FuSe-TG: Co-Design of Germanium Oxide-based Semiconductors from Deposition to Devices

非技术总结：这个半导体的未来（FuSe）项目的重点是发展研究能力和合作，以氧化锗为基础的半导体为中心，对电力电子和红外探测等应用感兴趣。由来自5所不同大学的12名研究人员组成的团队，代表了物理科学和工程领域的5个学科，旨在解决与材料设计、制造、属性控制和设备集成相关的基础科学和工程挑战。将氧化锗半导体从学术实验室转化为有益于社会的技术所需的活动，包括电动汽车和自动驾驶系统。与此同时，团队协调活动，通过共同设计原则在新材料和设备的开发方面取得进展。与这些活动同时进行的是，该项目试点劳动力发展计划，以帮助加强美国半导体部门的技术劳动力。这些措施包括为传统上代表性不足的群体的学生提供专注于氧化物半导体的暑期研究经验，并为地理位置接近团队机构的技术重点学院的学生创造教育和培训机会。此外，该团队建立机构间和工业伙伴关系，以确保研究和劳动力发展活动与国家技术需求保持一致。技术概述：本项目采用融合和团队的方式，规划实现可掺杂、可形成能带工程合金、不含有毒元素、可加工成高性能器件的宽窄带隙氧化锗基半导体。该团队正在建立研究合作，旨在推进与薄膜沉积、晶体生长、热力学和电子结构建模、缺陷表征和器件测试相关领域的基础知识。该团队致力于了解和实现稳定异质结构形式的目标锗氧化物所需的材料合成条件，同时为性能工程提供掺杂和合金。计算和实验活动为理解和控制这些半导体中的缺陷提供了策略，无论是期望的（掺杂）还是不希望的（位错，点缺陷）。该团队对基于氧化锗半导体的高功率电子和传感设备的结、触点和器件的制造和性能的最终限制有所了解。协同设计贯穿于整个科学目标，与制造可扩展性、衬底开发和环境影响相关的问题与异质结构设计和设备演示一起进行评估和研究。该项目试行了双管齐下的战略，以提供与半导体相关的新教育机会。第一个是利用现有的NSF-PREM项目，每年在一个参与实验室为来自代表性不足群体的学生创造一个暑期研究机会；第二项是为社区或技术学院的学生提供教育机会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Non-Technical Summary:This Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) project focuses on developing research capabilities and collaborations centered around germanium oxide-based semiconductors that are of interest for applications such as power electronics and infrared detection. The grant enables the formation of a team, which consists of 12 investigators from five different universities representing five disciplines within physical science and engineering, to address fundamental scientific and engineering challenges associated with material design, manufacturing, property control and device integration, activities required to move germanium oxide semiconductors from academic laboratories into society-benefiting technologies including electric vehicles to autonomous systems. In parallel, the team coordinates activities to make progress on the development of new materials and devices through co-design principles. Concurrent with these activities, the project pilots workforce development initiatives to help bolster the United States technical workforce in the semiconductor sector. These include providing students from traditionally under-represented groups with summer research experiences focused on oxide semiconductors and creating educational and training opportunities for students at technical-focused colleges in geographic proximity to the teaming institutions. Additionally, the team builds inter-institutional and industrial partnerships to ensure the research and workforce development activities are aligned with national technological needs.Technical Summary:The project applies a convergent and team-based approach to plan the realization of wide and narrow band gap germanium oxide-based semiconductors that can be doped, form alloys for band gap engineering, are not comprised of toxic elements, and can be processed into high performing devices. The team is building research collaborations aimed at advancing fundamental knowledge in areas related to thin film deposition, crystal growth, thermodynamic and electronic structure modeling, defect characterization, and device testing. The team works to understand and implement the materials synthesis conditions required to stabilize targeted germanium oxides in heterostructure form, while enabling both doping and alloying for property engineering. Computational and experimental activities provide strategies for understanding and controlling defects, either those desired (dopants) or undesired (dislocations, point defects), within these semiconductors. The team develops an understanding of the ultimate limits to the fabrication and performance of junctions, contacts, and devices for high power electronics and sensing based on germanium oxide semiconductors. Co-design is infused throughout the scientific objectives such that issues related to manufacturing scalability, substrate development, and environmental impacts are evaluated and researched alongside heterostructure design and device demonstrations. The project pilots a two-pronged strategy for enabling new educational opportunities related to semiconductors. The first of these leverages the existing NSF-PREM programs to create a summer research opportunity for a student from an under-represented group in one of the participating labs each year; the second establishes educational opportunities for students at community or technical colleges.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.