The Rochester Institute of Technology is set to acquire an inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE) system for photonic, electronic and bio-device fabrication, thanks to a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. RIT Engineering faculty member Jing Zhang — the Kate Gleason Endowed Assistant Professor in the electrical and microelectronic engineering department in the College of Engineering — is the recipient of the $305,000 award grant that will strengthen RIT’s fabrication capability in its Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory. " The instrument is essential to enable research and education on III-nitride-based light-emitting diodes and lasers, and other semiconductor devices,” said Zhang said. “We are studying every aspect of this material, from understanding the physics to the realization of novel devices.” Zhang is a member of a growing group of RIT researchers whose work focuses on semiconductor materials and photonics device, as well as researchers at RIT with experience in ultraviolet and visible LEDs. She is also skilled in the development of semiconductors for optoelectronic and electronic devices. The ICP-RIE system will allow RIT to move forward with photonics workforce development and provide key training opportunities. In the past, this capability was outsourced. The new system will be available to RIT researchers and the regional Rochester photonics community and partners.