Omar_Munoz
Omar Muñoz
Mr. Muñoz has worked for over 13 years in the area of semiconductor wafer processing. He has extensive research and development as well as manufacturing experience in the areas of dielectric etch, conductor etch, Low K dielectric deposition, metal physical vapor deposition, electro-copper plating, defectivity inspection and control, process yield control, FEOL and BEOL integration. He has authored and co-authored several technical reports, abstracts and conference publications. His semiconductor career began at Applied Materials in 1995 and through various roles and technical assignments he gained valuable knowledge of leading edge semiconductor manufacturing equipment and technology. As a senior process engineer he worked with the latest 200mm and 300mm equipment and process technology; his equipment technology knowledge includes: Precision 5000 (MxP, MxP+, CVD); Centura 5200 Etch (MxP, MxP+, DPS Metal, DPS Poly, HDP & IPS dielectric; iECP (Electro-Copper Platting); Endura 5500 (Copper Barrier Seed PVD); Producer low K CVD (Black Diamond I, Black Diamond II, BloK, BloK II, Advanced BloK, TEOS and SiN). His research experience includes novel etching of non-conventional materials stacks such as Cu, NiFe and Ta/TaN for MRAM applications. He was also a key contributor to the development of low K materials for 65nm and 90nm technology nodes.
Through his field experience with Applied Materials he was able to work closely with a diverse team of experts from several different areas and major semiconductor companies including: Motorola/Freescale, Texas Instruments, Micron, Matsushita, Hewlett Packard, IDT, Wafer Tech, Chartered Semiconductor and others. His technology assignments extended not only throughout the U.S. but also abroad; he was called to share his expertise on assignments in China and Singapore. He won numerous awards while at Applied Materials and was recognized as a leading technology expert in his field.
After 9 years at Applied Materials, Mr. Muñoz joined Freescale Semiconductor as a Senior Process Engineer. At Freescale he enhanced his experience in manufacturing methods which include processes yield enhancement, excursion control, fault detection and control, automation, statistical process control, process integration, defectivity analysis and control, and lean manufacturing methodology.
Mr. Muñoz received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. As a student he had internships with the Texas Department of Transportation Highway Design Division; he also joined the Notre Dame Graduate Research Program in which he researched and developed a mathematical computer model to study suspension flow and particle displacement using Fast Fourier Transforms. Mr. Muñoz was the recipient of over ten academic scholarships and other awards. While committed to academic excellence he also maintained a high level of community and extracurricular involvement, among them was his involvement as board member of the International Student Organization and Student Chapter Representative for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and MAES (Mexican American Engineers and Scientists).
As a professional Mr. Muñoz has continued his active community involvement and extensive network, particularly in the science and engineering fields. He served as board member of the Austin Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and also V.P. of Operations and President of the Austin Chapter of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists. His leadership in MAES allowed him to extend his network to other Central Texas Hispanic organizations such as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, HEAT (Freescale Hispanic Educational Awareness Team), HOWTO (Hispanic Organizations Working Together as One), aDellante, NSHMBA (National Society of Hispanic MBAs), NSBMBA (National Society of Black MBAs), the University of Texas Equal Opportunity in Engineering, YHPA (Young Hispanic Professional Association) and many others.
Mr. Muñoz was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. His family moved to the U.S. in search of a brighter future when Mr. Muñoz was 14 years old. He has a keen commitment and appreciation for academic excellence as he endured significant hardships and barriers to obtain higher education. He is also proud to have recently become a U.S. Citizen. He enjoys an active lifestyle with his wife and daughter.