Thin films. While the words alone might not mean much to most people, anyone who has used a phone, mirror, or a pair of glasses has relied on thin films, and grad- uates Mary Kate Toole and Lizzie Lee in- vented a new system to measure thin film thickness.
Toole and Lee interned at Blue Wave Semiconductors, where they studied thin film deposition, which is the application of thin films to a surface.
“Blue wave has been using our system for the past two months, and our boss is hoping to integrate it into our product line within the next year,” said senior Mary Kate Toole.
Thin films are only nanometers thick, and control of the thickness is essential to the effectiveness of the thin films
“When the thin film is deposited, there are a bunch of different techniques to use, and we were looking for the best technique to use to make it the most uniform,” said Lee.
Their internship was part of the Intern/ Mentor class, taught by Ms. Dixon.
“Ms. Dixon arranges for us to have an internship, and basically during class, we intern at our different internships and leave school during our class periods. I have 5th and 6th period so when I get to 5th, I’m allowed to leave and go to my internship,” said Lee.
Lee gained valuable experience through the opportunities that the class gave her.
“I took away how to be in a professional setting. In other classrooms, you learn with your eyes and ears and in a classroom set- ting, but in this class, I got to learn with my hands, and I got to experience what a job would be like,” said Lee.
Lee added that her experience interning reinforced her decision to pursue a career in the bioengineering field.
“For me, the goal of the class is to ex- plore options for careers, because I wanted to discover what I wanted to do in college,” said Lee.
Each year, the Intern/Mentor class gives students the opportunity to excel in subject matters of their choice.
“I was able to really explore what I want- ed to do. I [chose] to do an engineering in- ternship, and I was able to see that this is definitely what I want to do in the future,” said Lee.
After finishing the course, Lee said, “I think it was honestly one of my favorite classes that I’ve ever taken here. It was just such a great experience.”
