NIRT:Chemically Directed Surface Alignment and Wiring of Self-Assembled Nanoelectrical Circuits

07083447 john N. harbb本提案是根据活性纳米结构和纳米系统计划（NSF 06-595， NIRT类别）收到的。自上而下制造电路的另一种方法是使用分子的自组装来形成最小的电路结构，并将这些分子电路与自上而下技术制造的互连结合起来。分子和分子模板的尺寸使得极窄线宽的器件成为可能。此外，自组装本质上是并行的，这使得它可以在合理的成本下实现高通量制造。该项目旨在结合自底向上自组装和自顶向下模式的互补优势，以开发纳米电子电路制造工艺为目标。为了实现这一目标，杨百翰大学成立了一个跨学科研究小组——ASCENT（核酸模板组装纳米电路元件）。重点发展和完善四项关键技术：(1)溶液相分子电路组装，(2)高分辨率化学表面图图化，(3)高分辨率分子模板金属化，以及(4)表面分子电路的化学定向组装和集成。分子电路将使用定制的DNA模板在溶液中自组装（“试管电路”）。DNA自组装是特别强大的，因为大量可能的核酸序列使得DNA链彼此之间和其他分子之间的高度选择性结合。化学机械图案化，我们已经开发的一种方法，将用于化学修饰SiO2衬底。这种化学模式将提供锚点来连接和排列表面上的分子电路，并提供一种局部布线到锚定电路的方法，所有这些都具有10纳米的分辨率。化学金属电镀暴露的DNA和化学模板线，然后电连接有源电路元件彼此和更大规模的架构。最终的结果将是dna模板化的分子电路，这些分子电路已经在氧化物表面局部排列和连接。类似于目前在半导体工业中使用的互连技术，然后可以应用于创建基于所提出的分子电路的实际设备所需的更大的全球布线。更广泛的影响包括对本科生研究的重视，对当地西班牙裔社区和其他人的推广计划，以及研究生教育的多学科环境。这项技术的潜在社会影响在于，它可能为半导体行业对更高分辨率的需求提供一种创新的解决方案，而且它使用的技术从当前的微制造工艺中自然发展而来，并与之良好地连接在一起。

0708347John N. HarbThis proposal was received in response to the Active Nanostructures and Nanosystems initiative, NSF 06-595, category NIRT. An alternative to top-down fabrication of electrical circuits is to use self-assembly of molecules to form the smallest circuit structures, and combine these molecular circuits with interconnections fabricated by top-down techniques. The dimensions of molecules and molecular templates are such that devices with exceptionally narrow linewidths are possible. In addition, self-assembly is inherently parallel, making it amenable to high-throughput fabrication at reasonable cost. This project seeks to combine the complementary advantages of bottom-up self-assembly with top-down patterning, with the goal of developing a process for fabrication of nanoelectronic circuits.To accomplish this objective, an interdisciplinary research group, ASCENT (ASsembled nanoCircuit Elements by Nucleic acid Templating), has been formed at BYU. Efforts are focused on the development and refinement of four key technologies: (1) solution-phase molecular circuit assembly, (2) high-resolution chemical surface patterning, (3) high-resolution metallization of molecular templates, and (4) chemically directed assembly and integration of molecular circuits on surfaces. Molecular circuits will be self-assembled in solution using customized DNA templates ("test-tube circuits"). DNA self-assembly is particularly powerful because of the large number of possible nucleic-acid sequences that enable highly selective bonding of DNA strands to each other and to other molecules. Chemomechanical patterning, a method that we have developed, will be used to chemically modify the SiO2 substrate. This chemical patterning will provide anchor points to attach and align the molecular circuits on the surface, as well as provide a means for local wiring to the anchored circuit, all with a resolution 10 nm. Electroless metal plating of both the exposed DNA and chemically templated lines will then electrically connect active circuit elements to each other and to the larger-scale architecture. The net result will be DNA-templated molecular circuits that have been aligned and wired locally on an oxide surface. Interconnect technology similar to that used currently in the semiconductor industry can then be applied to create the larger global wiring needed for practical devices based on the proposed molecular circuits.Broader impacts including a strong emphasis on undergraduate research, an outreach program to the local Hispanic community and others, and a multidisciplinary environment for graduate education. The potential societal impact of the technology is that it may provide an innovative solution to the semiconductor industry's need for greater resolution, and it does so using technologies that evolve naturally from and connect well to current microfabrication processes.