Dr Patrick McNally's research

Dr Patrick McNally receives the 2001 President's Research Award in Science and Engineering for his outstanding contributions to Synchrotron X-ray Topography (SXRT). Dr McNally is a member of the School of Electronic Engineering, and is the founding Director of the Microelectronics Research Laboratory. This laboratory is a pivotal element within the nationally designated Research Institute for Network & Communications Engineering.

Dr McNally is one of Europe's foremost researchers in the area of silicon wafer investigation. Through the technique of Synchrotron X-ray Topography his work involves using light probes to identify impurities or damage in semiconductor materials. This technique is a million, million times more intense than a standard x-ray and enables Dr McNally to probe the silicon crystals at the micro and nanoscopic level without causing any interference or damage to the material.

Dr McNally's research work is used by the semiconductor industry (by companies such as Intel and SGS Thompson & Phillips) to improve their production processes and create better microchip devices. Dr McNally was the first to use synchrotron x-ray topography to visualise strain fields in packaged integrated circuits and he broke new ground with the first x-ray imaging of surface undulations due to misfit dislocations in silicon-germanium assemblies. His research team at DCU played an important role in developing Intel Pentium chips by analysing the strain imposed on the semiconductor material during the production process.

Speaking at the Awards, the President, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, stressed the importance of the applied research undertaken by Dr McNally and his team. "Their work has had a significant impact on the success of the semiconductor industry which in turn is so important for the Irish economy.

Dr McNally is also working with colleagues in Germany and Finland on fundamental research into the absolute definition of the kilogram. It is just as important that universities such as DCU carry out fundamental research that ultimately leads to entirely new levels of scientific and engineering understanding." Said Professor von Prondzynski.

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Dr Michael Cronin's research