Collaborative Research: Controlling Process Variability in Bottom-up Nanoelectronic Devices

实现纳米技术革命所承诺的新产品、新系统和新应用，需要应用于纳米级结构的高质量制造的严格要求。重要的是，没有任何大规模生产的零部件是完美的，无论是汽车部件、晶体管还是日用化学品。结构上的变化(例如，几何、组成等)以及功能上的变化是不可避免的。然而，通过定量地了解这些变化及其分布，过程或产品设计人员可以对它们进行补偿。该项目的目标是为自下而上(即，添加)纳米电子器件制造的情况确保此类知识。该项目的成功有望使新的电子技术惠及消费、工业和国防部门，从桌面可打印集成电路到用于视力恢复的视网膜植入物。研究人员将开展多项教育和外展活动，从女孩夏令营的演示到推出新的对话式播客，以应对制造中的重大挑战。该项目将使用两种新开发的高通量、非接触方法，提供对自下而上的纳米电子设备加工和设备电子性能之间关系的基本统计洞察。硅纳米线p-n二极管将作为模型电子元件，它们被广泛应用于整流、传感和电能采集应用。气-液-固纳米线生长方法将允许系统地控制二极管掺杂轮廓、纳米线直径、表面特性和钝化。基于溶液的电平移和电取向测量将根据关键工艺参数提供对整体中单个二极管的结和表面属性的访问。电翻译和电定向技术的高通量、非接触性将允许迄今为止最具统计意义的表征，并有助于设计产生性能优于最先进技术且控制更好的纳米电子器件的工艺。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Realizing the new products, systems, and applications promised by the nanotechnology revolution requires the stringency of high-quality manufacturing applied to nanoscale structures. Importantly, no mass-manufactured component, whether a car part, transistor, or commodity chemical, is perfect. Variations in structure (e.g., geometry, composition, etc.), and thus function, are unavoidable. However, by quantitatively understanding these variations and their distribution, a process or product designer can compensate for them. The objective of this project is to secure such knowledge for the case of bottom-up (i.e., additive) nanoelectronic device fabrication. Success of this project promises to enable new electronic technologies that benefit the consumer, industrial, and defense sectors, ranging from desktop-printable integrated circuits to retinal implants for sight restoration. The investigators will carry out multiple educational and outreach activities, ranging from demonstrations at a summer camp for girls to the launch of a new conversational podcast that addresses big challenges in manufacturing.This project will provide fundamental statistical insight into the connection between bottom-up nanoelectronic device processing and device electronic properties using two newly developed high-throughput, non-contact methods. Si nanowire p-n diodes will serve as model electronic components; they are widely used in rectification, sensing, and power-harvesting applications. The vapor-liquid-solid nanowire growth method will allow for systematic control of diode doping profile, nanowire diameter, and surface characteristics and passivation. Solution-based electro-translation and electro-orientation measurements will provide access to the junction and surface properties of individual diodes in an ensemble as a function of key process parameters. The high-throughput, non-contact nature of the electro-translation and electro-orientation techniques will permit the most statistically meaningful characterization to date, and aid in the design of processes that yield nanoelectronic devices with performance superior to, and far better controlled than, the state-of-the-art.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.