NIRT: Merged CMOS/Molecular Integrated Circuit (Mol-MOS) Fabrication, Analysis and Design

本提案是对NSF 01-157 NIRT类纳米科学与工程倡议的响应。该计划解决了分子器件的制造和与传统电子技术的集成问题。研究小组将从全面的角度研究纳米电子，考虑如何在考虑到大规模集成和可制造性的要求的情况下，组装、建模和设计纳米器件和纳米电路。首先，我们将研究与传统器件和加工技术更兼容的电极和活性材料的新组合。现代集成电路使用多种金属(铝、铜、钽、钨、钛等)。和绝缘体(SiO_2、SiN等)在导致触点和导线的复杂2.5维布置的多级金属化方案中。相比之下，大多数分子器件使用的金电极平面排列与基于MOS的电子设备不兼容。这个问题可以通过设计末端基团仅附着在铜电极上的有机分子来解决。这些最终将与使用最先进的薄膜沉积/生长技术和电子束光刻形成的金属电极结构相匹配。这些结构将包括牺牲绝缘间隔层。在工艺序列接近尾声的时候，绝缘层将被蚀刻掉，留下的口袋根据它们的形状、大小和铜的终点，为目标分子提供了一个理想的“家”。然后，完成的模板可以在含有这些分子的溶液中漂洗，将它们添加到结构中。由于挥发性有机物不会经过高温处理，这将提供一种可行的方法，将分子电子器件添加到底层微电子电路中。我们还将开发分子器件的黑盒模型。如果要预测新的计算体系结构，其中分子设备的功能可能与现代晶体管大不相同，并且优化的电路设计需要完全不同的设备互连模式，这些模型是必不可少的。目前，这样的模型还不存在，但绝对需要这样的模型来允许在更高的抽象级别上使用纳米设备进行设计。我们努力的主要部分将致力于教育和外展。纳米电子学这门学科是高度跨学科的，不属于工程和科学学科的正常教学范围。因此，我们将提供一个引人注目的基于3D动画的网站(建立在我们现有的专业知识基础上)和一个研究生级别的网络出版的“纳米科学前沿”课程，强调纳米设备操作的基础及其千兆级集成。

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 01-157, category NIRT. This program addresses the issues of fabrication and integration of molecular devices with conventional electronic technology. The research team will address nanoelectronics from a comprehensive viewpoint by considering how nano-devices and nano-circuits can be assembled, modeled and designed with the requirements of large-scale integration and manufacturability in mind. For one, we will examine new combinations of electrode and active materials that are more compatible with conventional device and processing technologies. Modern integrated circuits use a variety of metals (Al, Cu, Ta, W, Ti, etc.) and insulators (SiO2, SiN, etc.) in multilevel metalization schemes that result in a complex 2.5 dimensional arrangement of contacts and wires. In contrast, most molecular devices use planar arrangements of Au electrodes that are not compatible with MOS-based electronics. This problem might be overcome by designing organic molecules with end groups engineered to attach only to Cu electrodes. These would ultimately be mated with metal electrode structures formed using state-of-the-art film deposition/growth techniques and electron beam lithography. These structures would incorporate sacrificial insulating spacer layers. Near the end of the process sequence, the insulating layers would be etched away leaving pockets that by their shape, size and Cu endpoints, provide an ideal "home" for the target molecule. The completed template could then be rinsed in a solution containing these molecules, adding them to the structure. Since the volatile organics would not be subject to high temperature processing, this would provide a viable means of adding molecular electronic devices to underling microelectronic circuits. We will also develop black-box models of molecular devices. These models are essential if one is to anticipate novel computing architectures where molecular devices may function far differently from modern transistors, and where optimized circuit design my entail radically different patterns of device interconnection. Presently, such models do not exist but are absolutely required to allow design with nanodevices at higher levels of abstraction. A major part of our effort will be dedicated to education and outreach. The subject of nano-electronics is highly interdisciplinary and does not fall within the normal pedagogical bounds of engineering and scientific disciplines. We will thus offer a compelling 3D animation-based website (building on our existing expertise) and a graduate level web-published "Frontiers of Nanoscience" course emphasizing the fundamentals of nano-device operation and their giga-scale integration.