DMREF/Collaborative Research: High-Throughput Discovery, Development, and Demonstration of Material Systems to Enable Low-Power NEMS-Based Computation

虽然它们推动了全球技术革命，但位于计算机数字逻辑核心的电子晶体管非常节能。为了实现更低的功耗计算，正在考虑几种完全不同的设计来取代或补充晶体管。其中之一是纳米机电开关，一个非常小的设备，物理打开和关闭，以打开和关闭信号。它们的能效可能比晶体管高出100万倍。然而，它们的可靠性不足。具体地，导电接触表面需要能够打开和闭合高达四倍而不会磨损或被污染，并且尚未开发出能够做到这一点的材料。该项目的目标是：（1）了解这些开关中发生的故障机理;（2）发现和开发具有足够可靠性的新材料和操作条件。该方法将涉及在原子尺度上进行故障机制的计算建模，并进行纳米级显微镜实验。模型和实验将被整合用于材料的高通量筛选。将对大量的候选材料进行仔细研究，选择那些具有所需特性的材料，包括导电性、耐磨性、抗氧化性和抗污染性。最有希望的将在纳米级原型设备中进行测试，以最终确定实现这项新技术的材料和条件。如果成功，这项研究将发现新的材料和操作条件，使纳米机电开关成为下一代低功耗计算机和便携式设备的可行技术。这有可能节省大量能源，从而有助于解决高能耗带来的环境、经济和安全挑战。此外，这项工作将有助于保持美国在信息技术方面的竞争力，继续在一个关键的经济部门的技术进步。学生在团队中进行研究？的多个实验室将开发强大的技能，以领导未来的研究在节能纳米器件，材料科学和摩擦学。本科生将受益于将实施的独特的双机构暑期实习交流，会议上的团队授课短期课程将广泛传播这些创新的见解。

Although they have fueled a global technology revolution, the electronic transistors that lie at the heart of digital logic in computers are very energy-inefficient. To enable lower power computation, sever-al radically different designs to replace or complement transistors are under consideration. One of them is the nanoelectromechanical switch an extremely small device that physically opens and closes to turn signals on and off. These have potential to be up to one million times more energy efficient than transis-tors. However, they suffer from insufficient reliability. Specifically, the electrically conducting contacting surfaces need to be able to open and close up to a quadrillion times without wearing out or becoming con-taminated, and materials that can do this have not yet been developed. This project's objectives are: (1) to understand the failure mechanisms that occur in these switches; and (2) to discover and develop new ma-terials and operating conditions with sufficient reliability. The approach will involve performing compu-tational modeling of failure mechanisms at atomistic scales, and performing nanoscale microscopy exper-iments. Models and experiments will be integrated for high-throughput screening of materials. A large array of candidate materials will be canvassed, selecting those that possess required characteristics includ-ing electrical conductivity, wear resistance, and resistance to oxidation and buildup of contamination. The most promising ones will be tested in prototype nanoscale devices to ultimately identify materials and conditions that enable this new technology.If successful, this research will discover new materials and operating conditions that make nanoelec-tromechanical switches a viable technology for future-generation low-power computers and portable de-vices. This has potential to save large amounts of energy, thus helping to address the environmental, eco-nomic, and security challenges arising from high energy consumption. Furthermore, this work will help maintain U.S. competitiveness in information technology by continuing technological progress in a key economic sector. Students conducting research in the team?s multiple labs will develop strong skills to lead future research in energy-efficient nanodevices, materials science, and tribology. Undergraduate stu-dents will benefit from a unique dual-institution summer internship exchange that will be implemented, and team-taught short-courses at conferences will broadly disseminate insights from these innovations.