ECE-528
NANOSCALE IC CHIP TECHNOLOGY
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that teaching clarity stands out. Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos.
DepartmentELEC&CMP
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment8–12
Semesters of data2
4.0
Hrs / week
11
Responses
20
Enrollment
55%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.7
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.7
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.5
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.3
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysismedium
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 20 comments across 2 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that teaching clarity stands out. Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Regular lecture load
Lectures matter here, but the evidence points to a fairly standard lecture burden rather than a course dominated by long or exceptionally dense lectures.
Strengths
• Teaching clarity stands out; students repeatedly say the material is explained clearly and effectively.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who want a structured class rather than chaos.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
I gained a lot of knowledge of modern and historical semiconductor manufacturing technologies. I specifically learned a lot about oxides, NIL, and Epitaxy just to name a few things.
Fall 2024 · Fair, Richard
Learning the scope and depth of process integration in chip design, understanding nuances in deposition techniques and varied application, and failure modes in different semiconductor tech components.
Fall 2024 · Fair, Richard
1. Fabrications skills 2. Basic sciences like physics and chemistry being involved in experiment setup and execution 3. What chemicals not to sniff :)
Fall 2024 · Fair, Richard
ALD in silicon dioxide substrate, CVD in deposition, and epitaxy.
Fall 2024 · Fair, Richard
I get an overall view on the semiconductor process. I learned how these steps are going on from a physical and chemical view.
Fall 2024 · Fair, Richard
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Fair, Richard 3.7Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.7Difficulty3.2Would retake75%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | — | — | 3.8 | 12 |
| Fall 2024 | Fair, Richard 3.7Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.7Difficulty3.2Would retake75%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.7 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 8 |
Instructor
Fair, RichardELEC&CMP
Also teaches
ECE-331L FUND3.2