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Chemistry & Chemical Biology / New Brunswick |
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Eric L. Garfunkel Professor Associate Director, Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology B.S. 1978, Haverford Ph.D. 1983, Univ of California -Berkeley NSF-CNRS Fellow, Orsay (Paris) 1983 |
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Research
Summary
Our research focuses on basic studies of surface, ultrathin film and interface systems that are of relevance to advanced technology. We use ion scattering, scanning probe and electron microscopies, electron spectroscopy, and other surface and thin film methods. Past studies have included work on atomic and molecular adsorption and reaction, thin film growth, interface structure and oxidation. Our primary recent work is in nanoelectronics. One project involves alternative gate dielectrics and metallization. We address questions concerning growth mechanism, ultrathin film structure and composition, and device electrical properties. A second main research area is molecular electronics, where we focus on interfaces issues. Other current interests include nano-technology, and bio-materials and polymer interfaces.CMOS nanoelectronics (e.g. next generation transistors)
High-K gate dielectrics: The semiconductor industry critically needs a gate dielectric with a higher capacitance than SiO2 or SiOxNy if microelectronic devices are to continue scaling beyond the next 5 years. Our research in this area is directed at understanding and controlling the atomic scale properties of future generation ultrathin dielectrics. Key factors in choosing an alternative dielectric are it should (i) display a dielectric constant significantly higher that of SiO2, (ii) have a low concentration of bulk and interface defects, (iii) be thermally stable against reaction with silicon and the gate electrode, and (iv) be manufacturable in appropriate structures. Our research has focused on feasibility studies of oxides of Zr, Hf, La and Al, as well as metal silicates. We have used high resolution medium energy ion scattering (with Gustafsson), electron and optical spectroscopy, electron and scanning probe microscopy, and other methods to characterize films and interface at an atomic scale physical. Growth studies using chemical vapor and atomic layer deposition methods are also critical in learning how to engineer ultrathin film structures for nanoelectronics. Key in our work is to develop a conceptual understanding of (and correlation between) the structural, compositional and electrical properties of advanced dielectrics. Key collaborators in this work are Torgny Gustafsson, Yves Chabal, David Vanderbilt and members of the SRC community.Metal gate electrodes: Dopant depletion in polysilicon gate electrodes using current materials and processing methods leads to an additional effective (SiO2) thickness of 3-5. To supercede this limitation and permit continued scaling, the semiconductor industry desperately needs two different electrode materials (metals) that meet several criteria: (i) they should be very conductive, (ii) have effective work functions that align their respective Fermi levels to within 0.2 eV of the silicon valence and conduction band edges, and (iii) they should be stable next to all adjacent materials in the device. Our overall objective in this project is to develop the basic scientific and conceptual tools, physical characterization methods, growth methods, and work function () engineering strategies to enable metal gate electrodes to be realized in CMOS manufacturing. Key collaborators in this work are Bob Bartynski and members of the SRC community.
Molecular electronics
Molecular electronics seeks to use molecules or molecular films as key components in electronic and optoelectronic applications (e.g. transistor or light emitting diodes). A key advantage of organics over more conventional inorganic crystalline solids stem from their low cost of preparation. Unfortunately, few single molecule electrical measurements have been realized on well characterized systems. Our current work involves first a precise characterization of molecule-electrode and electrode-molecule-electrode systems. Once bonding and structure are well understood, we work on fundamental electrical transport measurements with special emphasis on understand the role of the electrode-molecule interface. We use scanning tunneling and conductive tip atomic force methods, as well as photoemission and infrared methods. Key collaborators in this work are Yves Chabal, Kieron Burke, and the molecular electronic teams at Lucent and Princeton.We are also engaged in a variety of other projects concerning surface and ultrathin film design and characterization, such as SPM studies of organic molecules and films.
Awards & Honors
Fudan University (Shanghai), BESSY synchrotron (Berlin), Ruhr Universitat (Bochum), Universite de Paris (Jussieu), Instituto Degli Studio (Florence), Stanford University (Palo Alto)