Nanovoids in semiconductors and defect dynamics: a path to the universal substrate

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The next decade will see a perfect storm of defining transformations of society through the so-called "digital revolution", driven by a tsunami of technologies, like quantum computing and data encryption, artificial intelligence, self-teaching devices, systems and autonomous vehicles. New data transport technologies like 5G and massively distributed networks like the Internet of Things will also profoundly change the way we live. Each nation will try to position itself to secure a strong supply chain, while preserving its independence and security. Many, if not most of these technologies relie on semiconductors, and are fabricated on silicon as the main host material. The market demands and global competition between nations, exerts massive pressure on the industry to provide semiconductor-based devices that are evermore efficient, mobile, energy efficient, etc. In order to achieve that, different materials used in these devices must be integrated onto a piece of Si and be produced in the great fabs of the world. While some attempts to integrate different semiconductors on Si have been somewhat successful, a robust, cost-effective and high performance technique remains to be developed. This proposal will explore ways to address the integration challenge, by leveraging some major breakthroughs that were achieved in the last 6 years in my group. We have developed processes that combine a high level of control over the creation of nano-porous semiconductors, like Ge and Si, with the ability to integrate graphene within their structure, to create a new family of 2D/3D nano-composites with new, exciting and most importantly « tunable » properties. My program will explore avenues using these nano-composites, to create solutions for the integration of semiconductors with different structures and properties on the Si platform, without sacrificing performance. First we will develop new nano-composites based on new semiconductors, with the ultimate goal to create the first nano-composite with a tunable crystal, by using InGaAs as the base structure. This material with a tunable crystal will be instrumental for the integration of devices. I will then use this base to demonstrate the integration of specific devices and show the potential of the technique. Other integrations, such as on-chip energy storage and harvesting will be demonstrated through the use of the nanocomposite as the main medium. This program will allow me to : 1)expand my team's leadership and impact in the field of graphene based nanocomposites, by strengthening our level of expertise on the different aspects of the material family and 2)to target the high impact technological challenge of defect-free heteroepitaxy and on-chip energy management. 3)explore other uses will be explored like the nanocomposite as a highly sensitive and compact gas sensor for "lab-on-chip" applications.