2-Dimensional Materials and Atomic Scale Engineering for Nanoelectronics

电子产品的未来问题迫在眉睫。1965年，摩尔定律（Moore’s Law）对晶体管小型化的经济原理做出了先见之明的预测，它描述了半导体工业半个世纪以来的发展历程。不仅硅的普及将随着每一代晶体管的诞生而继续，而且晶体管本身的尺寸也将接近原子尺度。电子学能否得出这种缩放的逻辑结论，即晶体管是由单原子单层构成的二维材料构成的？Szkopek的研究计划通过三个主要研究主题来解决这一挑战：1)合成和表征二维原子晶体-石墨烯，2010年诺贝尔物理学奖的主题，只是全新的单层原子材料类别的第一个成员。Szkopek将致力于二维晶体的基础和应用研究，目的是开发新的电子设备，利用与二维材料相关的独特特性组合。2)开发半导体自旋冷却——利用Szkopek和合作者Gervais（麦吉尔大学）发现的一种新的冷却技术，无运动部件的固态冰箱将被开发用于小利基低噪声电子产品和基于低维半导体的新兴量子技术。3)开发石墨烯机电系统——石墨烯膜独特的电气和机械性能可用于提高数字开关等机电设备的性能。电子电路中这种开关的能量消耗和开关速度的物理极限是什么？

The question of the future of electronics looms large. Moore's Law, a prescient prediction from 1965 about the economics of making transistors smaller, has described the progress of the semiconductor industry for a half-century. Not only will the ubiquitous spread of silicon continue with every successive generation of transistors, but transistors themselves will reach dimensions approaching the atomic scale. Can electronics be taken to the logical conclusion of this scaling, where transistors are formed of 2-dimensional materials composed of single atomic monolayers? Szkopek's research plan addresses this challenge through three major research themes:1) Synthesize and characterize 2D atomic crystals - Graphene, the subject of the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics, is but the first member of the entirely new class of materials that are single layers of atoms. Szkopek will work on fundamental and applied studies of 2D crystals, with the aim of developing new electronic devices that take advantage of the unique combinations of properties associated with 2D materials.2) Develop semiconductor spin cooling - Exploiting a new cooling technique discovered by Szkopek and collaborator Gervais (McGill), solid state refrigerators with no moving parts will be developed for niche low-noise electronics and for emerging quantum technologies based on low-dimensional semiconductors.3) Develop graphene electro-mechanical systems - The unique electrical and mechanical properties of graphene membranes can be exploited to enhance the performance of electromechanical devices such as digital switches. What is the physical limit of energy consumption and switching speed for such switches in electronic circuits?