Non-Technical Abstract: The 2011 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors challenges the silicon electronics industry to achieve highly aggressive performance targets by 2026 that are deemed vital for the future health of the industry and the global technological society the industry supports. However, the Roadmap admits that it is presently unknown whether continuing evolution of state-of-the-art silicon technologies can achieve its 2026 goals. The Roadmap implicitly assumes that future incarnations of silicon transistors will remain based on the same set of physics principles established in the 1940s. Hence it is potentially rewarding to go off this conventional path and explore unconventional device physics paradigms capable of achieving Roadmap targets in a way amenable to industrial manufacturing. This research project aims to open a new route in silicon electronics that exploits explicitly quantum mechanical phenomena in silicon transistor operation. It has been known for over 30 years that overt quantum effects in electronics can yield transformative improvements in transistor performance that would not be possible in the conventional pathway. However, such quantum transistors have never been successfully executed in a manner acceptable to industrial scale silicon processing. The chief aim of this research project is to demonstrate feasibility of and pioneer a route towards incorporating quantum transistors into silicon electronics using the toolset and protocols already part of standard industrial fabrication methods. As a consequence, this project will enhance US technological competitiveness and STEM training by providing a working and mentoring opportunity for US citizen or permanent resident students to gain exposure to forefront science and technology research bridging academic and industrial settings.
This research project aims to demonstrate explicit quantum transport in a new class of quantum well (QW) silicon CMOS devices fabricated by industrially standard processes, and pioneer a path towards room-temperature quantum CMOS operation. Electron channels and potential wells constructed using 45 nm and smaller industrial CMOS nodes are comparable to the electron quantum wavelength so that quantized states can be well-defined possibly up to room temperature. The important open question addressed is to determine the viability of, and best route towards, achieving room temperature quantum CMOS devices within industrial constraints. To these ends, this project will measure and understand quantum transport as evidenced by negative differential transconductance in specially designed transistors, fabricated on Texas Instruments, industrial line, that incorporate low-dimensional lateral QWs. The empirical knowledge gained will be used to model, design, and test, QW Si CMOS devices with the goal of obtaining usefully strong quantum transport characteristics at room temperature. This research pioneers a transformative approach to Si electronics that will directly advance RF/analog/mixed-signal CMOS devices towards the ITRS 2026 end-of-roadmap goals in a manner not currently pursued in industrial research. This research sits at the intersection among fundamental physics, electrical engineering, and semiconductor processing, and thus provides a uniquely valuable cross-disciplinary training opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. This work will expose students to an industrial perspective and approach to research, which will be particularly valuable to both students and society when they enter the workforce.
