John Randall (nanotechnologist)

John Neal Randall is an American Electrical Engineer and nanotechnologist. As of 2006, Chief Technical Officer of Zyvex Corporartion. Previously he worked at Texas Instruments from 1985 to 2001, and Lincoln Laboratory (part of the MIT Corporation from 1982 to 1985. He has BS, MS, and Ph.D degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston.

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John Randall has been a micro/nano fabricator for approximately 30 years. This could mean that he tells small lies, but actually refers to his research in high resolution patterning for the semiconductor and related industries. In graduate school at the University of Houston he developed e-beam lithography and x-ray lithography. He was attracted to Lincoln Lab, a part of the MIT Corporation by Hank Smith, the inventor of x-ray lithography. There, much to the consternation of Hank Smith, Randall developed Masked Ion Beam Lithography, a technology so obscure, that it gets (as of 2006) only a tangential reference in Wikipedia’s entry on Nanolithography. This lack of notoriety not-with-standing, in 1983, Randall produced 80nm lines and spaces using this masked, short exposure time technique. This resolution is still greater than required for the most advanced (2006) semiconductor devices.

In 1985, Randall fled the frozen wastelands of Massachusetts to return to Texas and work for Texas Instruments where he worked in TI’s Central Research Laboratories on Quantum Resonant Tunneling devices and circuits. Among the world’s first accomplishments (with co-workers Bob Bate, Mark Reed, Alan Seabaugh, Jim Luscombe, Bill Frensley, Gary Frazier, and others) were a quantum dot diode, resonant tunneling transistor, and room temperature quantum tunneling IC. From 1996-1998 Randall was assigned by TI to IMEC in Belgium where he worked on optical proximity correction for IC manufacturing. On his return to Texas, Randall continued to work on advanced optical lithography for IC production.

In 2001, Randall joined Zyvex to become the corporation’s Chief Technical Officer.

Important Events in John Neal Randalls Life

• 1951 Born Berkeley California
• 1953 Moved to Morestown New Jersey
• 1955 Moved to Houston Texas
• 1970 Graduated from Memorial High School in Houston Texas
• 1974 Won 139lb division in Collegiate National Championships in Judo
• 1975 Won 139lb division in Collegiate National Championships in Judo Graduated with BSEE University of Houston
• 1977 Graduated with MSEE University of Houston
• 1981 Graduated with PhD EE University of Houston
• 1982 Married Patrice Marie Stepchinski and started work at Lincoln Laboratory, part of the MIT Corporoation
• 1985 Moved to Dallas Texas and started work at Texas Instruments
• 1996 Took 2 year assignment at IMEC in Belgium
• 2001 Joined Zyvex Corporation and became Chief Technical Officer