MRI: Acquisition of a Chemical Mechanical Polishing System for Research and Education

该项目的目标是获得最先进的化学机械抛光（CMP）系统，用于前沿研究和协同教育。CMP已经成为一种使表面平整的技术，其结果是表面粗糙度降低到亚纳米的均方根水平。超平面可用于微电子、光电子、微机电系统和先进的器件架构。该CMP系统由一个CMP仪器和一个CMP后清洗仪器组成。CMP仪器通过化学和机械工艺相结合的方法抛光材料表面。CMP后清洗仪器可以去除在CMP过程中静电附着在表面上的颗粒。我们计划将该系统安装在俄亥俄州立大学（OSU）多用户和共享使用的研究制造设施，纳米技术西部实验室，本着对整个地区的用户开放获取的精神。CMP系统的收购与俄勒冈州立大学在量子信息科学与工程、网络安全、通信和移动性方面的研究重点密切相关。电子和光子学研究影响着网络、计算和传感行业。学生的教育和培训将通过研究项目、课堂教学和强有力的实践推广活动受到影响。作为美国最大的公立大学之一，俄勒冈州立大学为大量本科生和研究生提供了在一系列前沿领域进行研究的机会。前沿研究包括用于经典和量子应用的集成光子学器件，基于超宽带隙半导体的高功率电子器件，5G/6G通信和传感器件，以及用于紫外和拓扑激光器的化合物半导体技术。CMP系统将允许俄勒冈州立大学的研究人员进行薄膜铁电材料的直接键合，以开发预测的单光子源，为氧化镓垂直功率器件制备生长表面，在微制造天线阵列中产生可调性和可靠性，并实现半导体激光器中的拓扑现象。芯片级单光子源利用微米级模式场直径的光子集成电路在电信波长上的紧凑形式因素进行大规模多路复用。基于氧化镓的功率器件比传统的氮化镓或碳化硅等宽带隙半导体具有两倍大的击穿电场。集成到天线阵列中的微机电系统产生100 GHz频率可重构天线的辐射方向图可调性。拓扑激光器具有无散射边缘态传输的潜力和抗制造缺陷的鲁棒性。CMP系统对我们下一代电子和光子学的愿景至关重要。CMP系统的采购预计将对校园、工业和位于俄亥俄州代顿的空军研究实验室产生广泛的区域影响。新CMP系统的潜在未来用户包括工程和物理系的现有和早期职业教师，他们正在进行材料、设备和系统组件的基础研究。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The objective of this project is to acquire a state-of-the-art chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system for frontier research and synergistic education. CMP has emerged as a technique for planarizing surfaces with resulting surface roughness down to the sub-nanometer root-mean-square level. Ultra-flat surfaces are enabling for microelectronics, optoelectronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems, and advanced device architectures. The proposed CMP system consists of a CMP instrument and a post-CMP cleaning instrument. The CMP instrument polishes a material surface through the combination of chemical and mechanical processes. The post-CMP cleaning instrument removes particles that can be electrostatically attached to the surface during the CMP process. We plan to install the system at The Ohio State University (OSU) multi-user and shared-use research fabrication facility, Nanotech West Lab, in the spirit of open access availability for users across the region. Acquisition of the CMP system is in strong alignment with OSU research priorities in quantum information science and engineering, cyber security, communications, and mobility. Electronics and photonics research impacts the networking, computing, and sensing industries. The education and training of students at multiple levels will be impacted through research programs, classroom instruction, and robust hands-on outreach activities. As one of the largest public universities in the USA, OSU provides opportunities for large numbers of undergraduate and graduate students to carry out research in a range of cutting-edge areas. Frontier research involves integrated photonics devices for classical and quantum applications, high power electronics based on ultrawide bandgap semiconductors, 5G/6G communications and sensing devices, and compound semiconductor technology for ultraviolet and topological lasers. The CMP system will allow OSU researchers to conduct direct bonding of thin film ferroelectric materials for the development of heralded single photon sources, prepare growth surfaces for gallium oxide vertical power devices, generate tunability and reliability in microfabricated antenna arrays, and realize topological phenomena in semiconductor lasers. Chip-scale single photon sources exploit large scale multiplexing in compact form factors from photonic integrated circuits with micrometer scale mode field diameters at telecommunications wavelengths. Power devices based on gallium oxide exhibit factor-of-two larger breakdown electric field over traditional wide bandgap semiconductors such as gallium nitride or silicon carbide. Micro-electro-mechanical systems integrated into antenna arrays produce radiation pattern tunability from 100 GHz frequency-reconfigurable antennas. Topological lasers have potential for scatter-free edge-state transport and robustness against fabrication defects. The CMP system is critical for our vision of next generation electronics and photonics. The acquisition of the CMP system is expected to have broad regional impact on campus, in industry, and at the Air Force Research Lab in Dayton Ohio. Potential future users of the new CMP system include established and early-career faculty in Engineering and Physics departments, conducting fundamental research spanning materials, devices, and components for systems.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.