Vacuum polyradical deposition (VPRD) techniques for specialty nanoelectronics

加拿大的塑料和聚合物制造业需要复兴，而加拿大的信息和通信技术（ICT）制造业正在蓬勃发展。我们的“大”数据社会和ICT的进步产生了对新制造解决方案的持续需求，这些解决方案在所需的薄度，简单性和成本水平上，目前无法从硅电子产品中获得，而基于有机聚合物的“塑料”电子产品通常被认为是有前途的替代品。这就迫切需要开发先进的、环境友好的制造方法来生产电子级“塑料”材料。多自由基是一种聚合物，其中每个重复单元支持一个未配对的电子，是“闪存”研究的前沿，闪存是一种数据存储单元，能够在没有任何外部电源的情况下保留信息，但可以无限次写入。该提案利用了Fanchini-Gilroy团队最近的创纪录成就，该团队已经展示了新设计的聚自由基，聚[1，5-二异丙基-3-（顺式-5-环己烯-exo-2，3-二羧酰亚胺）-6-氧代-verdazyl]（P6 OV），并获得了专利，具有有史以来最薄的有源层（10 nm），比商业硅同行薄得多。为了利用这一惊人的发现，必须实现一种具有从有机聚自由基中产生集成电子产品潜力的工业可扩展系统。Fanchini-Gilroy团队将与加拿大最大的电子产品真空聚合物沉积系统生产商Plasmionique合作，开发新型真空聚合物沉积（VPRD）反应器的原型，该反应器将由我们的工业合作伙伴商业化，实现无溶剂和环保的聚合物大规模生产，为加拿大带来巨大利益。将大量存储器组件集成到单个芯片上的闪存原型也将通过新的VPRD制造系统进行演示，该系统将采用西部大学纳米制造设施开发的器件图案化技术。

The Canadian plastics and polymer manufacturing sector is in need of a rejuvenation, while Canada'sinformation and communication technology (ICT) manufacturing is booming. Our 'big' data society and theprogress of ICT generate a continuous demand for new manufacturing solutions that, at the required levels ofthinness, simplicity, and costs, are not currently available from silicon electronics, and 'plastic' electronicsbased on organic polymers have often been suggested as promising alternative. This has created a pressingneed for the development of advanced, environmentally-friendly manufacturing methods for the production ofelectronic-grade 'plastic' materials. Polyradicals, polymers in which each repeated unit supports an unpairedelectron, are at the forefront of research in 'flash' memories, data storage units capable to retain informationwithout any external power source, but are writable an unlimited number of times. This proposal capitalizes onthe recent record achievement of the Fanchini-Gilroy team that has demonstrated and patented ultrathin flashmemory devices from a newly designed polyradical, poly[1,5-diisopropyl-3-(cis-5-norbornene-exo-2,3-dicarboxiimide)-6-oxo-verdazyl] (P6OV), with the thinnest active layer (10 nm) ever obtained, muchthinner than their commercial silicon counterparts. To capitalize on this startling discovery, an industriallyscalable system with the potential to lead to integrated electronics from organic polyradicals must beimplemented. In partnership with Plasmionique, Canada's largest producer of vacuum polymer depositionsystems for electronics , the Fanchini-Gilroy team will develop the prototype of a new vacuum polyradicaldeposition (VPRD) reactor that will be commercialized by our industrial partner, enabling solvent-free andenvironmentally-friendly mass production of polyradicals, with strong benefits to Canada. A prototype of aflash memory integrating a large number of memory components onto a single chip will also be demonstratedwith the new VPRD fabrication system, which will feature device patterning technology developed at theWestern University Nanofabrication Facility.