Nanotechnology
researchers create breakthroughs in single-electron device
fabrication
(Nanowerk News) Laptop computers that are
lighter and generate less heat. Portable memory devices the size of
a thumbnail or a quarter that can store the equivalent of hundreds
of movies. These are some of the possible results of a new
technology – single-electron devices – that will allow integrated
circuit chip manufacturers to go beyond existing limits of size and
operating efficiency by packing huge numbers of circuits in a small
space.
Single-electron devices have many advantages over
conventional electronic devices; they can have ultra-high packing
density and operate with extremely low power consumption.
Nanotechnology researchers have been working on these devices for
more than a decade; however, various fabrication challenges have
limited their production to only a small number of devices at a
time, restricting their practical implementation. In developmental
breakthroughs, Materials Science & Engineering researchers at
The University of Texas at Arlington have created new
single-electron device designs and processes that enable their
fabrication on a large scale ("CMOS-compatible fabrication of room-temperature
single-electron devices").
Assistant Professor Seong Jin Koh and his four
doctoral students, collaborating with Professor Choong-Un Kim, have
overcome several roadblocks to attain three major achievements: The
devices can be fabricated using current integrated circuit
fabrication processes and equipment; they can be assembled in a
completely parallel manner, producing multiple numbers of devices at
a time.
Until now, the fabrication of single-electron devices
had been carried out using sophisticated, most often individualized,
nanoscale techniques that have limitations for large-area parallel
production. The self-aligned, nanoscale devices created by Koh and
his team have a vertical structure, with thin dielectric films
separating the source and drain electrodes, that can be fabricated
using existing CMOS assembly methods and materials.
Many early examples of single-electron devices had to
be cooled to very low temperatures, most often below -250°C, to
function, making them impractical for widespread use. The ability to
operate at room temperature brings these new devices into the realm
of practical and widespread applications.
These unique features can make Koh and his team’s
devices the foundation of the next generation of data storage
devices. These achievements are the result of a $400,000, five-year
Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) research grant Koh
received from National Science Foundation in 2005. The Office of
Naval Research and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also
supported the research.
All claims in a patent application have been allowed
and Koh expects a patent to be granted later this year.
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