Mehrdad Nikoonahad
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mehrdad Nikoonahad is an Iranian-American
electrical engineer, innovator and technologist.
(UCL), England, in 1979 and 1983, respectively. Here, he also completed two years of postdoctoral work. His Ph.D. and postdoctoral work were concerned with scanning microscopy
and were carried out under the supervision of Sir Eric Ash
. Dr. Nikoonahad became a Senior Member of the IEEE by nomination in 1989. In 1997 he completed the Executive Program for Growing Companies at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University
.
, California and focused on achieving grid parity
with photovoltaic electricity through a radically new silicon process technology that would reduce the cost of manufacturing of solar panels by a factor of five. Prior to Solar Notion, Dr. Nikoonahad was involved with a number of start-up, private, and public companies at the executive level, all in the high technology arena.
Dr. Nikoonahad was formerly Vice President of Technology for Strategic Business Development at KLA-Tencor (KT) Corporation focusing on merger and acquisitions (M&A) and investment activity in the areas of equipment for Microelectromechanical systems
, optical communication
devices, magnetic media inspection and metrology
, and for semiconductor manufacturing. He joined Tencor Instruments in Mountain View, California in 1992 when he proposed and helped develop a platform for a high-speed, laser
-based, wafer inspection system, which, then for the first time, addressed the inspection needs for 0.25 micrometre process technology in high volume semiconductor production. That platform was subsequently named Advanced Inspection Technology (AIT) and during its peak times generated over $1 billion in revenue. Dr. Nikoonahad then managed development groups and extended that capability for smaller silicon geometries, using ultraviolet
lasers. Subsequent to the AIT, he led numerous development teams for inspection and metrology products used in silicon manufacturing. Laser imaging, metals and dielectric
thin film metrology, laser and spectral ellipsometry
for dielectric film characterization, photothermal ellipsometry for implant measurement, chemical-mechanical planarization
(CMP) end-point detection, optical CD (OCD), overlay characterization, and micro/macro defect inspection are among some the technologies that Dr. Nikoonahad and his teams have developed. He was Vice President of Technology for a new division of KT focused on integrated meteorology. He was also an advisor to the KT Venture Fund and a member of the corporate Patent Review Committee. He was the winner of numerous innovation and patent awards while at KT.
Prior to KT he was at Philips
Research labs in Briarcliff Manor, New York where he served as Senior Member Technical Staff and led research on acoustic imaging, Doppler flow measurement, and medical ultrasound. Dr. Nikoonahad has been principal investigator
on a number R&D projects for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
He has authored or coauthored over 50 scientific papers, including a book chapter and is a named inventor on over 100 US patents and patent applications.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
electrical engineer, innovator and technologist.
Background and education
Dr. Nikoonahad received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electronic Engineering from University College LondonUniversity College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL), England, in 1979 and 1983, respectively. Here, he also completed two years of postdoctoral work. His Ph.D. and postdoctoral work were concerned with scanning microscopy
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
and were carried out under the supervision of Sir Eric Ash
Eric Ash
Sir Eric Albert Ash, CBE is a distinguished German-born British electrical engineer and past Rector of Imperial College.Born in Berlin, Ash emigrated with his family to Britain in 1938 to escape Nazism...
. Dr. Nikoonahad became a Senior Member of the IEEE by nomination in 1989. In 1997 he completed the Executive Program for Growing Companies at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Career and business interests
Dr. Nikoonahad was Cofounder and CEO at Solar Notion, Inc., a privately held company in Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, California and focused on achieving grid parity
Grid parity
Grid parity is the point at which alternative means of generating electricity is at least as cheap as grid power.For solar energy, it is achieved first in areas with abundant sun and high costs for electricity such as in California, Hawaii, Spain and Japan. Many solar power advocates predict that...
with photovoltaic electricity through a radically new silicon process technology that would reduce the cost of manufacturing of solar panels by a factor of five. Prior to Solar Notion, Dr. Nikoonahad was involved with a number of start-up, private, and public companies at the executive level, all in the high technology arena.
Dr. Nikoonahad was formerly Vice President of Technology for Strategic Business Development at KLA-Tencor (KT) Corporation focusing on merger and acquisitions (M&A) and investment activity in the areas of equipment for Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
, optical communication
Optical communication
Optical communication is any form of telecommunication that uses light as the transmission medium.An optical communication system consists of a transmitter, which encodes a message into an optical signal, a channel, which carries the signal to its destination, and a receiver, which reproduces the...
devices, magnetic media inspection and metrology
Metrology
Metrology is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement. The word comes from Greek μέτρον , "measure" + "λόγος" , amongst others meaning "speech, oration, discourse, quote, study, calculation, reason"...
, and for semiconductor manufacturing. He joined Tencor Instruments in Mountain View, California in 1992 when he proposed and helped develop a platform for a high-speed, laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
-based, wafer inspection system, which, then for the first time, addressed the inspection needs for 0.25 micrometre process technology in high volume semiconductor production. That platform was subsequently named Advanced Inspection Technology (AIT) and during its peak times generated over $1 billion in revenue. Dr. Nikoonahad then managed development groups and extended that capability for smaller silicon geometries, using ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
lasers. Subsequent to the AIT, he led numerous development teams for inspection and metrology products used in silicon manufacturing. Laser imaging, metals and dielectric
Dielectric
A dielectric is an electrical insulator that can be polarized by an applied electric field. When a dielectric is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the material, as in a conductor, but only slightly shift from their average equilibrium positions causing dielectric...
thin film metrology, laser and spectral ellipsometry
Ellipsometry
Ellipsometry is an optical technique for the investigation of the dielectric properties of thin films....
for dielectric film characterization, photothermal ellipsometry for implant measurement, chemical-mechanical planarization
Chemical-mechanical planarization
Chemical Mechanical Polishing/Planarization is a process of smoothing surfaces with the combination of chemical and mechanical forces. It can be thought of as a hybrid of chemical etching and free abrasive polishing.-Description:...
(CMP) end-point detection, optical CD (OCD), overlay characterization, and micro/macro defect inspection are among some the technologies that Dr. Nikoonahad and his teams have developed. He was Vice President of Technology for a new division of KT focused on integrated meteorology. He was also an advisor to the KT Venture Fund and a member of the corporate Patent Review Committee. He was the winner of numerous innovation and patent awards while at KT.
Prior to KT he was at Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
Research labs in Briarcliff Manor, New York where he served as Senior Member Technical Staff and led research on acoustic imaging, Doppler flow measurement, and medical ultrasound. Dr. Nikoonahad has been principal investigator
Principal investigator
A principal investigator is the lead scientist or engineer for a particular well-defined science project, such as a laboratory study or clinical trial....
on a number R&D projects for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
(NIH).
He has authored or coauthored over 50 scientific papers, including a book chapter and is a named inventor on over 100 US patents and patent applications.