Collaborative Research: Defect Immune, Topologically Protected Devices for Ultra-Low Power Electronics

合作研究：用于超低功率电子器件的缺陷免疫、拓扑保护器件

• 批准号: 1802166
• 负责人: Christopher Hinkle
• 金额: $ 36万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Dallas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2019-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1802166&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Defect; Immune; Topologically

Imperfections in materials, such as defects or edge roughness, often severely limit electronic device performance. This is especially problematic at the nanoscale where even a single atomic defect can drastically disrupt transport. Devices that are tolerant to these imperfections are thus the key to future technologies. The investigation of the fundamental properties and integration of two new defect-tolerant device concepts is proposed, enabled by novel 2D and 3D topological insulators (TIs), that exhibit unprecedented low-power, room temperature performance and functionalities only achievable using these unique materials. This tolerance to defects will enable nanoelectronics beyond the currently known limits and will specifically impact the national grand challenge of enabling ultra-low-power, post-silicon electronics and represent significant progress in an area of national technological strength, semiconductor electronics. A team of researchers with complementary expertise, including junior investigators complemented by accomplished senior professors, will address the challenges of the proposed work. This research will also broaden scientific and educational participation by creating a pipeline of pre-college and undergraduate students motivated to study science and engineering at universities through, for example, NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs and collaborations with national laboratories and industry partners. The researchers will also engage the public through science cafe programs where faculty members present their research in local pubs and restaurants.This collaborative research team will elucidate the fundamental science and technological implications of new topological insulator (TI)-based nanoelectronic device concepts that can operate at low-power, well above room temperature. Two complementary research threads will be pursued, both of which will enable a new, ultra-low-power, topologically protected device made of bismuth-based materials: 1) a 2D TI-based field-effect transistor that is immune to materials and device imperfections such as defects and line-edge roughness, and 2) a 3D TI-based tunneling device utilizing spin-filtering to exhibit negative differential resistance with unprecedented peak-to-valley ratio performance. TI growth by molecular beam epitaxy (Hinkle) will focus on 2D Bi and 3D Bi2Se3, which have predicted room-temperature device applications. Surface and edge state detection and chemical/structural properties will be investigated using in-situ techniques (Wallace). Theoretical studies including density functional theory (DFT), scattering, and mobility calculations (Vandenberghe) will be employed. Advanced 2- and 3-terminal devices will be fabricated (Banerjee) and these device characteristics will be evaluated in NAND gates. This research will provide materials and device concepts for advanced low-power, high-performance logic, memory, and even oscillatory neuromorphic applications using TIs, a class of devices which are extremely robust against defects/impurities. A TI and 2D materials property and benchmarking database through collaboration with NIST will also be established.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

材料中的缺陷，例如缺陷或边缘粗糙度，通常严重限制电子器件的性能。这在纳米尺度上尤其成问题，因为即使是单个原子缺陷也会严重破坏传输。 因此，能够容忍这些缺陷的设备是未来技术的关键。提出了两种新的缺陷容忍器件概念的基本特性和集成的研究，通过新颖的2D和3D拓扑绝缘体（TI）实现，其表现出前所未有的低功率，室温性能和功能，只有使用这些独特的材料才能实现。这种对缺陷的容忍度将使纳米电子学超越目前已知的限制，并将特别影响实现超低功耗、后硅电子学的国家重大挑战，并代表国家技术实力领域半导体电子学的重大进展。 一个由具有互补专长的研究人员组成的小组，包括由有成就的资深教授补充的初级调查人员，将应对拟议工作的挑战。 这项研究还将扩大科学和教育的参与，通过创建一个管道的大学预科和本科生的动机，通过在大学学习科学和工程，例如，NSF赞助的本科生研究经验（REU）计划和与国家实验室和行业合作伙伴的合作。 研究人员还将通过科学咖啡馆项目让公众参与进来，在那里，教职员工将在当地的酒吧和餐馆展示他们的研究。这个合作研究团队将阐明新的拓扑绝缘体（TI）为基础的纳米电子器件概念的基本科学和技术含义，该概念可以在低功率下运行，远高于室温。 两个互补的研究思路将被追求，这两个都将使一个新的，超低功耗，拓扑保护的设备由铋基材料制成：1）基于2D TI的场效应晶体管，其不受材料和器件缺陷（例如缺陷和线边缘粗糙度）的影响，以及2）利用自旋滤波以展现具有前所未有的峰谷比性能的负微分电阻的3D TI基隧穿器件。 分子束外延（Hinkle）的TI生长将集中在2D Bi和3D Bi 2Se 3上，这已经预测了室温器件的应用。 表面和边缘状态检测和化学/结构特性将使用原位技术（华莱士）进行调查。 理论研究，包括密度泛函理论（DFT），散射和迁移率计算（Vandenberghe）将被采用。 先进的2端和3端器件将被制造（Banerjee），这些器件的特性将在NAND门中进行评估。这项研究将提供先进的低功耗，高性能的逻辑，存储器，甚至振荡neuromorphic应用程序使用TI的材料和设备的概念，一类设备，这是非常强大的缺陷/杂质。 通过与NIST的合作，还将建立TI和二维材料属性和基准数据库。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。