NER/SNB: HARNESSING THE SPIN-STABILIZED MOTION OF A MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBE FOR MEMORY-CELL OPERATION

这项研究的目的是利用多壁碳纳米管的自旋稳定、千兆赫的速度运动，以一种可控和可预测的方式用于存储单元的操作。这项工作探索了纳米级对材料、行为响应和器件设计的基本理解，以规划和开发一种创新的自下而上技术，作为硅基微电子的替代和补充解决方案。该方法包括开发一种混合手性多壁纳米管，内管在密封的外管内以超高速振荡。可切换的导通/关断状态由内管相对于外管的两个不同位置定义。众所周知，控制晶体管小型化的摩尔定律不可能无限期地持续下去。许多人预测，它将在2017年左右达到物理极限。显然，停止自上而下的半导体微电子小型化将对美国的安全和经济福祉产生深远影响。需要一种完全不同的方法来满足未来对计算能力的预期需求；一种基于自下而上制造纳米电子的方法，其中使用了纳米级的构建块，如分子、原子等。原则上，在一平方厘米的面积内安装一万亿个分子装置是可能的，从而实现摩尔定律的显著扩展。本文提出的设计是碳纳米管技术在制造分子尺寸存储单元方面的独特和创新应用，以克服半导体微电子自上而下小型化的物理限制。

The objective of this research is to harness the spin-stabilized, gigahertz-speed motion of a multi-walled carbon nanotube in a controlled and predictable way for memory-cell operation. The work explores the fundamental understanding of materials, behavior response and device design at the nanoscale level to roadmap and develop an innovative bottom-up technology that can serve as an alternative and complementary solution to silicon-based microelectronics. The approach involves the development of a mixed-chirality multiwall nanotube, with the inner tube oscillating at ultra-high speeds inside the sealed outer tube. The switchable ON/OFF states are defined by two distinct positions of the inner tube relative to the outer tube.It is a well-known that Moore's Law governing transistor miniaturization cannot go on indefinitely. Many have predicted that it will reach physical limits around the year 2017. Clearly, this halt to top-down miniaturization of semiconductor microelectronics will have profound implications to US security and economic well-being. A radically different approach is required to meet the expected demand for computing power of the future; an approach based on a bottom-up fabrication of nanoelectronics, in which nanoscale building blocks such as molecules, atoms, etc. are employed. In principle, it is possible to fit a trillion molecular devices in an area of one square centimeter and thereby, achieving a significant extension of Moore's Law. The design as proposed here is a unique and innovative application of the carbon nanotube technology for fabricating a molecular-sized memory cell to overcome the physical limitation of the top-down miniaturization in semiconductor microelectronics.