Bio-Optical Computing Devices: Multi-Valued Logic Elements via Photonic Bio-Materials

该项目的首席研究员旨在开发一种新型材料平台，用于潜在的强大生物计算，超越当前的半导体材料。量子计算长期以来一直被理论化为下一代强大的计算，但目前依赖于在非自然环境下工作的特定材料和现象，如极低的温度。在原始量子系统之外，可以通过探索新的物理现象和材料来扩展具有多层次逻辑元素的超级计算原理，从而实现多层次信号处理，从而大大提高生产率。这种方法需要进一步探索二元逻辑和传统经典无机结构和物理现象之外的原理。这些新颖的基于光子的计算逻辑元件将在本项目中考虑与未来电子电路集成的能力。本研究旨在为生物光子薄膜晶体管提供一个灵活、可弯曲、保形和可持续的人机界面平台，为皮肤、皮下和大脑使用的可穿戴和植入式生物电子设备提供巨大的并行处理能力。PI的教育理念侧重于学生个人本身以及他们对研究的早期参与，这对于让学生进入可持续的研究事业至关重要，尤其是来自未被代表群体的年轻人。本研究的重点是探索异质结构生物光子材料的设计和集成，作为不同波长的有源有机半导体的有源介电层，以制造生物有机场效应晶体管（BOFET）。这些结构材料将成为未来可能实现强大生物计算的多值逻辑系统的基础。该研究的主要概念假设是，将鲁棒和柔性手性生物衍生材料的独特电子和光学特性、响应行为和光子特性与薄膜电子技术相结合，可能会在未来可穿戴人机界面友好型生物电子学中创造出在环境条件下具有卓越计算性能的超多值逻辑BOFET器件。本项目的主要研究工作包括：1)合成和制备具有手性向列组织的纤维素纳米晶体活性生物光子薄膜，并结合不同光子能量、极化和相对湿度的外部光照触发的响应光子行为；ii)设计和制造在有机/无机界面与有机半导体聚合物集成的有源介电层，并进一步与电子相关衬底集成，使bofet具有独特的光电性能；iii)可测试设计全尺寸多功能BOFET原型器件，作为一种新型的基于光子的多值逻辑元件，具有包括三元和四元逻辑值在内的高级逻辑运算的潜力。最后，PI将研究在可变光子能量、偏振和环境条件下的关键输出电子特性。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 principal investigator of this project aims to develop a novel materials platform for potentially powerful bio-computing beyond current semiconductor-based materials. Quantum computation has long been theorized to be the next generation powerful computing but currently relies on specific materials and phenomena that work at non-natural environment such as extremely low temperatures. Beyond original quantum systems, the principles of super-computing with multi-level logic elements can be expanded by exploring novel physical phenomena and materials to achieve multi-level signal processing with drastically increased productivity. This approach requires further exploration of principles beyond binary logic and traditional classical inorganic structures and physical phenomena. These novel photonic-based computational logic elements will be considered in this project with the ability to be integrated with future electronic circuits. This research is to provide a flexible, bendable, conformal and sustainable platform for bio-photonic thin film transistors, as for the human-machine interface, with enormous parallel processing abilities for wearable and implantable bioelectronic devices for skin, under-skin and brain use. The educational philosophy of the PI focuses on the individual students themselves and their early involvement in research, which is critical for getting students into sustainable research careers, especially young people from unrepresented groups.The focus of this research is the exploration of the design and integration of heterostructured bio-based photonic materials as active dielectric layers with different wavelength-active organic semiconductors to create bio-organic field-effect transistors (BOFET). These structured materials will be a base for a prospective multi-value logic system that may enable powerful bio-computing. The main conceptual hypothesis of the proposed research is the suggestion that the integration of unique electronic and optical properties, responsive behavior and photonic properties of robust and flexible chiral bio-derived materials with thin film electronic technology might lead to the creation of super-multi-value logic BOFET devices with superior computational performance at ambient conditions in future wearable human-interface friendly bioelectronics. Three major research tasks to be conducted in this project include: i) synthesis and fabrication of active biophotonic thin films from cellulose-nanocrystals with chiral nematic organization in conjunction with responsive photonic behavior as triggered by external illumination from different photon energies and polarizations and relative humidity; ii) design and fabrication of an active dielectric layer integrated with organic semiconducting polymers at an organic/inorganic interface and further integration with electronic-relevant substrates to enable BOFETs with unique opto-electronic properties; and iii) testable design of full-scale multifunctional BOFET prototype device as a novel photonic-based multi-value logic element with potential for high level logic operations including ternary and quaternary logic values. Finally, the PI will study critical output electronic characteristics at variable photon energy, polarization, and environmental conditions.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.