About | Sufyan M. Shaikh, PhD

Advanced Modeling,

Technology Development,

Micron Technology, Inc.

Hi! Welcome to my website.

My name is Sufyan and I am part of Technology Development team at Micron Technology Inc., where I help R&D teams and Fab teams design better semiconductor memory chips using Advanced Modeling techniques.

I have extensive experience in various Computational Materials Engineering tools such as Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (Density Functional Theory/ab-initio Atomistic Modeling), VESTA (atomic structure visualization), ATAT (for special quasi-random structure generation), and Atomsk (atomic structure file manipulation) to create Digital Twin of microstructural phases of metals and alloys. I enjoy automating routine tasks using Shell scripting/programming, which saves time and effort.

I have 8 years of diverse experience in Problem-solving, Stakeholder engagement through active collaborations, R&D Project Management, Team Management, Industrial & Academic Research, and Cross-functional Collaborations. I am experienced in solving complex business problems using the First-principles Problem-solving approach. I love breaking down highly techincal problems into smaller chunks and then solving them. Using this approach, I have:

Developed 3x cheaper domestic alternative to international supplier using Cost Benefit Analysis.
Developed a 9x faster atomistic modeling workflow.
Optimized metallography sample preparation process resulting in 22% time-savings.
Developed 3 new etchant chemistries.
Designed an “Alloy design stage gate” that analyzed 252 alloys on 6 parameters.
Developed a bottom-up methodology for alloy design using atomistic modeling of 44 refractory metals and alloys.
Discovered the role of HCP elements in making deformable refractory alloys for aerospace applications.

I routeinly brainstorm on complex/abstract ideas and highly technical concepts in simple terms with Customers, Suppliers, Internal Teams, and Executive Management.

My research has been recognized through 6 peer-reviewed publications (a few more are in the pipeline), 1 National Scholarship Award, 1 International Scholarship Award at Sweden, 2 Poster Presentation Awards, 3 Govt. of India Awards, 6 International Conference Presentations, and 1 US Air Force Research Lab report. I am a proponent of Physics-guided, Data-driven Materials Discovery, Design, and Development. I have extensive experience in R&D Project Management, Physical Metallurgy, Failure Investigations, and Process-Structure-Property-Performance analysis using Advanced Metallography, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). I am a practitioner of First-principles method of Problem Solving.

I did my Bachelors in Metallurgical Engineering from COEP Technological University (previously known as Government College of Engineering Pune-COEP), Maharshtra, India in 2015, where I was awarded the Government of India - Ministry of Steel Scholarship of ₹120,000 (0.12 Million Indian Rupees) for academic excellence.

I help teams at Micron design some of the world's most advanced memory chips.

I did my Masters and PhD in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). I have developed alloys for high-temperature structural applications using Ab-initio Atomistic Modeling for my PhD. I have developed a refractory metal based alternative to superalloy using First-principles Atomistic Modeling that can have better high-temperature properties than the current state-of-the-art Ni-based superalloys. My PhD thesis was on understanding the effect of alloying elements on the deformation and strengthening behavior of refractory metal alloys. My thesis advisors were Prof. B. S. Murty (Director - Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad) and Prof. Satyesh K. Yadav (Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras).

Before joining IIT Madras, I was heading the Materials Lab at Bekaert India Technical Centre in Pune, Maharashtra, India. At Bekaert, I led a team of 4 Microscopists and Metallographers in the Metallurgical Investigations of tire cords, circlips, automotive springs, and wire rods using Advanced Metallography and Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). I have been trained in steel wire microstructural analysis at Bekaert’s global R&D headquarters in Belgium and Asian R&D headquarters in China. I have also been trained in the wire drawing and welding processes in India, Czech Republic, and Indonesia. My internal customer portfolio included Bekaert’s manufacturing plants and R&D teams from India, USA, Europe, Indonesia, Brazil, and Malaysia.

Places where I have either worked or have been to or have had cross-functional collaborators

During my time at Bekaert, I successfully renewed the IATF 16949 certification of the Materials Lab, led more than 52 materials investigations, managed a lab with an annual budget of about INR 2.2 million, worked on cross-functional projects with teams from 5 countries, and led a team of 4 analysts. My frequent interactions with the Indian Steelmakers/Suppliers, Customers, Product Development teams, Purchase Teams, and my international counterparts from 5 countries have improved my Communication & Presentation skills, Problem-solving skills, and Persuasion skills.

I believe the next revolution in Materials Development will happen at the confluence of Physics, Computer Science, and Materials Science & Engineering, with Materials Informatics and Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) accelerating the Materials Development cycles.

Graduation photo at IIT Madras.

I enjoy reading Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”, writing poetry, journaling, and listening to music in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Urdu during my free time. From Jagjit Singh to Eminem and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Badshah, I listen to all genre of music.

I would be happy to discuss my PhD research with your team on how to leverage Materials Modeling in Discovering, Designing, and Developing Advanced Alloys for some of the most challenging applications.

Testimonials from some of my colleagues:

Testimonials from my colleagues at Bekaert.

Here’s a short video where I was part of IIT Madras’ Research Scholars video.

IIT Madras Research Scholars video.

Selected publications

JAP

On the influence of enthalpy of formation on lattice distortion and intrinsic ductility of concentrated refractory alloys

Sufyan M. Shaikh, B. S. Murty, and Satyesh Kumar Yadav

Journal of Applied Physics, Jul 2023

Abs DOI

Valence electron concentration (VEC), atomic size difference (δ), and Pugh’s ratio (B/G) are a few of the empirical parameters widely used to design ductile refractory alloys. Here, we used the intrinsic ductility parameter (D), which is the ratio of surface energy (\gammas) and unstable stacking fault energy (\gammausfe), to design ductile refractory alloy. We found that the D correctly captures the experimentally observed ductility in concentrated refractory alloys. Here, we studied the enthalpy of formation (\DeltaEf), lattice distortion, and D of 9 refractory metals and 36 equiatomic refractory alloys using density functional theory simulations. We found that the \DeltaEf strongly influences the D of concentrated refractory alloys. The positive \DeltaEf and δlead to large lattice distortion in concentrated refractory alloys. However, we did not find a strong correlation between lattice distortion and D in the presently studied alloys. We found that the success of VEC and Pugh’s ratio in designing ductile refractory alloys has a strong dependence on the underlying \DeltaEf of the alloy. We have developed a bottom-up method, which drastically reduces the number of alloys to be studied, to design ductile concentrated refractory alloys that can be thermodynamically stable.
JALCOM

Designing a thermodynamically stable and intrinsically ductile refractory alloy

Sufyan M. Shaikh, B. S. Murty, and Satyesh K. Yadav

J. Alloys Compd., Jan 2023

Abs DOI PDF

The stringent environmental norms are pushing the aviation and power-generation industries to increase the operating temperatures of their jet-engines and gas-turbines which will improve the efficiencies of these energy conversion systems. Aviation and power generation industries are researching the alternatives for the currently used Ni-based superalloys, which is the most widely used material in the high-temperature region of these engines. Refractory alloys are being actively developed as an alternative to the Ni-based superalloys due to their high melting-points and superior strength retention capabilities at higher temperatures. Enhancing the intrinsic ductility of these refractory alloys has remained a challenge. Reducing the valence electron concentration (VEC) below 4.5 have been shown to improve the intrinsic ductility of few alloys, which means addition of Ti, Zr, and Hf can improve the ductility of refractory alloys. However, Re has been widely used to ductilize the W which goes contrary to the VEC criteria suggested in literature. The reason this seems to work is may be due to the reduced USFE of the alloy due to alloying with low USFE elements. Here we use density function theory (DFT) simulations to understand the factors affecting the ductility of refractory alloys. A DFT-based workflow is developed which reliably calculates the ductility parameter of refractory alloys. The developed workflow ensures that the error in estimating USFE is less than 50mJ/m}\^2}. The enthalpy, lattice distortion, and ductility parameter are calculated using DFT for Group IV, V, VI elements & their 25 equiatomic binary alloys. The deformability of refractory BCC alloys is correlated with their enthalpy.
Intermetallics

CALPHAD and rule-of-mixtures: A comparative study for refractory high entropy alloys

Sufyan M. Shaikh, V. S. Hariharan, Satyesh K. Yadav, and B. S. Murty

Intermetallics, Dec 2020

Abs DOI PDF

Present work studies 126 quaternary and 126 quinary equiatomic refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs), made from Group IV (Ti, Zr, Hf), Group V (V, Nb, Ta) and Group VI (Cr, Mo, W) elements. Rule-of-mixtures (ROM) technique is used to calculate liquidus temperature, density (ρ), Young’s modulus (E), % atomic size difference (δ), valence electron concentration (VEC) and specific heat at constant pressure and at 1273 K (Cp). CALPHAD technique is used to predict the number of phases formed at 298 K, ρand liquidus temperature. ROM calculated densities are matching perfectly with CALPHAD values. Densities and E are directly proportional to the VEC and liquidus temperature of the alloys. Ti, Zr, Hf are ductilizing the alloys and making them light; whereas Cr, Mo and W, are reducing the alloys’ ductility and making them heavy. For quinary RHEAs, Cp shows six distinct groups with δ, but a similar trend is not observed in quaternary RHEAs. A methodology is developed to screen a large number of alloys based on various properties. Correlations between those properties are also studied.