NIRT: Nanoscale Engineering of Inorganic-Organic Interfaces: Applications to Molecular Scale Electronics

本提案是对纳米科学与工程计划NSF 01-157的响应，属于NIRT类别。该提案的重点是开发新的化学方法，在小有机分子与导电和绝缘无机超薄膜之间形成性能良好和坚固的界面，用于分子规模的电子应用。当今微电子学的成功在很大程度上归功于将各种(主要)无机材料集成到对设备有用的结构中的能力。例如，硅在该领域的主导地位并不是因为它的固有电学性质，而是因为它形成的界面的质量(例如，Si-Si02界面)。这里要进行的工作是开发具有同等或更高性能的有机-无机界面，其中小有机分子形成活动层。解决办法在于开发基于化学的方法来形成无机层(包括金属层和电介质层)和有机层之间的关键界面。这一项目的成功将需要应用复杂的合成金属有机化学、表面和界面科学、自组装和纳米制造，以及“化学上精确的”计算机模拟。在康奈尔组建的团队在所有这些领域都拥有专业知识和丰富的经验。有机层通常将通过在衬底上的自组装过程(在溶液中或在真空中)形成，所述衬底已被图案化以暴露由金属(例如，Au)、氧化物(例如，Si02)或氮化物组成的选定区域，其中自组装的单分子层将结合在其中。对图案化衬底的研究对于研究从基础到与器件设计和性能相关的许多问题至关重要。最终，该团队寻求作为一套最终目标：(I)开发新型有机金属前体，用于形成导电层和绝缘层，并与有机层无缝连接；(Ii)对界面形成过程有一个基本的了解，包括温度等过程变量对界面分子尺度结构的影响；(Iii)鉴于对界面化学和物理的增强知识，展示分子尺度电子学的可控器件属性；以及(Iv)开发既能预测界面的原子尺度结构，又能预测由此产生的电子性质的计算机模型。康奈尔大学团队提出的最后一个重大挑战将是发展研究伦理研讨会。从开展这一讲习班的经验来看，与会者希望更好地理解和认可负责任的研究行为，并充分了解伦理的相关哲学基础，以便能够在其研究的发展和实践中做出伦理选择。

This proposal was received in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative, Program Solicitation NSF 01-157, in the NIRT category. The proposal focuses on developing novel chemical approaches to forming well-behaved and robust interfaces between small organic molecules and both conducting and insulating inorganic ultrathin films for applications in molecular scale electronics. Much of the success of present day microelectronics is due to the ability to integrate a variety of (mostly) inorganic materials into structures useful for devices. For example, silicon dominates the field not because of its intrinsic electrical properties, but because of the quality of the interfaces it forms (e.g., the Si-Si02 interface). The work to be conducted here seeks to develop organic-inorganic interfaces possessing equivalent or superior properties, where small organic molecules form the active layers. The solution lies in the development of chemically based approaches to the formation of the critical interface between the inorganic layers (both metallic and dielectric) and the organic layers. Success in this venture will require the application of sophisticated synthetic organometallic chemistry, surface and interface science, self-assembly and nanofabrication, and "chemically accurate' computer simulation. The team that has been assembled at Cornell possesses expertise and significant experience in all of these areas. The organic layers will typically be formed by a process of self-assembly (in solution or in vacuo) on substrates that have been patterned to expose selected areas comprised of metal (e.g., Au), oxide (e.g., Si02), or nitride where the self-assembled monolayer will bind. Study of patterned substrates is vital for the investigation of a number of issues, from the fundamental to those related to device design and performance. Ultimately the team seeks as a final set of goals: (i) development of novel organometallic precursors for the formation of both conducting and insulting layers that will interface seamlessly with the organic layer; (ii) development of a fundamental understanding of the interface formation process, including the effects of process variables such as temperature on the molecular scale structure of the interface; (iii) demonstration of controllable device properties for molecular scale electronics, given enhanced knowledge of the interfacial chemistry and physics; and (iv) development of computer models that can both predict the atomic scale structure of the interface, and the resulting electronic properties. A final significant challenge put forward by the Cornell team will be the development of a workshop on research ethics. From the experience of working to develop this workshop the participants hope to build a better understanding and recognition of responsible research conduct, and to know the relevant philosophical underpinnings of ethics sufficiently well to be able to make ethical choices in both the development and practice of their research.