TRANSFORMING NANOELECTRONICS USING BLACK PHOSPHORUS
Abstract
Here the PI proposes a three-year young investigator program (YIP) to transform nanoelectronics using recently rediscovered two-dimensional (2D) layered material black phosphorus (BP), utilizing its unique and excellent electronic properties and the intrinsic advantages as a 2D material. In 2014, the PI (together with a few other teams across the world) initiated currently widespread BP research. Black phosphorus quickly attracts worldwide attention due to its finite and widely tunable bandgap, high carrier mobility and unique in-plane anisotropy, making it a very promising 2D layered material for nanoelectronics. In this program, the PI proposes two (2) integrated scientific tasks serving the overall goal: transforming nanoelectronics (both digital and analog) using BP. The task 1 involves the demonstration of unique vertical sub 10-nm tunneling transistors for low power logic applications with an ultra-steep subthreshold slope (SS) of below 30 mV/Dec (30 millivolts per decade) and a high on-current level of around 1 ?A/?m2 at a small source-drain bias of only 0.2 volt at room temperature. Such a subthreshold slope is two times steeper than the thermal limit in traditional transistors (60 mV/Dec) in which the switching is based on the lowering of the thermal emission barrier. The goal of task 2 is to demonstrate BP heterostructure ballistic radio frequency (RF) transistors. By scaling the BP channel to ballistic transport limit, we expect to achieve both fT (the short-circuit current-gain cutoff frequency) and fmax (the maximum oscillation frequency) well beyond 100 GHz. Here we emphasize that both fT and fmax will be characterized following the strict industrial standard methods. In this task, we will leverage hBN as the gate and substrate dielectrics and doping tunable graphene as contact material to fully utilize the potential of BP. To ensure the success of both tasks, we will explore the carrier tunneling processes at the graphene/BP interfaces and the fundamental carrier transport properties in BP on regular oxide, high-k materials and hBN substrate, upon which these two ambitious tasks are built. This research will play a critical role in future ubiquitous electronics. High frequency BP electronic circuits with operational speed well beyond gigahertz can be applied in the popular near-field-communication (NFC) systems. They can also be embedded within radio-frequency identification systems and various sensors. Moreover, thin-film logic circuits operational at ultralow power and small supply voltages will significantly improve the functionalities and performance of thin-film circuits. The development of high frequency, high performance and potentially flexible electronics based on recently rediscovered BP will transform the nanoelectronics and may change the ways the soldiers in navy communicate, display, and interchange of the information. If thousands of such low cost, specialized, fully integrated circuits being able to perform various communication and computing functions (both logic and analog circuits are needed) are embedded in navy uniforms, new levels of war-time services, health care, and security monitoring will be made possible.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512733
Entities
People
- Fengnian Xia
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Yale University