Precision Dry Etching of 2D Materials: 2DETCH

范围：纳米技术是大多数现代技术的核心，从航空航天和汽车工业到光电子到外科植入物。纳米制造依赖于许多基本步骤，包括材料生长、器件图案化和电触点沉积。近十年来，二维材料及其异质结构已发展成为一个庞大的多学科领域。它们独特的电子、光学、机械和热性能使其在纳米技术的关键领域，如可持续能源生产和存储、传感器、低功耗电子、通信和量子技术，展示了新颖和改进的性能。目前，欧盟、中国、韩国和美国正在投资数十亿美元，以扩大过渡2DM技术所需的基础设施，以满足这些应用的需求。愿景：该提案将提供必要的关键实验蚀刻能力，以确保英国在二维材料纳米制造方面保持世界领先地位。我们建议购买一种新的最先进的干式蚀刻系统，具有以原子尺度精度蚀刻层的能力。该工具是首批允许原子层蚀刻（ALE）的商业仪器之一，并将实现可控的逐层二维材料去除，目前在英国任何地方都无法获得。我们将开发协议和方法，以实现关键2D材料的ALE功能，并通过各种表征工具对结果进行实验验证。该仪器将提供新的研究能力，并取代国家石墨烯研究所目前的RIE系统，该系统已达到其使用寿命（15年）的终点，以执行广泛的既定任务。拟议的仪器将嵌入一个世界领先的2DM卓越中心，并有专门的工作人员提供支持。它将通过Royce访问计划向整个英国2D材料社区开放，为基础研究和支持2D材料应用的工业发展创造新的机会。对于2DM应用，新的蚀刻平台将具有以下关键重点领域：低功耗电子和量子技术：新的蚀刻机将提供具有高度可调性的纳米级器件的塑造能力，并且在晶圆尺度上具有精确控制厚度，接口和电触点的能力。可持续能源生产和存储：该设施将使2DM模型表面的制造成为可能，从而对其在电极和催化中的功能产生新的认识。它还将允许模型纳米孔膜的合成和应用，以产生燃料电池和电解槽的最佳几何形状的新知识。用于健康生活的生物分子传感器：提出的能力将推动具有埃级通道的纳米流体器件的创造，为纳米级化学传感、分子筛选和生物分子分析提供前所未有的机会。为了实现这一目标，关键目标是：开发和基准新的世界领先的2DM原子层蚀刻能力。成功地将所有当前的2D蚀刻转换到新系统，并展示相同或改进的性能。为不同的材料系统生成一套可靠的协议，通过消除当前执行许多重复蚀刻的要求来提高效率，从而优化制造条件。向整个英国2D材料社区宣传新功能，如果需要增加程序，以确保系统在整个应用领域的广泛使用。

Scope: Nanotechnology lies at the heart of most modern technologies, from aerospace and automotive industries to optoelectronics through to surgical implants. Nanofabrication relies on a number of essential steps, including materials growth, device patterning and deposition of electrical contacts. In the last decade, 2D Materials (2DM) and their heterostructures have developed into a large multidisciplinary field. Their unique electronic, optical, mechanical and thermal properties have led to their use to demonstrate novel and improved performance in key areas of nanotechnology such as sustainable energy production and storage, sensors, low power electronics, communications and quantum technologies. Many billions of dollars are currently being invested in the EU, China, Korea and USA to scale up the infrastructure needed to transition 2DM technology to meet the demands of these applications.Vision: This proposal will provide a key experimental etching capability necessary to ensure that the UK remains a world leader in 2D materials nanofabrication. We propose to purchase a new state-of-the-art dry etching system, with capabilities to etch layers with atomic scale precision. This tool is one of the first commercial instruments allowing for atomic layer etching (ALE) and will enable controllable layer-by-layer 2D materials removal, currently not available anywhere in the UK. We will develop protocols and methodology to enable ALE functionality for key 2D materials and experimentally verify the results with a wide range of characterisation tools. The instrument will both provide new research capabilities and replace the current RIE system at National Graphene Institute which has reached the end of its life (15 years) to perform a broad range of already established tasks. The proposed instrument will be embedded in a world-leading centre of excellence for 2DM with dedicated staff support. It will be accessible to the whole UK 2D materials community through the Royce access scheme creating new opportunities for fundamental studies and supporting industrial development of 2D materials applications.The new etching platform will have the following key focus areas for 2DM applications:Low Power Electronics and Quantum Technologies: the new etcher will provide the ability to shape nanoscale devices with a high degree of tuneability but also at the wafer scale, with precise control of thicknesses, interfaces and electrical contacts.Sustainable Energy Generation and Storage: This facility will enable fabrication of model 2DM surfaces to generate new understanding of their function in electrodes and catalysis. It will also allow model nanoporous membranes to be synthesised and applied to generate new knowledge of their optimal geometries for fuel cells and in electrolysers.Biomolecular Sensors for Healthy Living: The proposed capability will advance creation of nanofluidic devices with angstrom-sized channels that enable unprecedented opportunities for nanoscale chemical sensing, molecular sieving and biomolecular analysis.To achieve this, the key objectives are:To develop and benchmark new world-leading capabilities for Atomic Layer Etching of 2DM.To successfully transition all current 2D etching to the new system, demonstrating equal or improved performance.To generate a suite of reliable protocols for different materials systems, providing improved efficiency by removing the current requirements to perform many repeat etchings simply to optimise fabrication conditions.Advertise the new capabilities to the whole UK 2D materials community, adding procedures if required in order to ensure broad usage of the system across the full range of application areas.