Dr. Prithviraj Deshmukh is a Technology Development Process Engineer in the Thin-Films Module of the Logic Technology Development division at Intel Corporation. Intel is the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and supplies microprocessors for computer system manufacturers such as Acer, Lenovo, HP, and Dell. The rapid advancements in chip design and miniaturization have made process changes and adaptations imperative.

Dr. Deshmukh’s position as a Technology Development Process Engineer carries significant responsibilities that require expertise and leadership in thin films and planarization technique, with the goal being to improve the quality and yield of upcoming platforms. In his current role, Dr. Deshmukh has led in formulation development, produced improvements in baseline defects, and increased functional and parametric yields. The biggest impact of his work has been cost reduction by 50%, which is a significant contribution toward the market economy. Dr. Deshmukh is ranked internationally among the top researchers in his field. He has been recognized for providing cost-effective solutions and creating technologies that are transferred to fabrication facilities overseas, through departmental and organizational level accolades and awards.

While a graduate student at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), Dr. Deshmukh’s dissertation focused on the synthesis of semiconductor nanowires in the entire near-infrared wavelength region, which were unresolved for years and required unconventional research approaches. In this research Dr. Deshmukh designed and implemented processes to develop a complex multicomponent layered nanowire structure using molecular beam epitaxy and fabricated infrared nanowire optoelectronic sensors with standard lithography techniques. The work was funded by the Office of Naval Research. He earned a doctorate in Nanoengineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in May 2019. The training he received under the guidance of Dr. Shanthi Iyer led him to his current success, where he quickly used his knowledge of specialized tools because of his past experience with epitaxy and sputter tools, and his extensive work on nitride materials.