RUI: Precursor Design and Atomic Layer Deposition of High-k Dielectric Thin Films

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。这项研究奖在无机，生物无机和有机化学计划支持化学教授布拉德利D。Fahlman在中央密歇根大学开发用于下一代非易失性存储器件的新材料（例如，便携式硬盘、记忆棒等）。氧化铪（HfO 2）是一种高k电介质材料，为了继续摩尔定律（集成电路上的晶体管数量每1.5 - 2年翻一番），它对于微电子工业越来越重要。该项目通过设计用于气相沉积应用的新型铪配合物，极大地扩展了基本上未开发的铪化学性质。我们的工作还探讨了通过原子层沉积（ALD）将纳米晶体直接掺入到高k电介质薄膜中。本科生将获得各种无机/有机和纳米材料合成的实践经验，以及一套表面表征技术-这对于传统的本科生经验来说是非常不典型的。该项目还为博士后和研究生提供本科生指导机会-这对他们未来的职业生涯至关重要。来自当地齐佩瓦美洲土著部落的本科生参加了该项目;这是中密歇根大学一个重要目标的一部分;即增加这一代表性不足群体的科学专业数量。这一基础研究项目的结果将直接影响商业微电子设备的未来，确保继续实现计算速度的提高。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This Research award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports chemistry by Professor Bradley D. Fahlman at Central Michigan University to develop new materials for next-generation nonvolatile memory devices (e.g., portable hard drives, memory sticks, etc.). Hafnium oxide (HfO2), a high-k dielectric material, is of increasing importance for the microelectronics industry, in order to continue Moore's Law - doubling the number of transistors on an integrated circuit every 1.5 - 2 years. This project greatly expands the largely unexplored chemistry of hafnium through the design of novel hafnium complexes for vapor deposition applications. Our work also explores the direct incorporation of nanocrystals into high-k dielectric thin films via atomic layer deposition (ALD). Undergraduate students will gain hands-on experience in a variety of inorganic/organic and nanomaterials synthesis, as well as a suite of surface characterization techniques - rather atypical for a traditional undergraduate experience. This project also entails undergraduate student mentoring opportunities for postdoctoral and graduate students - of utmost importance for their future careers. Undergraduate students from the local Chippewa Native-American tribe participate in the project; this represents part of an important objective for Central Michigan University; namely, increasing the number of majors in the sciences within this underrepresented group. The results of this fundamental research project will directly influence the future of commercial microelectronic devices, ensuring that improvements in computational speeds continue to be realized.