Sadiq Shahriyar Nishat

Ph.D. in Materials Engineering
Process Engineer III at Applied Materials

Scholar at a glance

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Citations

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40+

Publications

Available for collaborations

About Me

I am a Materials Engineer with expertise in semiconductor technology development and FEOL/BEOL integration for copper-alternative interconnects at sub-10 nm nodes. As an SRC Scholar at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, my research focused on mitigating electron surface scattering in highly crystalline epitaxial thin films. I will be joining Applied Materials as Process Engineer III in July 2026.

Education

Ph.D. in Materials Engineering

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

2021 – 2026 SRC Scholar
M.S. in Physics

University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

2018 – 2019
B.S. in Physics

University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

2014 – 2017

Research Focus & Interests

Driving the future of semiconductor scaling through advanced materials research, from atomic-scale thin film deposition to system-level interconnect integration.

Electron Transport in Anisotropic Conductors

Investigating electron surface scattering phenomena in directional and anisotropic conductors (PtCoO₂, PdCoO₂, CoSn, Ru) for sub-10nm interconnects. This research addresses critical resistance scaling challenges in advanced node logic devices and 3D packaging applications.

Interconnects Electron Surface Scattering Anisotropic Transport Sub-10nm Nodes

Thin Film Deposition & Epitaxial Growth

Expertise in UHV PVD, DC/RF magnetron sputtering, and ALD for epitaxial growth of Ru, AlN, Mo₂N, and topological NbAs thin films with atomic precision.

UHV PVD Epitaxy ALD/ALE

Advanced Materials Characterization

Comprehensive characterization using XRD, XRR, XPS, SEM, AFM, and electrical measurements (I-V/C-V) to establish structure-property relationships.

XRD/XPS FIB-SEM Electrical

Computational Materials Science

First-principles calculations using VASP, Quantum ESPRESSO, and Wannier90 to predict electronic structure, phonon properties, and transport phenomena.

DFT/DFT+U VASP Wannier90

Topological Materials for Interconnects

Exploring topological semimetals like NbAs and Weyl materials for next-generation nano-scale interconnects, leveraging unique surface states for enhanced conductivity.

Weyl Semimetals Quantum Transport

HPC Server Management & Automation

Administration of computational clusters for materials research, including DFT workflow automation, queue management, and mentoring researchers in high-performance computing.

HPC Cluster Admin Automation

Experience

Research and industry experience spanning semiconductor process engineering, materials characterization, and computational modeling.

Upcoming

Process Engineer III

Applied Materials, Santa Clara, CA

July 2026

Joining the Etch Business Unit to develop and optimize plasma etch processes for advanced semiconductor manufacturing at 300mm wafer scale.

Internship

Process Engineering Intern

Applied Materials, Santa Clara, CA

May 2024 – August 2024

Optimized plasma etch process for TiN/TiSi, improving etch selectivity by 80% through XPS-guided DOE
Resolved customer (TSMC) RF plasma instability in tungsten gradient oxidation via root-cause analysis
Contributed to 300mm process module optimization and cross-site SPC integration
Trained engineers on advanced XPS data analysis workflows using CasaXPS

SRC Scholar

Graduate Research Assistant

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY

August 2021 – March 2026

Led SRC-funded research on electron surface scattering in Ru(0001) and directional conductors
Developed 7nm epitaxial Ru, AlN, Mo₂N, and topological NbAs thin films using UHV PVD
Established experimental protocols for measuring electron specularity with sub-1% precision
Pioneered transport measurement methodology for CoSn using SEM-FIB, EBL, and GIS techniques

Volunteer

Chief Manager (DFT Trainer & Server Admin)

SUNY-Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY

December 2019 – Present

Mentored 15+ undergraduate students in Density Functional Theory methods
Managed computational cluster supporting 20+ researchers with 99% uptime

Technical Expertise

Comprehensive skill set spanning materials synthesis, characterization, computational modeling, and process engineering.

Thin Film Deposition

DC/RF Magnetron Sputtering UHV PVD ALD / ALE Epitaxial Growth Dry Etching Photolithography EBL

Characterization

XRD / XRR XPS / XRF SEM / FIB-SEM TEM AFM Electrical I-V/C-V EDS

Computational

VASP Quantum ESPRESSO Wannier90 Phonopy DFT / DFT+U BoltzTraP

Programming

Python NumPy / Pandas Scikit-learn C/C++ Bash MATLAB

Process Control

DOE SPC Root Cause Analysis Failure Analysis Process Optimization

Systems & HPC

Cluster Administration SLURM / PBS Linux Systems Workflow Automation 300mm Wafer Handling

Selected Publications

Peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals with 1,263+ citations.

View All 40+ Publications

Awards & Honors

Recognition for research excellence, academic achievement, and technical contributions.

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) Scholar

Full fellowship for Ph.D. studies in Materials Engineering

2023 – 2026

Best Poster Presentation Award (1st Place)

Albany Nanotechnology Symposium

November 2024

Best Poster Presentation Award

ASM International Eastern NY Student Poster Contest

February 2024

SRC TECHCON Presenter

Selected for talk and poster presentation, Austin, TX

September 2025

UPWARDS Graduate Student Workshop

Boise State University

April 2025

Get In Touch

Open to research collaborations, industry partnerships, and academic discussions.

Let's Connect

I'm always interested in discussing new research opportunities, semiconductor industry trends, and potential collaborations in materials science and engineering.

Email

sadiq.shahriyar.nishat@gmail.com

Home

Amsterdam, NY 12010

Office

MRC 130, RPI, Troy, NY 12180

Connect professionally

WebEx

rensselaer.webex.com

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