(Invited) Interface Engineering for Nanoelectronics

Abstract

The pace of innovation within the electronics industry is picking up steam in response to critical challenges as conventional silicon technology matures. Increasingly, semiconductor-based systems, from small sensors to high performance computers, or everything in between, must maximize performance, while minimizing energy use and providing security and assurance. As recently highlighted in “Semiconductor Research Opportunities” by the SIA/SRC, for the semiconductor industry to continue achieving performance improvements, the broader research community needs a comprehensive approach that considers all aspects of semiconductor technology, including novel materials, new manufacturing techniques, new structures, system architectures and applications. Among these approaches is the fundamental understanding of electronic processes at interfaces since the interface increasingly dominates electronic performance. I will describe advances made in our ability to manipulate and measure organic and molecular interfaces at the nanometer scale and the impact on the resulting electronic performance. This talk will contain three primary themes, 1-designer interfaces, 2-electronic junction formation, and 3-advancing metrology for nanoelectronics. The foremost step of interface engineering is the ability to create designer surfaces where monolayers can be tailored for specific electronic properties. This can be achieved by controlling the tunnel barrier thickness on a ferromagnetic electrode or by using click chemistry to create dense, high-quality electrically active molecular layers. Understanding the electrical response on the nanoscale is non-trivial as often creating the test structure creates artifacts that dominate the electronic response. In particular, I will focus on the measurement advances made in molecular electronics, highlighting our understanding of the interface science and characterization.