Nanovoids in semiconductors and defect dynamics: a path to the universal substrate

未来十年，在量子计算和数据加密、人工智能、自学设备、系统和自动驾驶汽车等技术海啸的推动下，将迎来一场定义社会变革的完美风暴。5G等新的数据传输技术和物联网等大规模分布式网络也将深刻改变我们的生活方式。每个国家都将努力为自己定位，以确保强大的供应链，同时维护其独立性和安全。这些技术中的许多，如果不是大多数的话，都依赖于半导体，并以硅作为主要的主体材料。市场需求和国家之间的全球竞争给该行业带来了巨大的压力，要求其提供更高效、更移动、更节能等基于半导体的器件。为了实现这一目标，这些器件中使用的不同材料必须集成到一片硅上，并在世界上最大的晶圆厂生产。虽然在硅上集成不同半导体的一些尝试已经取得了一定的成功，但仍然需要开发一种强大的、经济有效的和高性能的技术。这项提案将探索解决整合挑战的方法，利用我的团队在过去6年中取得的一些重大突破。我们开发的工艺结合了对纳米多孔半导体(如Ge和Si)的创建的高水平控制，以及将石墨烯整合到其结构中的能力，以创建具有新的、令人兴奋的、最重要的“可调”特性的新的2D/3D纳米复合材料家族。我的计划将探索使用这些纳米复合材料的途径，在不牺牲性能的情况下，为在硅平台上集成不同结构和性能的半导体创造解决方案。首先，我们将开发基于新型半导体的新型纳米复合材料，最终目标是通过使用InGaAs作为基础结构，创建第一个具有可调晶体的纳米复合材料。这种具有可调晶体的材料将对设备的集成起到重要作用。然后，我将使用这个基础来演示特定设备的集成，并展示该技术的潜力。其他集成，例如芯片上的能量存储和收集，将通过使用纳米复合材料作为主要媒介来展示。该计划将使我能够：1)通过加强我们在材料系列不同方面的专业知识水平，扩大我的团队在基于石墨烯的纳米复合材料领域的领导地位和影响力；2)针对无缺陷异质外延和片上能源管理的高影响力技术挑战。3)探索其他用途，如纳米复合材料作为一种高灵敏度和紧凑的气体传感器，用于“芯片实验室”应用。

The next decade will see a perfect storm of defining transformations of society through the so-called "digital revolution", driven by a tsunami of technologies, like quantum computing and data encryption, artificial intelligence, self-teaching devices, systems and autonomous vehicles. New data transport technologies like 5G and massively distributed networks like the Internet of Things will also profoundly change the way we live. Each nation will try to position itself to secure a strong supply chain, while preserving its independence and security. Many, if not most of these technologies relie on semiconductors, and are fabricated on silicon as the main host material. The market demands and global competition between nations, exerts massive pressure on the industry to provide semiconductor-based devices that are evermore efficient, mobile, energy efficient, etc. In order to achieve that, different materials used in these devices must be integrated onto a piece of Si and be produced in the great fabs of the world. While some attempts to integrate different semiconductors on Si have been somewhat successful, a robust, cost-effective and high performance technique remains to be developed. This proposal will explore ways to address the integration challenge, by leveraging some major breakthroughs that were achieved in the last 6 years in my group. We have developed processes that combine a high level of control over the creation of nano-porous semiconductors, like Ge and Si, with the ability to integrate graphene within their structure, to create a new family of 2D/3D nano-composites with new, exciting and most importantly « tunable » properties. My program will explore avenues using these nano-composites, to create solutions for the integration of semiconductors with different structures and properties on the Si platform, without sacrificing performance. First we will develop new nano-composites based on new semiconductors, with the ultimate goal to create the first nano-composite with a tunable crystal, by using InGaAs as the base structure. This material with a tunable crystal will be instrumental for the integration of devices. I will then use this base to demonstrate the integration of specific devices and show the potential of the technique. Other integrations, such as on-chip energy storage and harvesting will be demonstrated through the use of the nanocomposite as the main medium. This program will allow me to : 1)expand my team's leadership and impact in the field of graphene based nanocomposites, by strengthening our level of expertise on the different aspects of the material family and 2)to target the high impact technological challenge of defect-free heteroepitaxy and on-chip energy management. 3)explore other uses will be explored like the nanocomposite as a highly sensitive and compact gas sensor for "lab-on-chip" applications.