Collaborative Research: Investigation of Fundamental Properties of Lead-free Nanosolders for Nanoscale Assembly and Nano-Joining

本基金的研究目标是确定纳米无铅焊料（nanosolders）的合成-结构-性能关系，用于连接/键合应用。 虽然纳米技术在电子和器件领域经历了巨大的发展，但要达到纳米电子制造和商业化阶段，还必须克服一些关键挑战。 迄今为止，纳米电子学和器件研究中的一个主要挑战是以低接触电阻有效连接纳米元件（例如纳米线或碳纳米管）以获得可靠的电互连和热互连。 在这个项目中，PI将合成几种有前途的无铅纳米焊料，以各向同性和各向异性纳米结构（纳米球，纳米棒，纳米线等）的形式，并确定其在纳米级组装和纳米连接中潜在应用的基本特性。 纳米焊料的熔点，纳米润湿，金属间的形成和相变将被研究。 纳米焊料的潜在问题，包括表面氧化，将通过与新英格兰和美国东北部地区的当地电子公司的合作进行探索和解决。如果成功，这种跨学科的合作努力将提供一条途径，进一步小型化的纳米电子器件的高质量和可靠性。 无铅纳米焊料材料和纳米焊接技术预计将在电子行业以及先进材料连接的各个领域发挥关键作用，包括医疗设备，纳米机电系统（NEMS），传感器，航空航天和国防工业。 该项目的成果将通过NSF NSEC高速纳米制造中心（CHN）、新英格兰无铅电子联盟（30多家地方和国家公司）、纽约的集成电子工程中心（IEEC）和专业会议进行传播。 PI将在马萨诸塞州和纽约的两个机构组织关于纳米焊料和纳米电子组装的技术研讨会、联合讲习班和会议。 新的研究结果也将被整合到本科和研究生课程中，包括开发新的纳米连接实验室模块，以及与波士顿科学博物馆（MoS）的K-12外展。

The research objective of this grant is to determine the synthesis-structure-property relationships in nanoscale lead-free solders (nanosolders) for joining/bonding applications. Although nanotechnology has experienced dramatic development in the area of electronics and devices, some key challenges have to be overcome in order to reach the stage of nanoelectronics manufacturing and commercialization. To date, one major challenge in nanoelectronics and device research is the effective joining of nanoelements (such as nanowires or carbon nanotubes) with low contact resistance to obtain reliable electrical and thermal interconnection. In this project, the PIs will synthesize several promising lead-free nanosolders, in the form of isotropic and anisotropic nanostructures (nanospheres, nanorods, nanowires, etc), and determine the fundamental properties underlying their potential applications in nanoscale assembly and nano-joining. Melting points of nanosolders, nanoscale wetting, inter-metallic formation, and phase transformation will be studied. The potential issues of nanosolders, including surface oxidation, will be probed and addressed through collaboration with local electronics companies in the New England and US Northeast Region.If successful, this interdisciplinary collaborative effort will provide a pathway into further miniaturization of nanoelectronic devices with high quality and reliability. Lead-free nanosolder materials and nano-soldering techniques are expected to play a key role in the electronics industry, as well as in various areas of advanced materials joining, including medical devices, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), sensors, aerospace and defense industries. The results from this project will be disseminated through the NSF NSEC Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN), the New England Lead-free Electronics Consortium (over 30 local and national companies), the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) in New York, and professional conferences. Technical seminars, joint workshops, and conferences on nanosolders and nanoelectronics assembly will be organized by the PIs at the two institutions in Massachusetts and New York. The new findings will also be integrated into undergraduate and graduate courses, including the development of new nano-joining lab modules, and in K-12 outreach with the Museum of Science (MoS) in Boston.