Printed Plastic Low-Power NDR Electronics for the Internet of Everything

摘要：非技术：俄亥俄州立大学的一个团队，通过一个偶然的发现，在美国国家科学基金会的本科生研究资助下，开发并推进了一种新的有机隧道二极管，该二极管使用混合结结合了薄金属氧化物和基于溶液的有机半导体。该专利装置是第一个使用可扩展的可打印工艺在室温下真正表现出选择性隧道的结构。电流与电压的特性在半导体器件中是独一无二的，看起来像一个大写字母(N)。因此，与大多数设备不同，通过这个(N)绘制的线提供了三个交叉点。中间是不稳定和不可用的，但第一个和第三个提供了一个简单的方法来存储1位，a(0)或a(1)，使用一个隧道二极管与另一个电路元件，如第二个隧道二极管或晶体管，作为负载。该项目建立在之前的进展基础上，建立了一个跨两个国家（美国和芬兰）的多机构团队（韦恩州立大学、坦佩雷理工大学、阿尔托大学和Picosun）。这种薄金属氧化物隧道势垒的性质是发现操作的关键。该项目寻求一种新的沉积方法，允许在柔性基板上大面积沉积，达到一米宽。通过与芬兰工业的合作，我们将提高美国工业的竞争力和地位，并推进有机电子、太阳能电池、电子印刷和原子层沉积技术的智能化和功能性。工业界和国际合作者的参与将扩大创新文化，并将研究成果集中于战略商业化。技术：俄亥俄州立大学（OSU）提出了一个为期3年的双边（美国，芬兰）项目，以推进印刷有机电子，特别是使用有机隧道二极管（OTD）和集成有机场效应晶体管（OFET）的电路。其独特的负差分电阻（NDR）将减少OFET器件数量，同时降低功耗。节能电路将成为物联网（IoT）数万亿物体密集网络中自主供电传感器节点的关键。坦佩雷理工大学（TUT-Finland）和Picosun（芬兰）（一家原子层沉积（ALD）工具制造商）的国际合作将为大面积快速卷对卷（R2R）技术提供合作机会，以扩大现有基础研究的原型规模，同时加强材料的发现和理解。该项目的一个关键目标是与韦恩州立大学（WSU）合作，研究新型ALD前体和氧化剂的发现和工艺开发，探索具有工程氧空位（缺陷能级、态密度等）的金属氧化物隧道屏障的非化学ALD，这些空位可以严格控制OTD缺陷相关的隧道过程，从而基于NDR的器件性能。该团队在使用室温NDR的第一个基于共轭聚合物的隧道二极管电路中的进展为低功耗便携式电路（逻辑，存储器和混合信号）提供了新的机会。NDR电路可以提供(i)减少组件计数（每单位面积的计算能力更强），（ii）降低功耗（每个逻辑功能的设备更少）。1)低成本、超低功耗的自主塑料电子存储、逻辑与无线系统；2)先进的高k介电材料，与有机物有限的热预算兼容；3)了解缺陷及其在高钾薄介质隧穿输运中的作用；4)大面积、R2R电子印刷，适合大批量生产。学生与国际交流：全日制研究生直接资助。REU补充将为该团队补充1-2名本科生，并进行国际科学访问。

Abstract: Non-technical: The team at Ohio State University, through an accidental discovery under NSF, is undergraduate research funding, developed and advanced a new organic tunnel diode using a hybrid junction incorporating a thin metal oxide and a solution-based organic semiconductor atop. This patented device is the first such structure to genuinely exhibit selective tunneling at room temperature using a scalable printable process. The current versus voltage characteristics are unique amongst semiconductor devices, looking like a capital letter (N). So, unlike most devices, a line drawn through this (N) provides three intersections. The middle is unstable and unusable, but the first and third provide for a simple way to store 1-bit, a (0) or a (1), using a single tunnel diode with another circuit element, such as a second tunnel diode or transistor, as the load. This project builds upon previous advances by building a multi-institutional team (Wayne State University, Tampere University of Technology, Aalto University and Picosun) spanning two countries (USA and Finland). The properties of this thin metal oxide tunneling barrier are key to the discovered operation. This project seeks a new way to deposit this layer that would permit large area deposition across flexible substrates, reaching a meter wide. Through collaborations with Finnish industry, we will increase the competitiveness and position of US industry and advance the intelligence and functionality of organic electronics, solar cells, electronic printing and atomic layer deposition technology. Participation of industry and international collaborators will broaden the culture of innovation and focus the research output towards strategic commercialization. Technical: Ohio State University (OSU) proposes a 3-year bi-national (USA, Finland) project to advance printed organic electronics, particularly using organic tunnel diodes (OTD) and circuits integrated with organic field effect transistors (OFET). Their unique negative differential resistance (NDR) will reduce OFET device count, while concurrently reducing power consumption. Energy thrifty circuits will be key for autonomously powered sensor nodes for a dense network of trillions of objects for the Internet of Things (IoT). International teaming with Tampere Univ. of Technology (TUT-Finland) and Picosun (Finland), an atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool manufacturer, will provide collaborative opportunities for large-area rapid roll-to-roll (R2R) technologies to prototypical scale-up of the existing fundamental studies while enhancing materials discovery and understanding. A key aim of this project is working with Wayne State University (WSU) for novel ALD precursor and oxidizer discovery and process development to explore non-stoichiometric ALD for metal oxide tunnel barriers with engineering oxygen vacancies (energy level of defects, density-of-states, etc.) that critically control OTD defect related tunneling processes and therefore device performance based on NDR. Advances by this team for the first conjugated polymer based tunnel diode circuitry using room temperature NDR enable new opportunities for low-power consumption portable circuitry (logic, memory and mixed-signal). NDR circuitry can provide (i) component count reduction (more computational power per unit area), (ii) lower power consumption (fewer devices per logic function). Tremendous benefits to society and humankind: 1) Low-cost, ultra-low power autonomous plastic electronic memory, logic and wireless systems; 2) Advanced high-K dielectrics compatible with the limited thermal budget of organics; 3) Understanding of defects and their role in tunneling transport through thin high-K dielectrics; 4) Large-area, R2R electronic printing for high volume production. Students and international exchange: A full-time graduate student will be directly supported here. REU supplements will supplement this team with 1-2 undergraduates, along with international scientific visitations.