Universal Chip Assembly and Interconnection Process - Development and Applications

这项研究的目的是开发一种以大规模并行方式跨长度尺度和材料边界组装和互连功能半导体器件的工艺。目标是将最小组件尺寸减小到远远超出当前水平，同时支持在组装结构之间形成电气互连的能力。该方法基于自组装而不是机器人拾取和放置。这项研究的智力价值是建立一个知识库，使自组装过程的工程成为可能。这需要对可使用的力以及指导组装过程所需的环境有全面的了解。更广泛的影响：在任意基板上组装和互连材料和设备的能力允许合并基于其他不兼容材料的技术。应用包括灵活的高性能电子产品、太阳能电池和传感器系统，用于收集光学、声学、化学和/或放射数据，这些数据将改善我们日常生活的许多领域，包括医疗保健、环境、能源、食品安全、制造和国家安全。研究工作和新的知识库将导致研讨会和课程材料的开发，这将影响直接参与研究的研究生和高年级本科生。

The objective of this research is to develop a process to assemble and interconnect functional semiconducting devices across length scales and material boundaries in a massively parallel manner. The goals are to reduce the minimal component size far beyond current levels while supporting the ability to from electrical interconnects between the assembled structures. The approach is based on self-assembly instead of robotic pick and place. The intellectual merit of this research is to establish a knowledge base that will enable the engineering of self-assembly processes. This requires development of a comprehensive understanding of the forces that can be used and of the environments that are necessary to direct the assembly process.Broader impacts: The ability to assemble and interconnect materials and devices on arbitrary substrates allows the merging of technologies based on otherwise incompatible materials. Applications include flexible high performance electronics, solar cells, and sensor systems to gather optical, acoustic, chemical, and/or radiological data that would improve many areas of our daily lives including healthcare, the environment, energy, food safety, manufacturing, and national security. The research effort and new knowledge base will lead to the development of seminars and course materials, which will impact graduate and advanced undergraduate students beyond those that are directly involved in the research.