Generation Of Sidewall Patterns Using A Thermal Shape-Memory Polymer

这笔资金用于研究一种在衬底结构的侧壁上制造芯片的新方法。因此，小型化半导体系统中的芯片密度将增加，从而导致改进的功能，例如提高计算机速度。目前还没有开发出利用衬底结构的侧壁区域来产生图案的可行方法；只有衬底结构的顶面被用来存储芯片。该工艺很好地利用了热形状记忆聚合物的应变恢复变形。当这种聚合物被加热到一定温度以上时，它会从变形的形状恢复到原来的形状。该项目将采用理论、数值和实验研究相结合的方法，系统地探索制造尺寸为100纳米的侧壁芯片。如果成功，该方法将成为产生密集芯片的小型化半导体系统的主要途径之一，而该项目中对该方法的系统研究将是实现这一目标的关键一步。该项目还将致力于帮助K-12、本科生和研究生将微技术和纳米技术的概念可视化。此外，首席调查员致力于促进本科生和少数民族参与科学研究。

The grant provides funding for investigating a novel approach to fabricate chips on the sidewalls of substrate structures. Consequently, chip density in a miniaturized semiconductor system will be increased resulting in improved functionality, such as increased computer speed. There is no viable method yet developed which takes advantage of the sidewall areas of substrate structures to generate patterns; only the top surfaces of the substrate structures are used to store chips. The proposed process makes good use of the strain-recovery deformation of a thermal shape-memory polymer. Such a polymer recovers its original shape from the deformed shape when it is heated above a certain temperature. This project will systematically explore the creation of sidewall chips of sizes down to 100 nanometers, using a combination of theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations.If successful, this method will become one of the major approaches to generate miniaturized semiconductor systems of densely distributed chips, and the systematic investigation of the method in this project will be a critical move to achieve this goal. The project will also focus on an effort to help K-12, undergraduate and graduate students visualize micro- and nanotechnology concepts. In addition, the principal investigator is committed to furthering the involvement of undergraduate students and minorities in scientific research.