This NIRT proposal focuses on nonlinear ballistic transport at room temperature. Ballistic transport is usually considered an aspect of the quantum physics regime, and has been studied intensively at cryogenic temperatures. Nevertheless certain ballistic deflection effects in mesostructures are quite robust at room temperature. An example is the "ballistic rectifier." The ballistic deflection nonlinearity can be used to construct other devices and circuitry operating at room temperature that are very different from conventional circuitry. In this research ballistic deflection devices and circuitry will be fabricated, tested, and analyzed. Simultaneously the physics of nonlinear room temperature ballistic transport will be investigated; and the architectural challenges presented by the unfamiliar requirements and opportunities of circuitry based upon mesoscopic ballistic transport will be explored. This project is ideal for a multidisciplinary approach, in that investigations at the physics, the device, the circuit, and the architectural level are joined to build a "ballistic electronics."
Intellectual Merit: of the proposed research is that nonlinear ballistic transport at room temperature, including experimental devices such as the ballistic rectifier, remains poorly understood.
Broader Impacts: of specific initiatives on education, on diversity, and on research dissemination, integrated into the research program. The technical focus of this proposal is a realistic area for future practical applications -- room temperature, sub-100 nm device geometry, moderate voltages inducing non-linear transport, and high frequencies. If the predictions of our preliminary model regarding these four issues are borne out, then room temperature BDT circuitry operating at a terahertz and beyond, with very low power requirement, will be suitable for a multitude of applications.
