Hossain Fahad received both, his Master's and Ph.D. Degree in Electrical Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under the supervision of Prof. Muhammad Mustafa Hussain. He is currently a post-doctoral researcher leading sensors research Prof. Ali Javey`s lab at EECS, UC Berkeley. He has authored more than 20 journal publications and his expertise is in the advanced device and sensor technology. Fahad is proficient in epitaxy, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition (sputtering and evaporation), atomic layer deposition, lithography, reactive ion etching, wet cleans, etch and annealing. He is an experienced user of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). He is also a skilled user of TSUPREM and MEDICI.

Research Interests

Fahad's intense research interest is in solid-state electronics, especially in nanotube and nanowire field-effect transistors. 

Why did you choose KAUST?

I chose KAUST because of the novel and unrestrained research environment, best-of-the-best faculty and a fully-funded scholarship.

How is KAUST helping you fulfill your dream?

I strive to be a leader and assert myself as an impact-driven spokesperson to shape the future and worldwide view of my research field in a positive way. Outstanding mentorship from my advisor and faculty, coupled with brilliant colleagues and the availability of top-notch research facilities has empowered me and put me on the right trajectory to success.

What is your research topic?

I work on bringing high-performance computing to ultra-low-power mobile consumer applications by developing unique next-generation transistor architectures such as the silicon nanotube and the wavy channel FinFETs. My research topic is heavily influenced by today`s energy crisis and the explosion of big data storage and management due to the internet of things. 

What are your research accomplishments so far?

He has authored 16 journal and conference papers (including 2 invited talks) where he has first-authored in 9 of them including high impact Nano Letters (2011), Nature Sci. Re. (2012), Applied Physics Letters (2013), IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (2013), IEEE NMDC (2013), etc. He also has 2 provisional US patents. 

What do you think about the KAUST environment and social life?

KAUST is a wonderful place to live and study/work. It is a culturally rich and diverse as well as an environmentally conscious community living in state-of-the-art facilities with the mesmerizingly beautiful red sea in the backdrop.​

Education Profile

  • PhD, Electrical Engineering, KAUST, Saudi Arabia, Thuwal (2011-2013)
  • MS, Electrical Engineering, KAUST, Saudi Arabia, Thuwal (2009-2010)
  • BSc, Electrical Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK, (2005- 2008)

Awards and Distinctions

  • Winner, Electrical Engineering Days (EE Days) Poster Competition in Solid State Electronics Track, KAUST
  • 1st Prize in 1st Graduate Research symposium at KAUST from Physical Science and Engineering Division
  • ​KAUST Provost Award

Selected Publications

Fahad, H. M., & Hussain, M. M. (2012). Are Nanotube Architectures More Advantageous Than Nanowire Architectures For Field Effect Transistors? Scientific Reports, 2(1). doi:10.1038/srep00475
Fahad, H., Hasan, M., Li, G., & Hussain, M. (2012). Thermoelectricity from wasted heat of integrated circuits. Applied Nanoscience, 3(3), 175–178. doi:10.1007/s13204-012-0128-2
Fahad, H. M., Smith, C. E., Rojas, J. P., & Hussain, M. M. (2011). Silicon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor with Core–Shell Gate Stacks for Enhanced High-Performance Operation and Area Scaling Benefits. Nano Letters, 11(10), 4393–4399. doi:10.1021/nl202563s