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

该INSPIRE奖的部分资金来自工程理事会土木、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理事会计算机和网络系统部门的计算机系统研究计划、以及计算机与信息科学与工程理事会信息与智能系统司的稳健情报计划。集成电路是在价值数十亿美元的芯片工厂生产的，从设计到芯片需要几个月的处理时间。这个提议的目标是在一个下午通过桌面流程完成这个任务。它不是像今天那样蚀刻或沉积电子材料，而是基于组装数字材料。它们使用一组离散的组件，可逆地连接在一组离散的相对位置和方向中。这些属性允许由零件确定位置，检测和纠正其放置错误，连接不同的材料，以及拆卸而不是处理它们。导电和绝缘部件类型将用于取代多层印刷电路板，用于三维互连，电感和电容器，带状线和天线的连接器和电缆。将增加用于生产无源元件的电阻零件类型，用于生产有源元件的半导体零件类型，用于生产机电元件的磁性和弯曲零件类型。这个项目将开发零件的原型、生产它们的过程、放置它们的装配器以及用它们进行设计的软件工具。这项研究将按尺寸和复杂程度分阶段进行，重现集成电子学的历史。首先将相当于小规模集成，使用数十个具有100微米特征尺寸的部件。这种集成水平的一个测试案例将是组装一个射频匹配网络。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1微米特征尺寸的部件，目标是组装一个微处理器。计算机控制的制造业已经从减法工艺发展到加法工艺；本研究路线图将介绍功能数位材料的离散组装与拆卸，以整合过程来编码完整系统的建构。

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.