I-Corps: Software Suite for Quality-Control of Patterned Nanostructures

纳米技术是具有巨大潜力的主要技术之一，正在逐步改变创新的前沿，以创造影响广泛应用领域的新应用。纳米研究机构拥有纳米制造工程师，他们为他们的新研究理念制造纳米结构，并且大多数纳米结构使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM），原子力显微镜（AFM）和磁力显微镜（MFM）成像技术进行表征，这些技术在不同用户之间容易发生变化，特别是当纳米结构的尺寸减小时。有一些商业上可获得的软件解决方案来自动分析和表征纳米结构的图像以识别磁化状态和制造缺陷，但是它们缺乏提供关于设计的制造布局满足预期要求的程度的可量化反馈。基于软件的图案化纳米结构分析（SPaN）是一种自动化，基于图像的软件套件，为纳米技术制造工程师提供自动分析和表征纳米结构的显微图像的能力，从而快速识别磁化状态和几何形状缺陷，用于需要具有非常特定的几何形状和间隔要求的图案化纳米结构的各种应用。 拟议的软件套件将在纳米级电子和传感器应用的大规模生产中具有更高的价值。此外，拟议的创新将使客户能够在几分钟内分析图像进行质量检查和缺陷，而专家用户可能需要几天才能完成相同的任务。该软件还使用户能够通过提供有关制造质量的相关反馈来执行快速制造开发迭代，并逐步提高制造质量。 这个I-Corps团队将研究开发的概念验证的可行性，以支持在所需的基础布局之后精确的图案化纳米结构制造。虽然目前的技术水平仅使用后处理和增强的图像质量的后制造表征，该产品SPaN将确保在系统水平上与基础图案进行比较。

Nanotechnology is one of the premier technologies with vast potential and is progressively changing the frontiers of innovation to create novel applications that impact a broad range of application domains. Nano-research facilities have nanofabrication engineers who fabricate nanostructures for their novel research ideas, and most nanostructures are characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) imaging techniques that are prone to variability between different users, especially as the dimensions of the nanostructures are reduced. There are a few commercially available software solutions to automatically analyze and characterize images of nanostructures to identify magnetization states and fabrication defects, but they lack in providing a quantifiable feedback as to how well the designed fabrication layout meets the intended requirement.The proposed innovation: Software based analysis of Patterned Nanostructures (SPaN), is an automated, image based software suite that provides nanotechnology fabrication engineers the ability to automatically analyze and characterize microscopic images of nanostructures, thereby quickly identifying magnetization states and geometric shape defects for various applications that require patterned nanostructures with very specific geometry and spacing requirements. The proposed software suite will have enhanced value in mass-production of nanoscale electronics and sensors applications. In addition, the proposed innovation will enable customers to analyze images for quality checks and defects in few minutes compared to a few days that an expert user may require to complete the same task. The software also enables users to perform rapid fabrication development iterations with progressively improved fabrication quality by providing relevant feedback on the fabrication quality. This I-Corps team will investigate the viability of a proof-of-concept developed to support accurate patterned nanostructure fabrication following a desired base layout. While current state of the art only uses post-processing and enhanced image quality of post-fabrication characterization, this product SPaN will ensure a comparison with base pattern at a systemic level.