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In December 2001 a meeting of interested parties from fifteen four-year IT programs from the US along with representatives from IEEE, ACM, and ABET (CITC-1) began work on the formalization of Information Technology as an accredited academic discipline. The effort has evolved into SIGITE, the ACM SIG for Information Technology Education. During this period three main efforts have proceeded in parallel: 1) Definition of accreditation standards for IT programs, 2) Creation of a model curriculum for four-year IT programs, and 3) Description of the characteristics that distinguish IT programs from the sister disciplines in computing. During the deliberations of the SIGITE Curriculum Committee, several topics emerged that were considered essential, but that did not seem to belong in a single specific knowledge area or unit. One of the most significant of these "pervasive themes" is Information Assurance and Security (IAS). A consensus emerged that these themes must be addressed during the entire learning experience and that students and instructors need to be constantly aware of how these themes are woven through the fabric of the curriculum. In this paper we present an introduction to SIGITE and the context of the work of the Curriculum Committee on IT2005, the IT curriculum volume described in the Overview Draft document of the Joint Task Force for Computing Curriculum 2005. We then describe the IAS component of the IT2005 document and how some IT programs are incorporating IAS as a "pervasive theme" that is woven through the curriculum. We conclude with some observations about the experience and some suggestions for those attempting to integrate information assurance and security into an existing program. (Contains 3 figures.)

Corning® Eagle XG® glass is widely used in the manufacture of electronic displays. In a previous submission, the authors reported its optical constants from 230 to 1690 nm (0.73-5.39). This spectral range reflected the fact that at a thickness of 0.5mm, the material had zero transmission below 230 nm. These previously reported optical constants relied on a simple curve fitting approach that consisted of low- and high-energy poles, Tauc-Lorentz (T-L), and Gaussian oscillators. While the model agreed with the experimental data over the selected spectral range, it showed a sharp decrease in absorption when extrapolated to shorter wavelengths, which seemed physically unreasonable. To improve upon this earlier model, the authors have now obtained transmission data down to 196 nm using thin (100 and 200μm) samples of the glass. Using this data, the optical constants were modeled using a T-L oscillator, 2-3 Gaussian oscillators, and a pole in the infrared. The center energies of the Gaussian oscillators corresponded approximately to previously reported absorptions from iron and tin in silicate glasses, and the band gap of the T-L oscillator was fixed at 5.8 eV, corresponding approximately to previously reported values of the onset of intrinsic absorptions. The resonance energy of the T-L oscillator was initially fixed at 12 eV following published values for fused silica, after which it was allowed to vary. The optical constants for the 100 and 200 μm samples could be fit simultaneously using the same model, but slight adjustments to the amplitude and broadening of the Gaussian oscillators were required to fit the transmission data of standard 0.5mm (500 μm) Eagle XG. The authors attribute this apparent difference in the optical properties of these nominally identical materials, which were manufactured at different sites, to differences in the concentrations of iron and tin. Iron is a trace impurity in Eagle XG, and tin is a minor constituent. These have a profound effect on the ultraviolet absorption of glass. For the simultaneous fit of the 100 and 200 μm thick samples, our approach gave an unweighted mean squared error (MSE) of 1.19. The same model adapted to fit the 0.5mm sample gave an unweighted MSE of 0.97. These models yielded small, nonzero values of k at shorter wavelengths. In situations where the glass was not analyzed with the inclusion of transmittance spectra, the refractive index can be reasonably modeled over this entire spectral range using only a Sellmeier (pole-pole) model. This model showed an MSE value of 1.09, where, of course, k was null throughout it. This reflection approach may be useful where transmission data is absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three thicknesses of reactively sputtered SiO2, nominally 20, 40, and 60 nm, deposited on Corning Eagle XG® (EXG), an important display glass, were analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Reflection ellipsometry data from the samples were analyzed from 196 to 1688 nm at angles of 55°-60°, inclusive, in 1° increments. These angles were chosen because they bracket the Brewster angles of both EXG glass and SiO2. The backsides of the samples were roughened by sand blasting to suppress backside reflections from the substrates. A total of nine datasets were collected from nine different samples (three for each nominal thickness of SiO2), each at six different angles of incidence (54 spectra). The optical constants for each thickness of SiO2 was determined, as well as a set of constants for all the films (the material in general) via a multisample analysis (MSA). The optical constants of the SiO2 films were modeled using two poles with transparency assumed over the entire spectral range (a Sellmeier model). A Bruggeman effective medium approximation (BEMA) roughness layer was included in the model, which assumed 50/50 volume fractions that corresponded to the modeled SiO2 optical constants and void. The fit did not substantially improve when an interface layer between the Eagle XG® and the sputtered film was included, so it was omitted. Three sets of previously reported optical constants for the substrate over two wavelength ranges were considered in the modeling. The thin SiO2 films analyzed herein have very similar optical properties to those of their EXG substrate--this is a challenging analytical problem involving a transparent film on a transparent substrate. Accordingly, analysis of multiple samples, an MSA that included multiple film thicknesses analyzed at multiple angles, and an exploration of multiple modeling approaches helped ensure that the optical constants reported herein are accurate and the modeling robust. In particular, these measures helped avoid correlation between the optical constants, the layer thicknesses, and the thicknesses of the BEMA layers. Atomic force microscopy roughness measurements were made on the SiO2 films and compared to the roughness values obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry. In summary, the authors provide here the optical constants and some accompanying physical characterization of sputtered 20-60 nm SiO2 films from 196 to 1688 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eagle XG® glass is widely used in the manufacture of electronic displays. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission data for this material were obtained from 193 to 1690 nm. The optical constants of the material were then modeled from 230 to 1690 nm. The data were initially fit with a basis spline (B-spline), and these results were used as the starting point for either a two-Gaussian oscillator model or a Tauc-Lorentz (T-L) + Gaussian oscillator model. Both models gave good fits, with unweighted mean squared error values of ca. 1.1. Samples were provided by Corning Incorporated directly from their production facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]