Week 8:
Progress!

July 27, 2021

Week 8 started out on a difficult note when the oven that Juan and I have been installing did not work. This particular oven is designed to be nearly airtight and maintain a nitrogen environment which will allow Microtek to expand its SMT capabilities. For the better part of last week, Juan and I attempted to connect the oven to both a nitrogen tank and an oxygen sensor to monitor the gas composition within the oven (ideally, we need it to be less than .5% oxygen). On Friday, Juan and I thought we had successfully connected the oven and sensor. Still, Monday morning, when we started the oven and tried to fill it with nitrogen, we could not maintain the nitrogen environment. After another two days of troubleshooting, we discovered an uncovered vent at the back of the oven, which allowed all the nitrogen we pumped into the oven to escape. The manufacturer was supposed to supply a stopper to seal the vent, so until we can get the stopper, we’ve covered the vent with heat-resistant tape. Now, we’re having problems with the automatic cool-down settings, but as long as the nitrogen stays inside the chamber, we can begin testing the oven.

Getting the oven up and running was a big success because Juan and I had spent so much time on it, and it allowed me to proceed further with my project. Since the new substrates will not arrive before my internship is done, I’ve been using left-over materials to complete some preliminary testing and get some baseline numbers. Now that the new oven is working, I can use the nitrogen environment to vary my conditions. Not only was I able to vary conditions this week, but I also had the chance to play with some additional materials because the samples from Japan finally arrived.

This week was also particularly exciting because I had the opportunity to attend an event in Irvine. On Wednesday afternoon, MyPhuong and Leah took Microtek’s R&D team up to the campus of UC Irvine to tour the University Lab Partners (ULP) incubator facility and attend a networking and collaboration event. Before visiting ULP, I did not know that business incubators existed, so it was an exciting experience. Incubators are organizations that help small, start-up businesses develop. ULP specializes in helping MedTech businesses get started by providing lab space and resources for R&D teams to develop a product. Touring the incubator was eye-opening as it gave me some insight into the early stages of MedTech development and the resources required to get a MedTech business on its feet. The networking event was also incredibly valuable because it included a Q&A forum that allowed the attendants to collaborate on some of the troubles that their MedTech companies are facing.

Since my time in San Diego is coming to a close, I’ve been trying to squeeze in as many activities as possible. On Tuesday after work, Michelle and I went hiking at Torrey Pines State Reserve near La Jolla. It was a beautiful hike with a fantastic view of the ocean. Usually, the hike is a loop that goes up and along a plateau and finishes with a long stretch of beach. Unfortunately, Michelle and I arrived during high tide, so we only made it halfway along the beach before we had to turn around and make it an out and back hike.

Later in the week, I went back to a beach near Torrey Pines to watch the sunset and walk on the beach.

Over the weekend, Spencer and Michelle’s neighborhood held a block party, so I spent Saturday getting thoroughly beat by Spencer in cornhole and meeting the neighbors. It was refreshing to be able to socialize again, and watching the neighborhood kids run around reminded me of some of my favorite summer nights from what I was little.