Paul Ruchhoeft earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1995 and a MSEE and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston (UH) in 1998 and 2000, respectively. He joined the UH faculty in 2000 as a Research Assistant Professor and became an Assistant Professor in 2001. Prof. Ruchhoeft teaches the multi-disciplinary undergraduate Senior Systems course, which gives students exposure to design, technical communication, and project management by working on industry, NASA, or local research projects.

 
-• Research and Academics

Nanolithography and nanofabrication. Prof. Ruchhoeft's research interests lie in the development of a parallel printing process with nanoscale resolution using energetic helium ions and atoms and the development of new low-cost stencil masks used in this patterning process. Applications include the patterning of spherical substrates for the manufacturing of ultra-compact infrared cameras and the fabrication large-area, periodic nano-scale patterns for use in infrared metal-mesh filter manufacturing and water filtration membranes. He is also interested in modeling of resist exposure and development processes for electron, ion, and atom beam lithography. He has authored numerous papers in these areas.

 
-• Selected Publications

V. Parekh, A. Ruiz, P. Ruchhoeft, S. Brankovic, and D. Litvinov, “Close-Packed Noncircular Nanodevice Pattern Generation by Self-Limiting Ion-Mill Process,” Nano Letters (2007).

V. Parekh, E. Chunsheng , D. Smith, A. Ruiz, J. C. Wolfe, P. Ruchhoeft, E. Svedberg, S. Khizroev and D. Litvinov, “Fabrication of a high anisotropy nanoscale patterned magnetic recording medium for data storage applications,” Nanotechnology, 17, pp.2079-2082 (2006).

E. Qiang, J. Chen, T. Zhao, K. Han, A. Ruiz, P. Ruchhoeft, M. Morgan, “Effects of manufacturing artifacts on infrared filter performance,” Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 48(9), pp.1749-1754, (2006).

V. Zomorrodian, B. Craver, G. Radhakrishnan, M. Patel, E. J. Charlson, P. Ruchhoeft, J. C. Wolfe, “Threshold voltage adjustment on spherical, single-crystal silicon substrates by focused ion beam implantation,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 24(6), pp.3221-3226 (2006).

V. Parekh, A. Ruiz, P. Ruchhoeft, H. Nounu, D. Litvinov, J. C. Wolfe, “Estimation of scattered particle exposure in ion beam aperture array lithography,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 24(6), pp.2915-2919 (2006).

K. Han, W. Xu, A. Ruiz, P. Ruchhoeft, and S. Chellam, “Fabrication and Characterization of Polymeric Microfiltration Membranes using Aperture Array Lithography,” Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 249, No. 1–2, pp.193–206, 2005.

S. Wang, J. Chen and P. Ruchhoeft, “An ADI-FDTD Method for Periodic Structures,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 53, No. 7, pp. 2343–2346, 2005.

R. Qiang, J. Chen, T. Zhao, S. Wang, P. Ruchhoeft, and M. Morgan, “Modeling of Infrared Bandpass Filters using a Three-dimensional FDTD Method,” Electronics Letters, Vol. 41, No. 16, pp. 914–915, 2005.

L. Xu, D.J. Economou, V.M. Donnelly, and P. Ruchhoeft, “Extraction of a Nearly Monoenergetic Ion Beam using a Pulsed Plasma,” Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 87, p. 041502, 2005.

P. Ruchhoeft, J. C. Wolfe, and R. Bass, "Ion beam aperture-array lithography," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 19(6), (2001).

P. Ruchhoeft and J. C. Wolfe, "Determination of resist exposure parameters in helium ion beam lithography: absorbed energy gradient, contrast, and critical dose," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 18(6), 3177 (2000).

P. Ruchhoeft and J. C. Wolfe, "An Optimal Strategy for Controlling Linewidth on Spherical Focal Surface Arrays," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 18(6) 3185 (2000).

R. Kaesmaier, H. Löschner, G. Stengl, J. C. Wolfe, and P. Ruchhoeft, "Ion projection lithography: international development program," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 17(6), 3091 (1999).

P. Ruchhoeft, J. C. Wolfe, J. Wasson, J. Torres, H. Wu, H. Nounu, N. Liu, M. Herbordt, M. D. Morgan, and R. C. Tiberio, "Fabrication of silicon stencil masks with vitreous carbon ion-absorbing coatings," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 16(6), 3599 (1998).