Manivannan Sudha Vasanth, Class of 2024, MSc in Green Electronics
“I’m just your regular Joe” laughed Vasanth.
When asked to introduce himself, Vasanth plays it down, but his eyes perk up whenever he speaks about his interest in wires and circuits.
“I’m always curious about how these wires and circuits connect, so I’d break them apart and try to put them back again,” quipped Vasanth.
“I didn’t have much knowledge in microelectronics, which is a subfield of electrical engineering that I majored in,” explained Vasanth. His interest in designing and manufacturing such small electronic components and systems defined his undergraduate years as he sought to take more courses at school to learn about the semiconductor world.
An online course on Fabrication Techniques for MEMs-based Sensors that he attended eventually cemented microelectronics in his heart. Since then, he has set his heart and mind on becoming an established fabrication engineer in the field, dedicating himself to advancing the technologies of chip production today.
“I was searching for postgraduate courses on microelectronics, and that was when I chanced upon the MSc in Green Electronics course offered at TUM Asia,” said Vasanth.
He did not simply want to learn about microelectronics. He wanted to excel in it and establish his footing in the world of electronics.
“Many of the courses offered are about a year, which I thought was too short to gather anything deeper about fabrication. It’s different here – we get to learn from Professors, work in an actual semiconductor environment and under industry experts who have been in the field for many years and finally work on a master’s thesis that we call our own,” Vasanth elaborated.
Of course, the journey was not easy. Vasanth, who is still green in microelectronics, spends his waking hours reading research papers to understand the concepts and theories.
Finally, he found himself in the thick of the action, thrust into the semiconductor world. It was beyond thrilling for Vasanth.
“I wanted to go into the foundry business. We don’t have any fabrication plants in India, at least not right now. But it’s fascinating to be part of the industry and experience first-hand the sophistication of the various technologies involved in the manufacturing process and the rapid pace at which these technologies evolved. As chips are getting smaller, so do technologies. They are advancing faster than ever, and it is thrilling. I feel like I am chasing after the extraordinary, and it’s such wonder to be part of this race,” shared Vasanth.
And whoever said Microelectronics was boring would be surprised to know how much fun Vasanth had during his internship.
“I had an excellent industry supervisor and mentor who gave me excellent support and guidance for my thesis. At GlobalFoundries they treated me like I was a permanent member of their family. In addition to including me in their weekly meetings, they would encourage me to join them in several team-bonding events. So it was a good feeling.” explained Vasanth.