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Center Profile

 

The Center for Dielectric Studies (CDS) was founded in 1983 at the Materials Research Laboratory on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University, with grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The Center is an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC); in 2001, CDS at Penn State joined with the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T)) to become a multi-university I/UCRC. Through the Ben Franklin Center of Excellence program, we have expanded our membership and research activities through the incorporation of the Center for Piezoelectric Materials and Devices (CPMD). CDS currently has over 30 member companies, sponsoring research projects aimed at improving the basic understanding of the synthesis, processing, and properties of dielectric materials for electronic devices.

CDS research thrusts
CDS research is divided into a number of key thrust areas:

 

  • Electrolytic Capacitors
  • Piezoelectric Materials and Devices
  • Integrated Components
  • Multilayer Capacitors
  • Pulse Power Materials
  • Components for Hostile Environments


Research programs within these thrusts are also designed with the following philosophies: Basic, Revolutionary, and Evolutionary:

CDS Research Philosophy

 

  • Basic Research: Enables our member companies to better understand the issues that control the properties and/or limit a material or device.
  • Revolutionary Research: Considers disruptive science and engineering issues. This can be in the form of new materials, processes, or phenomena that would completely alter the state-of-the-art industry or offer new business opportunities.
  • Evolutionary Research: Involves studies that are about 3-6 years out, and projects are based on roadmap trends.


 

 

 

 

Technology transfer from the Center's R&D programs to industry is achieved in a variety of ways:

 

  • Semi-annual technical review meetings
  • Quarterly reports
  • Publications
  • Visits/presentations at member company sites
  • Visiting Scientists from industry


The Center also conducts workshops approximately every 18 months for the purpose of detailed discussion on current topics within the passive component field.


The partnership of Penn State with MS&T brings increased membership and resources to the Center for Dielectric Studies, enabling the Center to expand research programs at the PSU and MS&T sites. Strengths brought to the Center by the respective universities are described in the following paragraphs:


The Pennsylvania State University

The Materials Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University is designed for the needs of interdisciplinary materials research. The laboratory maintains central facilities common to various types of research and is capable of conducting scanning electron microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, state-of-the-art x-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, and wet chemical analysis. CDS and its members have access to other central facilities at the Pennsylvania State University, such as the nanofabrication facility and the Materials Characterization Laboratory. The Materials Characterization Laboratory has state-of-the-art surface analysis equipment and high resolution electron microscopy. Prototyping capabilities to test device performance and to aid in accelerated technology transfer utilize the W.M. Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory (Keck SMIL).


Missouri University of Science & Technology

The Graduate Center for Materials Research (MRC) was started on the Missouri S&T campus over 40 years ago to promote and foster interdisciplinary research related to materials science and engineering. MRC's main objective is graduate education in interdisciplinary research related to materials. As with all university related efforts, the primary goal is to train and educate students in such a way that advances knowledge in the field of study. The center has two major components: (1) fostering intra- and inter-department faculty research collaborations, and (2) providing and maintaining common use equipment, especially those in the Advanced Materials Characterization Lab, that are beyond the means of individual faculty. The center houses and maintains equipment and laboratory space in Straumanis Hall and McNutt Hall that is accessible to all members of CDS. Equipment includes a focused ion beam electron microscope; scanning electron microscopes; a transmission electron microscope; an Auger electron spectrometer; an x-ray photoelectron spectrometer; tensile, fatigue, and vibration mechanical testing systems; x-ray diffraction units; thermal analysis and mass spectrometry systems; optical and electrical characterization equipment; a photolithography exposure system; deposition and etching units; high temperature furnaces; and a variety of analytical and processing instruments.