INSPIRE Track 1: Programming Digital Materials: Additive Assembly of Integrated Electronics

该INSPIRE奖部分由工程局土木，机械和制造创新部门的跨学科研究计划，计算机和信息科学与工程局计算机和网络系统部门的计算机系统研究计划，以及计算机和信息科学与工程局信息和智能系统司的鲁棒智能计划。在价值数十亿美元的芯片工厂中，从设计到芯片需要数月的处理。本提案的目标是在一个下午通过桌面进程完成这一目标。它不是像今天这样蚀刻或沉积电子材料，而是基于组装数字材料。这些使用一组离散的组件，以一组离散的相对位置和方向可逆地连接。这些属性允许由部件确定位置，检测和纠正其放置中的错误，连接不同的材料，并且将其拆卸而不是处理。导电和绝缘部件类型将用于取代多层印刷电路板、三维互连的连接器和布线、电感器和电容器、带状线和天线。无源元件增加电阻型，有源元件增加半导体型，机电元件增加磁性和弯曲型。该项目将开发零部件的原型、生产工艺、装配设备以及设计软件工具。研究将在规模和复杂性的阶段进行，再现集成电子学的历史。第一种是小规模集成，使用数十个100微米特征尺寸的部件。此集成级别的测试用例将组装射频匹配网络。然后是中等规模的集成，使用数百个10微米特征尺寸的部件。这里的一个目标是组装一个环形振荡器和二进制计数器。最后，大规模集成将使用数千个具有1微米特征尺寸的部件，目标是组装微处理器。计算机控制的制造已经从减法发展到加法过程;本研究路线图将介绍功能数字材料的离散组装和拆卸，以在集成过程中编码完整系统的构建。

This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Interdisciplinary Research Program in the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation in the Directorate for Engineering, the Computer systems Research Program in the Division of Computer and Network Systems in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and the Robust Intelligence Program in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.Integrated circuits are produced in billion-dollar chip fabs, which require many months of processing to go from a design to a chip. The goal of this proposal is to accomplish that in an afternoon, with a table-top process. Rather than etching or depositing electronic materials, as is done today, it is based on assembling digital materials. These use a discrete set of components, reversibly joined in a discrete set of relative positions and orientations. Those attributes allow positions to be determined by the parts, errors in their placement to be detected and corrected, dissimilar materials to be joined, and them to be disassembled rather than disposed. A conducting and insulating part type will be used to replace multilayer printed circuit boards, connectors and cabling for three-dimensional interconnect, inductors and capacitors, striplines and antennas. A resistive part type will be added for producing passive components, semiconducting part types will be added for active components, and magnetic and flexural part types for electromechanical components.This project will develop prototypes of the parts, the processes to produce them, the assemblers to place them, and the software tools to design with them. The research will progress in stages of size and complexity, reproducing the history of integrated electronics. First will be the equivalent of small-scale integration, using tens of parts with a 100 micron feature size. A test case at this level of integration will be assembling a radiofrequency matching network. Then will come medium-scale integration, using hundreds of parts with a 10 micron feature size. A goal here will be assembling a ring oscillator and binary counter. Finally, large-scale integration will use thousands of parts with a 1 micron feature size, with a goal of assembling a microprocessor. Computer-controlled manufacturing has progressed from subtractive to additive processes; this research roadmap will introduce the discrete assembly and disassembly of functional digital materials, to code the construction of complete systems in an integrated process.