Although they have fueled a global technology revolution, the electronic transistors that lie at the heart of digital logic in computers are very energy-inefficient. To enable lower power computation, sever-al radically different designs to replace or complement transistors are under consideration. One of them is the nanoelectromechanical switch an extremely small device that physically opens and closes to turn signals on and off. These have potential to be up to one million times more energy efficient than transis-tors. However, they suffer from insufficient reliability. Specifically, the electrically conducting contacting surfaces need to be able to open and close up to a quadrillion times without wearing out or becoming con-taminated, and materials that can do this have not yet been developed. This project's objectives are: (1) to understand the failure mechanisms that occur in these switches; and (2) to discover and develop new ma-terials and operating conditions with sufficient reliability. The approach will involve performing compu-tational modeling of failure mechanisms at atomistic scales, and performing nanoscale microscopy exper-iments. Models and experiments will be integrated for high-throughput screening of materials. A large array of candidate materials will be canvassed, selecting those that possess required characteristics includ-ing electrical conductivity, wear resistance, and resistance to oxidation and buildup of contamination. The most promising ones will be tested in prototype nanoscale devices to ultimately identify materials and conditions that enable this new technology.
If successful, this research will discover new materials and operating conditions that make nanoelec-tromechanical switches a viable technology for future-generation low-power computers and portable de-vices. This has potential to save large amounts of energy, thus helping to address the environmental, eco-nomic, and security challenges arising from high energy consumption. Furthermore, this work will help maintain U.S. competitiveness in information technology by continuing technological progress in a key economic sector. Students conducting research in the team's multiple labs will develop strong skills to lead future research in energy-efficient nanodevices, materials science, and tribology. Undergraduate stu-dents will benefit from a unique dual-institution summer internship exchange that will be implemented, and team-taught short-courses at conferences will broadly disseminate insights from these innovations.
