Nano Materials
Nanowires (carbon and silicon)
Nanowires are defined as a wire constrained to the order of nanometers in diameter with unconstrained length. Carbon and silicon nanowires are grown through a process known as Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), whereby the nanowires are created from the “bottom up” approach. Nanowires achieve an increase in surface to volume ratio that is not achievable with traditional bulk materials. This large increase in surface area per volume drastically changes the physical properties of the material, opening doors to many new applications and possibilities. At NaMLab, nanowires are currently being used for to transistors, biosensors and batteries with even more potential applications to come.
High-k and ALD Dielectrics
Materials with high dielectric constants (high-k materials) play an increasingly important role in nano-electronic devices. For conventional semiconductors charge is stored in capacitors. New dielectric materials with higher dielectric constants have to be introduced in order to maintain the storage capacity of capacitors that are continually being designed with smaller areas. Similar dielectric materials are needed for the next generation of high performance transistor devices as well as processors and logic products. A variety of research projects in the nano-scale and femto-scale regimes are ongoing in order to gain an understanding of the influence of material properties with respect to leakage mechanisms, performance, speed and reliability. Candidate materials are continuously screened and characterized for new applications based on the results obtained from the projects at NaMLab. ALD dielectrics with specific material properties that have the prospect to enable applications in solar, sensor or display industries, such as optimized trap density or diffusion barrier properties, are investigated in co-operation with the TUD Institute of Semiconductor and Microsystems Technology (IHM). Our efforts at NaMLab aim at developing an in-depth understanding of the selection of suitable materials.
Projects: KONDOR / MERLIN
Typical layer of a metal isolator matal capacitor:schematic picture opp. capacitor with ~10 nm dielectrical thickness.