experience for students at university. The Australian university system has come a long way since 1998, but we still have a long way to go before our students have large-scale access to apprenticeship-style UREs, and avenues for communicating their findings. The ALURE project has been funded for 2013-2014 under the OLT National Leadership initiative. It uses a Community of Practice (CoP) to develop and resource academics to help students conduct and communicate undergraduate research on a large scale. The current foci for the program are science and maths students and the academics who teach them. In this session we will present some of the undergraduate research programs our ALURE CoP have devised and championed. We aim to highlight the scope, quality, and impact of the programs so that potential new CoP members can appreciate the power and flexibility of ALUREs while considering the possibility of mentorship for their own teaching context. Session participants will have the opportunity to share and workshop their own ALURE ideas. We are currently welcoming new CoP members to the ALURE project and we aim to provide our session participants with helpful feedback and support as they consider, design, and initiate large-scale undergraduate research projects. Reference: The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities (1998) Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://www.niu.edu/engagedlearning/research/pdfs/Boyer_Report.pd

Non-CA resists for 193nm immersions lithography: Effects of chemical structure on sensitivity

Initial studies are presented on the use of polysulfones as non-chemically amplified resists (non-CARs) for 193 nm immersion lithography. Polynorbornene sulfone films on silicon wafers have been irradiated with 193 nm photons in the absence of a photo-acid generator. Chemical contrast curves and contrast curves were obtained via spectroscopic ellipsometry and grazing angle - attenuated total reflectance FTIR spectroscopy. Results were consistent with previously reported mechanisms for the degradation of aliphatic polysulfones with ionizing radiation. It was shown that E0 values could be reduced significantly by using a post exposure bake step, which propagated depolymerization of the polymer. Initial patterning results down to 50 nm half pitch were demonstrated with EUV photons

Impact of student approaches to ALURE: 'Swimming lessons' in the undergraduate laboratory

Pedwell, R., Green, M., Lawrie, G., Myatt, P., Wang, J., Worthy, P., Zimbardi, K., Rowland, S. Presenting Author: Rhianna Pedwell This study investigated student-reported experiences in Authentic Large-scale Undergraduate Research Experiences (ALUREs) and in traditional laboratory-based practical sessions (LEAPS). Background Engaging undergraduate students in research is considered essential for a tertiary science education; and for producing prepared, informed graduate scientists. Existing undergraduate research experience models have been shown to confer a broad array of student benefits, however they also have limitations of scale that prevent large numbers of students engaging in undergraduate research. We are using ALURE to massify the opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in research and to explore it as a potential part of their future study and career plans. Aims This study aimed to record student perceptions of their learning and development during ALUREs, and determine the aspects of ALURE that students report as 'helps and hindrances' for this learning and development. The aim of the OLT-funded ALURE Project is to give information to academics who want to engage their undergraduates in integrated research experiences. We aim to use our data to develop good practice guidelines for ALURE implementation, with a particular focus on enhancing the student experience. Description of Educational Model ALUREs are designed to give whole-course cohorts of undergraduate students a chance to take part in course-based research experiences throughout their education. An ALURE is implemented as part of a regular undergraduate course; the students work with peers, tutors, and an engaged researcher to generate and communicate original, meaningful data. We have conducted ALURE experiences for up to four hundred students at a time in one course. This year, ALUREs were implemented in a multitude of disciplines, from Biochemistry to Microbiology to Nanotechnology. Each ALURE was developed to fit the implementers' specific course, discipline, and learning objectives. Design and Methods This phenomenological, ethnographical study drew from both qualitative and quantitative sources of student-reported experiences. Students from four Australian universities were invited to share their experiences in ALUREs or LEAPS in the form of surveys, written reflections, and qualitative interviews. Survey data was statistically analysed to measure changes in skills acquisition, and development of attitudes towards learning and future plans. Written reflections and interview transcripts were coded to find themes consistent with a student gains framework as described in Hunter et al. (2007). These gains are a core component of the Ethnography and Evaluation Research Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) survey (Hunter et al., 2009), part of our post-survey. Also included were themes relating to ALURE design and implementation. Results From our initial data analyses, we anticipate that we will be able to present findings indicating student gains aligned with those in the URSSA framework, including increased awareness of research practice, skills acquisition and preparedness for future pathways (Hunter et al., 2007; Hunter et al., 2009). Student assessments of support within and authenticity of ALUREs will also be reported. References: Hunter, A-B., Laursen, S. L., & Seymour, E. (2007). Becoming a Scientist: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Students' Cognitive, Personal, and Professional Development. Science Education, 91(1), 36 - 74. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sce.20173/abstract Hunter, A-B., Weston, T. J., Laursen, S. L., & Thiry, H. (2009). URSSA: Evaluating Student Gains from Undergraduate Research in the Sciences. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 29(3), 15 - 19. http://www.cur.org/publications/cur_quarterly_index_online_search/?F_Sort=PostDate&SearchBy=Title&SearchField=URSSA&Boolean=AND&SortOrder=DES

Investigating factors that support and challenge in implementing authentic research experiences for undergraduates

KEYWORDS: undergraduate, research experience, course integrated, implementation, case study, science This study investigated the implementer experience of introducing an Authentic Large Scale Undergraduate Research Experience (ALURE) into 7 science courses in three Australian tertiary institutions. The results will be of value to tertiary science educators who are interested in giving the opportunity to experience the benefits of research participation to a larger number of their undergraduate students. BACKGROUND The integration of research experiences into undergraduate curricula is of special importance in the fields of STEM. Engaging undergraduate students in research is considered essential for a tertiary science education, informing students future career course and increasing student retention. Our project is supporting the introduction of an ALURE (Authentic Large Scale Undergraduate Research Experience) practical into several undergraduate science courses. These ALURE practicals are designed to overcome the cohort size limits of the research internship model primarily due to their integration to the course based practical session. ALUREs are designed to give whole cohorts of students a chance to take part in an undergraduate research experience throughout their education; giving students an idea of what real research is before they enter into post-graduate life. Our team has previously documented several ALURE practicals reported in several papers (Rowland, Lawrie, Behrendorff & Gillam 2012; Wang, Schembri, Ramakrishna, Sagulenko & Fuerst, 2012); this allows us to act as mentors to new ALURE implementers during our OLT-funded Leadership for Excellence Project. AIMS This study aimed to document the experience of implementers during the delivery of an ALURE and determine what factors supported and challenged them during this time. The aim of the ALURE Project is to provide leadership and mentoring to any academics wanting to engage their undergraduates in course integrated research experiences. We aim to utilise this data to amend and improve current guidelines of ALURE implementation to define a best practice for the future. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY This year, ALUREs were implemented at various tertiary institutions nationally in courses covering a broad range of scientific disciplines including biochemistry, nanotechnology and microbiology. The implementers of these programs are the topic of this study and their experiences provide deeper insight into the potential hurdles to integrating a large-scale course based URE. Implementers that were investigated included course coordinators, laboratory demonstrators and preparation staff. The study included 7 different science courses across 4 Australian tertiary institutions. DESIGN AND METHODS This narrative and grounded theory mixed methods study drew from qualitative sources of information in the form of recorded interviews with implementers from 4 Australian universities invited to share their experience. Transcripts were coded to find common themes in order to discover the factors that challenged and supported the introduction of ALURE into their course. RESULTS Preliminary data shows that currently the main challenging factor is the time taken to implement these practicals into the course for the first iteration and that the primary supporting factor is the support of a change champion in the organisation. Based on interviews we have also developed models of ALURE implementation, which show how each implementation was organised. These models demonstrate the generalisability of the ALURE model to various fields of study and institutions and will be of benefit to anyone who is contemplating ALURE implementation

The AIFS evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms : a summary

In 2006, the Australian Government, through the Attorney- General\u27s Department (AGD) and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), commissioned the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) to undertake an evaluation of the impact of the 2006 changes to the family law system: Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms (Kaspiew et al., 2009) (the Evaluation). This article provides a summary of the key findings of the Evaluation.<br /