Lithography-Free Manufacturing of Metal Structures Separated by Nanogaps

纳米间隙分隔金属结构的无光刻制造

• 批准号: 2207664
• 负责人: Svetlana Neretina
• 金额: $ 38.96万
• 依托单位: University of Notre Dame
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2207664&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Lithography; Free; Manufacturing; Metal; Structures

This grant supports research that will advance the manufacturing techniques and knowledge base required for the on-chip fabrication of optical and electronic components composed of metal structures separated by nanometer-scale distances referred to as nanogaps. Despite proof-of-concept applications in chemical and biomedical sensing, nanoelectronics, and photovoltaics, progress in nanogap-based device processing is hampered by the need for technically demanding, time-consuming, and cost-prohibitive techniques. Moreover, current methods are far from ideal in terms of generating the configurations needed to fully express nanogap-related phenomena. This award aims to remedy this situation by transforming on-chip nanogap fabrication from processes that are inextricably complicated to those offering synthetic ease and unprecedented control while at the same time being responsive to the low-cost, high-throughput, and scalability needs of a manufacturing setting. The research carried out will be integrated into educational activities through graduate student training, undergraduate research internships, lab modules, and the mentorship of individuals participating in well-established programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. The overall aim is, therefore, to advance applications of importance to the health and well-being of society while training the diverse workforce needed to enact leading-edge technologies. The objective of the award is to define the benchtop techniques required for the on-chip processing of opposing metal surfaces separated by sub-5 nm nanogaps as they relate to plasmonics and molecular electronics. Specifically targeted is the fabrication of (i) dimer arrays where the nanogap is occupied by molecular linkers, (ii) dimer arrays with air-filled nanogaps, and (iii) patterned electrodes connected by a bridge with a nanogap discontinuity along its length. Each of these forms a research thrust guided by an overall strategy in which nanoimprinting provides for deterministic positioning, a spacer material defines the nanogap width, and structures formed through liquid-state syntheses form a nanogap by butting up against a spacer material. The use of a spacer material is crucial to the overall approach in that nanogap definition is reliant, not on lithography, but on materials that are readily applied with monolayer-scale precision. Such capabilities, once demonstrated, will provide a path forward for integrating nanogaps into application platforms and provide new capabilities to the community of researchers prototyping state-of-the-art devices.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.

该补助金支持的研究，将推进制造技术和知识基础所需的片上制造的光学和电子元件组成的金属结构分开的纳米尺度的距离称为纳米间隙。尽管在化学和生物医学传感、纳米电子学和光电子学中的概念验证应用，但基于纳米间隙的器件处理的进展受到技术要求高、耗时和成本高昂的技术的阻碍。此外，目前的方法在生成完全表达纳米间隙相关现象所需的配置方面还远远不够理想。该奖项旨在通过将片上纳米间隙制造从复杂的工艺转变为提供合成简便性和前所未有的控制的工艺，同时响应制造环境的低成本，高吞吐量和可扩展性需求，来弥补这种情况。开展的研究将通过研究生培训，本科生研究实习，实验室模块以及参与促进多样性，公平性和包容性的成熟计划的个人的导师纳入教育活动。因此，总体目标是促进对社会健康和福祉具有重要意义的应用，同时培训颁布尖端技术所需的多样化劳动力。该奖项的目的是定义芯片上处理由亚5 nm纳米间隙分隔的相对金属表面所需的台式技术，因为它们与等离子体和分子电子学有关。具体目标是制造（i）其中纳米间隙被分子接头占据的二聚体阵列，（ii）具有空气填充的纳米间隙的二聚体阵列，和（iii）通过具有纳米间隙不连续性的桥连接的图案化电极，所述纳米间隙不连续性沿着其长度。这些都形成了一个整体战略，其中纳米压印提供了确定性的定位，间隔材料定义了纳米间隙宽度，通过液态合成形成的结构形成了一个纳米间隙对接对间隔材料的研究推力指导。间隔物材料的使用对于整体方法是至关重要的，因为纳米间隙定义不依赖于光刻，而是依赖于易于以单层尺度精度施加的材料。这种能力，一旦证明，将提供一条道路，将纳米间隙集成到应用平台，并提供新的能力，以社会的研究人员原型国家的最先进的设备。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得的支持，通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。