Collaborative Research: Scalable Photo-patterning of Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials for Reconfigurable Microelectronics

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Advances in modern electronics have been largely driven by the success in fabricating and packaging microscopic devices into integrated circuits. The recent emergence of two-dimensional nanomaterials enables unique and superior electronic and optoelectronic circuit functionalities, which are promising for the next-generation microelectronics beyond silicon. A key challenge to realizing this vision is the lack of manufacturing approaches that are capable of integrating and producing two-dimensional nanomaterial-based microelectronics at a large scale. This award addresses this challenge through fundamental research on a photo-patternable medium, which can lead to scalable manufacturing of reconfigurable microelectronic devices. The photo-patterning method is applicable to various two-dimensional materials for versatile circuit functionalities. Reconfigurable microelectronics is a key component enabling advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things. This project enhances U.S. competitiveness in these critical areas and advances national prosperity and security. Undergraduate and graduate students and senior researchers benefit from this project through multidisciplinary laboratory research, and the general public benefits through multifaceted outreach activities.This project investigates a novel manufacturing approach, based on switchable non-volatile ferroelectric gating, to define fundamental electronic elements (e.g. p-n junctions) and to fabricate functional electronic devices (e.g. logic gates and photodiode arrays) in a wide range of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials. This approach centers on photo-patterning the ferroelectric phase regions in In2Se3 thin films, a scalable process that is compatible with established photolithography procedures. Additional benefits of this approach include circuit reconfigurability, maintaining the material lattice pristineness as no defects or dopants are introduced for the p-n junction formations, and compatibility with chemically sensitive materials such as the halide perovskites. This project addresses a key scientific issue central to the successful implementation of this approach, particularly the photon-induced phase transition kinetics in In2Se3 as the fundamental mechanism underlying the photo-patterning process. The mechanistic insight obtained provides an important guide for optimizing the process parameters. In addition, the effects of the ferroelectric gating are studied with a focus on verifying and understanding the resulting p-n junction characteristics, such as the barrier height and the space-charge region width, which are critical to device prototyping. The project is a collaboration between experts in synthesis and characterization of In2Se3 and halide perovskite thin films and involves the study of the photo-patterning process and the ferroelectric gating effects on different 2D nanomaterial systems, demonstrating the versatility of this scalable approach in manufacturing reconfigurable microelectronic devices and circuits.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.