Work Experience Programme 2026

The Leeds Nanotechnology Cleanroom continues to build strong links to local schools through its work experience opportunities, and was delighted to welcome students from the Notre Dame Sixth Form College for an intensive three-day semiconductor fabrication placement.

Following an introductory presentation about cleanrooms and semiconductor manufacturing presented to the year group, students applied for places and attended mock interviews before being selected to take part in the programme — giving them an insight not only into cleanroom technology, but also into the professional skills expected within the industry.

Incredibly, within just three days the students successfully fabricated working HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) devices. During the programme they gained hands-on experience in a wide range of cleanroom processes, including photolithography (using a Heidelberg MLA150 maskless lithography system), wet etching, metallisation through thermal evaporation, rapid thermal annealing, and the associated metrology techniques used to characterise devices throughout fabrication.

One of the most rewarding aspects for the cleanroom team was the curiosity and enthusiasm shown by the students throughout the week. Their thoughtful questions regularly sparked deeper technical discussions — and even challenged the experienced Experimental Officer team at times.

I have thoroughly enjoyed completing the cleanroom work experience and would definitely recommend it. I loved how hands-on the experience was and the scale of the features on the devices we made was just baffling. It’s not every day that you see titanium evaporate!

We believe strongly that programmes such as this play a crucial role in inspiring the next generation of semiconductor engineers, and in helping students gain exposure to the rapidly growing microelectronics and fabrication sector.