FINER: Future thermal Imaging with Nanometre Enhanced Resolution

FINER：具有纳米增强分辨率的未来热成像

• 批准号: EP/V057626/1
• 负责人: Martin Kuball
• 金额: $ 88.06万
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FV057626%2F1
• 关键词: FINER; Future; thermal; Imaging; Nanometre

The ever-increasing combined carbon footprint of information and communications technology (ICT) is unsustainable - more efficient devices must be developed. Thermal characterisation, which feeds into design optimisation, is one of the key steps for ensuring the efficiency and reliable operation of the new electronic devices being developed. However, accurately measuring the temperature of leading-edge electronic devices is becoming increasingly difficult or impossible because of their small size, and that is the challenge addressed in this proposal. Wide bandgap electronic devices including GaN have great proven potential for the next generation of sustainable ICT and power electronics, contributing to the needed carbon emissions reduction. Miniaturization is one of the routes to further increase the efficiency and performance of wide bandgap electronic devices, decreasing the active region size to <200 nm, similar to the technology pathway that silicon (Si) electronics has taken, using concepts such as the FinFET. Thermal management, which is the efficient extraction of waste heat from the active part of the device, is especially important for achieving efficient reliable nanoscale electronic devices; thermal resistance increases as they are "scaled" to nanometre dimensions because of a thermal conductivity reduction and heat confinement in 3-D device structures, e.g. in a fin shape. While self-heating can be mitigated reasonably easily for lower power density Si FinFETs, it is potentially a significant roadblock for "scaled" wide bandgap devices which operate at enormous power densities. However there is currently no thermal imaging technique with a sufficiently high spatial resolution (e.g. Raman thermography has a diffraction limited resolution of about 0.5 micrometer, >10x the hotspot size) to be able to accurately measure the hotspot temperature of these novel nanoscale wide bandgap electronic devices. Instead we currently rely on complex electrothermal models to estimate the temperature of nanoscale devices, with inherent uncertainties - measurement is needed.A step change is required, namely a sub diffraction limit (super resolution) thermal imaging technique, which is addressed by the Future thermal Imaging with Nanometre Enhanced Resolution (FINER) project. We will develop a transformative nano quantum dot based thermal imaging (nQTI) technique to deliver nanometre resolution thermal imaging for the first time. To demonstrate the newly developed technique our application focus is on scaled wide bandgap electronic devices supplied by our national and international partners, however this technique will be widely applicable. Quantum dots are ideal for this application: They can be deposited as a nm-thickness film on the surface of the device being tested, and the emission colour is temperature dependent, which is what we exploit for thermal imaging. Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) and Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) super-resolution techniques which were originally developed for fluorescence microscopy, but are presently unsuitable for thermal imaging, will be exploited to achieve a resolution as small as 50nm for nQTI. nQTI will enable nano-scale electrothermal models to be developed and experimentally verified. Accurate models will further our understanding of nano-scale self-heating and heat diffusion, feeding back into improved device designs and novel thermal management solutions. This work will be done at the Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability (CDTR) which has an international reputation for being at the forefront of high spatial and temporal resolution thermal imaging, pioneering Raman thermography. This expertise makes the CDTR ideally placed to deliver this project successfully. The generous industrial support for this programme demonstrates that there is a great need for this and their belief in our ability to successfully deliver it.

信息和通信技术（ICT）不断增加的碳足迹是不可持续的 - 必须开发更有效的设备。热表征以设计优化为食，是确保开发新电子设备的效率和可靠操作的关键步骤之一。但是，准确地测量前沿电子设备的温度变得越来越困难或不可能，因为它们的尺寸很小，这就是本提案中所面临的挑战。包括GAN在内的宽带隙电子设备在下一代的可持续ICT和电力电子设备中具有很大的证明潜力，这有助于减少所需的碳排放。微型化是进一步提高宽带隙电子设备效率和性能的途径之一，将活动区域的大小降低到<200 nm，类似于硅（SI）电子设备所采用的技术途径，使用FinFet等概念。热管理是从设备的活动部分有效提取废热的热管理，对于实现有效的可靠纳米级电子设备尤为重要。由于3-D设备结构中的热电导率降低和热量限制，例如，热电阻将其“缩放”到纳米尺寸时增加，例如处于鳍状。对于低功率密度Si FinFets，可以轻松地轻松地减轻自动加热，但对于以巨大的功率密度运行的“缩放”宽带隙设备来说，它可能是一个重要的障碍。但是，目前尚无具有足够高空间分辨率的热成像技术（例如，拉曼热成像的衍射有限分辨率约为0.5千分尺，热点大小> 10倍），以便能够准确测量这些新型纳米级宽带宽带宽带电子设备的热点温度。取而代之的是，我们目前依靠复杂的电热模型来估计纳米级设备的温度，具有固有的不确定性 - 需要进行测量。需要进行阶跃变化，即是亚衍射极限（超级分辨率）热成像技术，这可以通过未来的热成像来解决纳米增强溶液（FIENER）项目的未来热成像。我们将开发一种基于纳米量子点的变换性热成像（NQTI）技术，以首次提供纳米分辨率的热成像。为了证明新开发的技术，我们的应用重点是我们的国家和国际合作伙伴提供的规模宽带盖式电子设备，但是这种技术将广泛适用。量子点是此应用的理想选择：它们可以作为NM厚度膜沉积在正在测试的设备表面上，并且发射颜色取决于温度，这是我们利用用于热成像的。结构化照明显微镜（SIM）和刺激的发射耗竭（STED）最初用于荧光显微镜开发的超分辨率技术，但目前将不适合热成像，以实现NQTI的50Nm分辨率。 NQTI将使纳米级电热模型得以开发和实验验证。准确的模型将进一步了解纳米级的自加热和热扩散，从而反馈到改进的设备设计和新颖的热管理解决方案中。这项工作将在设备热力计和可靠性中心（CDTR）进行，该中心因在高空间和时间分辨率的热成像，开创性的拉曼热力学的最前沿而享有国际声誉。这种专业知识使CDTR成为成功交付该项目的理想位置。对该计划的慷慨的工业支持表明，这非常需要这一点，以及他们对我们成功交付它的能力的信念。