Gecko Inspired Autonomous Fabrication Of Programmable Two-dimensional Quantum Materials

壁虎启发可编程二维量子材料的自主制造

• 批准号: EP/Y026284/1
• 负责人: Brian Gerardot
• 金额: $ 309.54万
• 依托单位: Heriot-Watt University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY026284%2F1
• 关键词: Gecko; Inspired; Autonomous; Fabrication; Programmable

Atomically thin materials provide a wide range of fundamental semiconductor device building blocks with unique electronic and optical properties which do not exist in the bulk. Remarkably, the atomic sheets can be stacked together without restriction to form heterostructures with unprecedented properties and capabilities. To date, heterostructure devices consisting of only a handful of individual atomic layers have led to extraordinary breakthroughs in photonics, electronics, and quantum materials. A tantalizing dream is to go beyond these few-layer systems and construct designer materials comprised of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of atomic layers, each precisely chosen and placed. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art layer-by-layer fabrication of such structures is tedious, low-yield, and not reproducible at the quantum level.Inspired by nature, 2D-Gecko aims to revolutionize the layer-by-layer-fabrication of heterostructures to realize highly reproducible materials and devices of limitless complexity. We will pioneer "smart" pick-and-place assembly of individual atomic sheets using microfibril arrays, similar to a gecko, to achieve reversible adhesion - switchable via mechanical actuation. We will incorporate this technology into a fully autonomous pilot line, combining robotic control of all assembly steps with efficient computer-vision, machine intelligence algorithms, and in-situ metrology techniques for quality control. The pilot line will be exploited to fabricate highly tunable quantum materials based on stacking layers with a relative twist (so-called moiré heterostructures) in a reproducible and deterministic fashion. Ultimately, we aim to realize scalable moiré materials, with reproducibility at the quantum level, such that programmable three-dimensional moiré solids can be realized.

原子级薄材料提供了广泛的基本半导体器件构建块，其具有在块体中不存在的独特的电子和光学性质。值得注意的是，原子片可以不受限制地堆叠在一起，形成具有前所未有的特性和能力的异质结构。迄今为止，仅由少数单个原子层组成的异质结构器件已经在光子学、电子学和量子材料方面取得了非凡的突破。一个诱人的梦想是超越这些几层系统，构建由数十，数百甚至数千个原子层组成的设计师材料，每个原子层都经过精确选择和放置。不幸的是，这种结构的最先进的逐层制造是繁琐的，低产率，并且在量子水平上不可再现。受自然的启发，2D-Gecko旨在彻底改变异质结构的逐层制造，以实现无限复杂的高度可再现的材料和器件。我们将率先使用微纤维阵列（类似于壁虎）对单个原子片进行“智能”拾取和放置组装，以实现可逆粘附-通过机械驱动进行切换。我们将把这项技术整合到一条完全自主的中试生产线中，将所有装配步骤的机器人控制与高效的计算机视觉、机器智能算法和现场计量技术相结合，以进行质量控制。该试验线将用于以可再现和确定性的方式制造高度可调谐的量子材料，该材料基于具有相对扭曲的堆叠层（所谓的莫尔异质结构）。最终，我们的目标是实现可扩展的莫尔材料，具有量子水平的再现性，从而可以实现可编程的三维莫尔固体。