Nanoelectronics Research Research Articles

VO2, a Metal-Insulator Transition Material for Nanoelectronic Applications

An overview is given of exploratory Metal-Insulator Transition material based nanoelectronics research at imec and UGent. The VO2 thin film growth techniques used are elaborated. This considers thermal oxidation of vanadium metal and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Fundamental device properties such as voltage driven switching and tunnel junction properties are discussed. Device concepts making use of MIT materials or VO2 are elaborated.

(Keynote) Progress, Opportunities and Challenges for Beyond CMOS Information Processing Technologies

During the past 10 years, a great deal of worldwide research has been directed towards exploring "beyond CMOS" information processing technologies. In the US, much of that work has been focused within the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) formed in 2005. This presentation will not summarize the research results that have come out of that effort but will draw some conclusions from that work to form some projections about future research directions.

In Quest of the “Next Switch”: Prospects for Greatly Reduced Power Dissipation in a Successor to the Silicon Field-Effect Transistor

Reduced power dissipation relative to the field-effect transistor (FET) is a key attribute that should be possessed by any device that has a chance of supplanting the FET as the ubiquitous building block for complex digital logic. We outline the possible physical approaches to achieving this attribute, and illustrate these approaches by citing current exploratory device research. We assess the value of the key exploratory research objectives of the semiconductor industry-sponsored Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) in the light of this pressing need to reduce dissipation in future digital logic devices.

Regional, National, and International Nanoelectronics Research Programs: Topical Concentration and Gaps

This paper will outline some results obtained by an international working group on nanoelectronics, which collects data from major publicly funded programs in Europe, Japan, and the United States on long-term nanoelectronics research. It maps these programs and projects onto a set of research directions that are expected to drive nanoelectronics for the long term. The purpose is to identify those research topics attracting a lot of attention and those important topics that seem less attractive. This paper will give examples of interregional collaborative programs and identify sources of funding specifically provided to support international collaborations.

Nanoelectronics Research for Beyond CMOS Information Processing [Scanning the Issue

This special issue presents a variety of invited papers covering nanostructures and related materials proposed to extend CMOS scaling to its ultimate limit and enable a variety of new logic and memory devices.

Fabrication of graphene nanogap with crystallographically matching edges and its electron emission properties

We demonstrate the fabrication of graphene nanogap with crystallographically matching edges on SiO2/Si substrates by divulsion. The current-voltage measurement is then performed in a high-vacuum chamber for a graphene nanogap with few hundred nanometers separation. The parallel edges help to build uniform electrical field and allow us to perform electron emission study on individual graphene. It was found that current-voltage (I-V) characteristics are governed by the space-charge-limited flow of current at low biases while the Fowler–Nordheim model fits the I-V curves in high voltage regime. We also examined electrostatic gating effect of the vacuum electronic device. Graphene nanogap with atomically parallel edges may open up opportunities for both fundamental and applied research of vacuum nanoelectronics.

Resuscitating industrial research without monopoly money

Many of the points made in the article “Industrial R&D in Transition” are excellent, informative, and timely. In the section headed “Decentralizing research,” the authors expressed some skepticism about the effectiveness of joint research involving industry, academia, and the government. We believe such collaboration can be extremely effective. The Semiconductor Research Corp, of which the Micro Electronics Advanced Research Corp and the Nanoelectronics Research Corp are subsidiaries, is an industrial consortium that sponsors precompetitive and targeted university research on behalf of the semiconductor industry. Since its founding in 1982, the SRC has helped to enable the continuation of an exponential rate of growth in performance per unit cost (Moore’s law) for semiconductors and has provided support for more than 7500 graduates with advanced degrees in semiconductor technologies and related areas.The SRC was gratified to receive the 2005 US National Medal of Technology for its contributions to the advancement of semiconductor technologies. Our experience has been that joint sponsorship of university research by industry and government agencies works well and can satisfy the missions of all three entities. Indeed, it is not difficult to find common ground between the research-program focus of our consortium and that of government research agencies.© 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Computational nanoelectronics research and education at nanoHUB.org

The simulation tools and resources available at nanoHUB.org offer significant opportunities for both re- search and education in computational nanoelectronics. Users can run simulations on existing powerful computa- tional tools rather than developing yet another niche simu- lator. The worldwide visibility of nanoHUB provides tool authors with an unparalleled venue for publishing their tools. We have deployed a new quantum transport simu- lator, OMEN, a state-of-the-art research tool, as the engine driving two tools on nanoHUB.

Josephson charge qubits: a brief review

The field of solid-state quantum computation is expanding rapidly initiated by our original charge qubit demonstrations. Various types of solid-state qubits are being studied, and their coherent properties are improving. The goal of this review is to summarize achievements on Josephson charge qubits. We cover the results obtained in our joint group of NEC Nano Electronics Research Laboratories and RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, also referring to the works done by other groups. Starting from a short introduction, we describe the principle of the Josephson charge qubit, its manipulation and readout. We proceed with coupling of two charge qubits and implementation of a logic gate. We also discuss decoherence issues. Finally, we show how a charge qubit can be used as an artificial atom coupled to a resonator to demonstrate lasing action.

National Project on 45 to 32 nm Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors for Next Century IC Fabrications

It is well known that the Taiwan Semiconductor industries play the very key roles for the worldwide IC foundry, and the advanced research of nanoelectronics is the lifeline for its long term developments. Professor Huey-liang Hwang effectively integrated the most outstanding research team and resource in Taiwan on the National Project on Nanometer CMOS Transistors for the 21 century, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of ROC. A dozen of Professors from NTHU (National Tsing Hua University) with expertise at the novel materials and analysis and NCTU (National Chiao Tung University) with expertise at devices and reliability are devoted to the studies and are in collaboration with the world-wide-known company such as TSMC, and breakthrough of the key technologies of 45-32 nm technologies are achieved. The objective of this project is focused on the development of advanced metal gate/high-k MOSFET for 45 nm node generation and beyond, the efforts include the thermal stability of HfO2, HfAlOx alloy and Al2O3/HfO2 stack, prepared by ALD were compared, the incorporation of Al in alloy form gave superior characteristics by retaining an amorphous structure up to 1000°C, which suppress the leakage current and retards growth of the interfacial layer giving the least increment of EOT and interface traps. Besides, by incorporating Al into TiO2 gave an EOT value of the Al2O3/TiAlOx/Al2O3 film down to 0.8 nm. Furthermore, high selectivity was obtained via etching the HfAlO and silicon wafer with pattern using the ICP Plasma. In this project, YbSi metal gate for n-MOSFET and IrSi metal gate p-MOSFET were successfully fabricated for the HfAlON MESFET. The results showed the good effective workfunction of 4.15 and 4.9 eV and no degradation of gate dielectric current and mobility in the YbxSi/HfAlON and IrxSi/HfAlON FUSI-gates by reducing the metal diffusion at lower temperatures. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2009.507]

The Semiconductor Industry's Nanoelectronics Research Initiative: Motivation and Challenges

In recent generations of CMOS technology, exponentially increasing power density due to leakage currents as well as active switching energy is limiting our ability to reap the historical benefits of continued scaling. As the ultimate limits to CMOS scaling are getting closer, completely new approaches in emerging areas in electronics at the nanoscale need to be explored. The Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) was chartered in 2005 by a consortium of Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) member companies to develop and administer a university-based program to address this issue. This paper will give an overview of some of the challenges that led to the formation of NRI, and an overview of the kind of research being pursued to extend the cost and performance trends for information technology.

The Semiconductor Industry's Nanoelectronics Research Initiative: Motivation and Challenges

not Available.

Into the third dimension [vertical integration

Integrated device manufacturers will lead the uptake of three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuit (ICs) technology, according to speakers on a panel held during an annual review meeting at Belgium's IMEC nanoelectronics research centre. The move to 3D integration is partly a response to the rising costs of implementing system-on-chip (SoC) devices processess.

The quest for the next information processing technology

Fundamental physical considerations indicate that the scaling of devices that use electron charge as the information carrier will limit within the next one to two decades. The Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI), a joint industry-government program, has been developed to fund university research seeking devices that utilize alternative physical information carriers or non-equilibrium switching mechanisms to continue the historical cost and performance trends of information technology. Three research centers have been established to pursue five research vectors that have been identified as critical to the effort to replace the electronic switch. A brief history and rationale for NRI is given and the projects currently underway are described in the context of the five research vectors.

Hans Jürgen Coufal

Hans Jürgen Coufal

Hybrid Nanoelectronics: Future of Computer Technology

Nanotechnology may well prove to be the 21st century's new wave of scientific knowledge that transforms people's lives. Nanotechnology research activities are booming around the globe. This article reviews the recent progresses made on nanoelectronic research in US and China, and introduces several novel hybrid solutions specifically useful for future computer technology. These exciting new directions will lead to many future inventions, and have a huge impact to research communities and industries.

50 nm metamorphic GaAs and InP HEMTs

This paper reviews some of the recent work at the Nanoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Glasgow on the optimisation of 50 nm metamorphic GaAs and InP HEMTs. Typical DC and RF figures of merit obtained from 50 nm metamorphic GaAs HEMTs include I dss of 800 mA/mm, g m of 1100 mS/mm, threshold voltage standard deviation of 5 mV across a 25 mm × 25 mm area, f T of 440 GHz and f max of 400 GHz, all at a drain bias of 1.0 V. To our knowledge, these are the highest operating frequency GaAs-based transistors to date. At V d = 0.8 V and V g = − 0.6 V, a NF min and G ass of 0.7 dB and 13 dB respectively at 26 GHz have been demonstrated. For similar geometry InP HEMTs, DC and RF figures of merit are the following: I dss of 900 mA/mm, g m of 1600 mS/mm, f T of 550 GHz, f max of 440 GHz, and NF min and G ass of 0.9 dB and 14 dB respectively at 26 GHz. The highest performance 50 nm HEMTs reported to date. Using these technologies, single stage MMMICs with gain of at least 7 dB and a return loss of better than − 5 dB across a 24 GHz bandwidth from 71 GHz to 95 GHz have been realised. Noise figure of 2.5 dB and associated gain of 7.3 dB at 90 GHz have been achieved with a DC power consumption of 20 mW.

Ordered Arrays of Silicon Nanowires Produced by Nanosphere Lithography and Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Because of their importance in fundamental research and possible applications in nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, semiconductor nanowires have attracted much interest. In addition to the growth itself, the control of the size and location is an essential problem. Here we show the growth of ordered arrays of vertically aligned silicon nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy using prepatterned arrays of gold droplets on Si(111) substrates. The ordered arrays of gold particles were produced by nanosphere lithography.

Dielectrophoresis of nanocolloids: A molecular dynamics study

Dielectrophoresis (DEP), the motion of polarizable particles in non-uniform electric fields, has become an important tool for the transport, separation, and characterization of microparticles in biomedical and nanoelectronics research. In this article we present, to our knowledge, the first molecular dynamics simulations of DEP of nanometer-sized colloidal particles. We introduce a simplified model for a polarizable nanoparticle, consisting of a large charged macroion and oppositely charged microions, in an explicit solvent. The model is then used to study DEP motion of the particle at different combinations of temperature and electric field strength. In accord with linear response theory, the particle drift velocities are shown to be proportional to the DEP force. Analysis of the colloid DEP mobility shows a clear time dependence, demonstrating the variation of friction under non-equilibrium. The time dependence of the mobility further results in an apparent weak variation of the DEP displacements with temperature.

Theoretical principles of single‐molecule electronics: A chemical and mesoscopic view

AbstractExploring the use of individual molecules as active components in electronic devices has been at the forefront of nanoelectronics research in recent years. Compared to semiconductor microelectronics, modeling transport in single‐molecule devices is much more difficult due to the necessity of including the effects of the device electronic structure and the interface to the external contacts at the microscopic level. Theoretical formulation of the problem therefore requires integrating the knowledge base in surface science, electronic structure theory, quantum transport, and device modeling into a single unified framework starting from the first principles. In this article, we introduce the theoretical framework for modeling single‐molecule electronics and present a simple conceptual picture for interpreting the results of numerical computation. We model the device using a self‐consistent matrix Green's function method that combines nonequilibrium Green's function theory of quantum transport with atomic‐scale description of the device's electronic structure. We view the single‐molecule device as “heterostructures” composed of chemically well‐defined atomic groups, and analyze the device characteristics in terms of the charge and potential response of these atomic groups to perturbation induced by the metal–molecule coupling and the applied bias voltage. We demonstrate the power of this approach using as examples devices formed by attaching benzene‐based molecules of different size and internal structure to the gold electrodes through sulfur end atoms. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005