This award was made on a 'medium' category proposal submitted in response to the ITR solicitation, NSF-02-168. The Division of Materials Research and the Advanced Computational Infrastructure and Research Division provide funding to establish an Institute for the Theory of Advanced Materials in Information Technology which performs computational and theoretical research to advance significantly the ability to predict and understand the properties of advanced materials in information technology.
Silicon based technology dominates the ongoing miniaturization of electronic components. For the past thirty years, Moore's law has characterized progress. However, Moore's law cannot hold indefinitely. There are serious scientific and technological issues that must be resolved as device features shrink to nanoscale dimensions where quantum mechanical effects become important. For example, design rules for transport based on simple Ohmic behavior and field-effect transistor digital function will become suspect as a consequence of quantum effects. An Institute for the Theory of Advanced Materials in Information Technology will be constructed and dedicated to focus research on better understanding and predicting these effects in electronic materials. New materials other than silicon will be explored theoretically and computationally for the construction of electronic devices at small dimensions. The Institute aims to promote innovations in new materials and to advance research related to information technology. Representative research areas within the institute will include the study of organic and plastic semiconductors, low-k dielectrics, dilute magnetic semiconductors and spintronic devices, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires. Research activities will also include examining multiscale phenomena and developing high performance algorithms targeted at simulating and modeling the properties of advanced materials.
Broader impacts: The Institute will provide a focal point in the community for the creation of new knowledge and computational tools for advanced electronic materials. Through computational materials research, it will contribute to the future directions of CMOS technology and to developing new technologies. It will provide educational experiences for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates. The institute will use the Internet to allow the broader computational materials research community access to state of the art source codes. The Institute will sponsor a visitor program, which will include a strong international component, and it will host an annual workshop. Through the visitor program, researchers will have access to high performance computational platforms and algorithms for the simulation of materials. The Institute will facilitate research and education collaborations with students and faculty from underrepresented groups. In particular, a mentoring program for faculty-student teams from four-year colleges and tribal colleges will be initiated. The Institute will partner with the private sector on both technological and scientific projects to integrate research into broader programs and activities of direct national interest. An Industrial Advisory board will be established within the Institute to ensure that the research activities are appropriate and relevant for current technological needs. %%% This award was made on a 'medium' category proposal submitted in response to the ITR solicitation, NSF-02-168. The Division of Materials Research and the Advanced Computational Infrastructure and Research Division provide funding to establish an Institute for the Theory of Advanced Materials in Information Technology which performs computational and theoretical research to advance significantly the ability to predict and understand the properties of advanced materials in information technology.
Silicon based technology dominates the ongoing miniaturization of electronic components. For the past thirty years, Moore's law has characterized progress. However, Moore's law cannot hold indefinitely. There are serious scientific and technological issues that must be resolved as device features shrink to nanoscale dimensions where quantum mechanical effects become important. For example, design rules for transport based on simple Ohmic behavior and field-effect transistor digital function will become suspect as a consequence of quantum effects. An Institute for the Theory of Advanced Materials in Information Technology will be constructed and dedicated to focus research on better understanding and predicting these effects in electronic materials. New materials other than silicon will be explored theoretically and computationally for the construction of electronic devices at small dimensions. The Institute aims to promote innovations in new materials and to advance research related to information technology. Representative research areas within the institute will include the study of organic and plastic semiconductors, low-k dielectrics, dilute magnetic semiconductors and spintronic devices, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires. Research activities will also include examining multiscale phenomena and developing high performance algorithms targeted at simulating and modeling the properties of advanced materials.
Broader impacts: The Institute will provide a focal point in the community for the creation of new knowledge and computational tools for advanced electronic materials. Through computational materials research, it will contribute to the future directions of CMOS technology and to developing new technologies. It will provide educational experiences for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduates. The institute will use the Internet to allow the broader computational materials research community access to state of the art source codes. The Institute will sponsor a visitor program, which will include a strong international component, and it will host an annual workshop. Through the visitor program, researchers will have access to high performance computational platforms and algorithms for the simulation of materials. The Institute will facilitate research and education collaborations with students and faculty from underrepresented groups. In particular, a mentoring program for faculty-student teams from four-year colleges and tribal colleges will be initiated. The Institute will partner with the private sector on both technological and scientific projects to integrate research into broader programs and activities of direct national interest. An Industrial Advisory board will be established within the Institute to ensure that the research activities are appropriate and relevant for current technological needs. ***
