Zainul Aabdin

Zainul Aabdin, PhD is a Senior Scientist and leader of the Advanced in-situ Microscopy (AiM) group at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) Singapore since 2021. Aabdin has worked extensively on using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to visualize nanoscale processes in real-time under relevant liquid and gaseous environments. At IMRE, his group focuses on the nanoscale processes, including liquid cleaning, chemical etching, and thermal annealing, which are critical to advancing next-generation microelectronics using a real-time imaging approach.

Prior to joining IMRE, Aabdin worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he optimized and integrated in situ TEM imaging techniques for industrial processes. His collaborative work with imec, Belgium, led to the development of nanoscale etching processes that effectively control silicon anisotropy and mitigate pattern collapse during wet cleaning processes.

Aabdin received a PhD degree in applied physics from the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany and a Master's degree in Material Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India. Aabdin has received several academic excellence awards and has published more than 50 publications.