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

现代电子学的进步在很大程度上是由将微型器件制造和封装成集成电路的成功推动的。最近出现的二维纳米材料使独特和优越的电子和光电子电路功能成为可能，这些功能有望成为硅以外的下一代微电子技术。实现这一愿景的一个关键挑战是缺乏能够大规模集成和生产基于纳米材料的二维微电子的制造方法。该奖项通过对可光图案介质的基础研究来解决这一挑战，这种介质可以导致可重新配置的微电子设备的可扩展制造。该光图案化方法适用于具有多种电路功能的各种二维材料。可重构微电子是支持人工智能和物联网等先进技术的关键部件。该项目增强了美国在这些关键领域的竞争力，促进了国家繁荣和安全。本科生、研究生和高级研究人员通过多学科的实验室研究受益于该项目，并通过多方面的外展活动使公众受益。该项目研究一种新的制造方法，基于可切换的非挥发性铁电栅极，定义基本电子元件(例如p-n结)，并在广泛的二维(2D)纳米材料中制造功能电子器件(例如逻辑门和光电二极管阵列)。这种方法的核心是对In2Se3薄膜中的铁电相区进行光图案化，这是一种可扩展的工艺，与现有的光刻工艺兼容。该方法的其他优点包括电路可重构性、在p-n结形成中不引入缺陷或掺杂时保持材料晶格的纯净性，以及与诸如卤化物钙钛矿的化学敏感材料的兼容性。这个项目解决了这一方法成功实施的一个关键科学问题，特别是作为光致图案化过程基本机制的In2Se3中的光子诱导相变动力学。所获得的机理洞察为优化工艺参数提供了重要的指导。此外，还研究了铁电门控的影响，重点是验证和理解产生的p-n结特性，如势垒高度和空间电荷区宽度，这些特性对器件原型至关重要。该项目是In2Se3和卤化物钙钛矿薄膜合成和表征专家之间的合作，涉及对不同2D纳米材料系统的光致图案化过程和铁电栅极效应的研究，展示了这种可扩展方法在制造可重构微电子设备和电路方面的多功能性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.