Vacuum polyradical deposition (VPRD) techniques for specialty nanoelectronics

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The Canadian plastics and polymer manufacturing sector is in need of a rejuvenation, while Canada's**information and communication technology (ICT) manufacturing is booming. Our 'big' data society and the**progress of ICT generate a continuous demand for new manufacturing solutions that, at the required levels of**thinness, simplicity, and costs, are not currently available from silicon electronics, and 'plastic' electronics**based on organic polymers have often been suggested as promising alternative. This has created a pressing**need for the development of advanced, environmentally-friendly manufacturing methods for the production of**electronic-grade 'plastic' materials. Polyradicals, polymers in which each repeated unit supports an unpaired**electron, are at the forefront of research in 'flash' memories, data storage units capable to retain information**without any external power source, but are writable an unlimited number of times. This proposal capitalizes on**the recent record achievement of the Fanchini-Gilroy team that has demonstrated and patented ultrathin flash**memory devices from a newly designed polyradical, poly[1,5-diisopropyl-3-(cis-5-norbornene**-exo-2,3-dicarboxiimide)-6-oxo-verdazyl] (P6OV), with the thinnest active layer (10 nm) ever obtained, much**thinner than their commercial silicon counterparts. To capitalize on this startling discovery, an industrially**scalable system with the potential to lead to integrated electronics from organic polyradicals must be**implemented. In partnership with Plasmionique, Canada's largest producer of vacuum polymer deposition**systems for electronics , the Fanchini-Gilroy team will develop the prototype of a new vacuum polyradical**deposition (VPRD) reactor that will be commercialized by our industrial partner, enabling solvent-free and**environmentally-friendly mass production of polyradicals, with strong benefits to Canada. A prototype of a**flash memory integrating a large number of memory components onto a single chip will also be demonstrated**with the new VPRD fabrication system, which will feature device patterning technology developed at the**Western University Nanofabrication Facility.**************************************************************************************************************************************