Between September 9, 2024, and January 24, 2025, Nelson Salvador, a Master’s student from the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, AC3E, will be completing an internship at Fermilab, a renowned laboratory with extensive experience in particle physics located in Batavia, IL, United States.

“Completing this internship at Fermilab represents a world of possibilities for both myself and future students. It still seems incredible to me, as it is a benchmark in particle physics, a field that may seem foreign to an electronics specialist. However, this demonstrates how the disciplines taught at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María are essential internationally in cutting-edge research that requires multidisciplinary teams,” highlighted Nelson Salvador.

Center researchers Dr. Jorge Marín and Dr. Christian Rojas have guided the student’s work since his arrival at AC3E and are the ones who motivated his move to this new experience. “FermiLab is one of the most recognized laboratories worldwide, and having one of our students with experience in managing SoC systems, microelectronic design, and integrated circuit testing there is something remarkable from our point of view,” said Dr. Rojas.

During his stay, he will participate in the testing of an analog ASIC designed by Fermilab for the detection of events on very small time scales, and then contribute to the redesign of a second version. “My experience so far has been more focused on the design of digital microchips, so analog design will be a great challenge for me. However, in my thesis work for the Master’s Program in Electronics, I have addressed the challenge of validating analog microchips using mainly FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Array) in an SoC (System-on-Chip). In fact, the microchip I have been working with is the first analog microchip design made at the Center,” commented Nelson Salvador.

Nelson has been linked to AC3E since 2023, first with the Master’s program in Electronics and then with the internship within the framework of the agreement with Synopsys. “The extensive network of contacts of AC3E members has been crucial for this opportunity to present itself to me, and I hope it is a door that remains open for more students,” he said.

During these 5 months, Nelson hopes to explore new ways of applying microelectronics, and thus acquire new experiences and knowledge. “I hope this internship is an enriching exchange of knowledge. I am eager to learn about how they work and the techniques they use. In turn, I am confident that my training and experience will provide a different perspective,” he concluded.