NSF Award
2425609
Nontechnical Description<br/><br/>The relentless incorporation of artificial intelligence is driving continued innovation in the design of modern computing systems. Traditional microelectronics have long been based upon silicon transistors, which has come at the cost of ballooning energy consumption. A new approach to microelectronics incorporating innovations in materials and novel electronic designs is therefore critically needed to enable energy-efficient and sustainable computing. The focus of this project is a new type of energy-efficient electronics that combines the distinct advantages of two very different classes of materials. The first of these is magneto-electrics, whose magnetization orientation can be switched both rapidly and with low energy consumption. The second is transition-metal dichalcogenides, two-dimensional semiconductors consisting of atomically thin sheets. These can be utilized as the conducting channel of a transistor. This project combines these materials to realize a “magneto-electric transistor.” These devices have high-speed and low-power operation and retains their programmed state when electrical power is removed. New types of microelectronic circuits suitable for energy-efficient computing are also developed, along with scalable approaches to wafer-scale manufacturing in a state-of-the-art foundry setting. These technical efforts are tightly integrated with an outreach program that provides broader impact by establishing viable models for workforce development for the semiconductor industry. <br/><br/>Technical Description<br/><br/>There is a crucial need for innovative co-design of new logic and memory solutions, simultaneously accounting for materials selection, device design, and circuit architecture to realize advances. In this program, scalable non-volatile CMOS+X devices and circuits are developed. These derive their functionality by integrating voltage-switched magneto-electrics with transition-metal chalcogenide transistor channels. The resulting transistors exploit proximity coupling between the boundary magnetism of their magneto-electric gate stack and carrier transport in a high spin-orbit-coupling channel. This allows substantial improvements in energy efficiency, making these transistors useful for data-intensive computation. This research effort is informed by a co-design philosophy that relies on understanding the microscopic properties of materials, on developing device concepts that can exploit the advantages of the materials, and on designing optimized circuits that lead to fast, energy-efficient operation. As such, this synergistic approach therefore involves all three areas of the technology stack. An integrated effort on workforce development results in broader impact, by providing engineers and scientists with professional development and training opportunities. Unique leverage for this program comes from access to state-of-the-art (300-mm) wafer-scale foundry (NY CREATES) facilities at the University at Albany.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
