Khandoker Nuzhat Rafa Islam

Khandoker Nuzhat Rafa Islam is a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science, working to enhance the reliability of materials for advanced semiconductor packaging. Her research focuses on copper-to-copper direct bonding for 3D heterogeneous integration—an essential approach for scaling integrated circuits beyond the physical and performance limits of traditional architectures. By studying how microstructural characteristics affect bonding quality, she aims to inform the development of more robust, high-performance interconnects for future-generation devices. As a MathWorks Fellow, Rafa will develop predictive models that connect surface morphology with bond strength, helping to guide materials selection and processing techniques. She uses MATLAB’s Image Processing Toolbox and MTEX to analyze electron microscopy and crystallographic data, extracting features such as grain orientation, texture, and void distribution. Rafa’s research could accelerate innovation in semiconductor manufacturing and demonstrate how powerful computational tools can drive progress at the intersection of materials science and electronic engineering.