As the physical limits of integrated circuits currently made of silicon transistors are reached, LEAST researchers are looking to replace conventional 3-D silicon with nanoscale substances that increase the speed of computing done in electronics while also using less energy. Integrated circuits are used in nearly all modern electronics, such as computers, cellphones and tablets.
The UT Dallas LEAST team, which will receive about $3.4 million over five years, will explore a 2-D class of materials known as dichalcogenides, which are atomically thin but allow electrical current to be controlled as it moves through the material.
"The key for future transistor applications will be combining these 2-D materials with other types of materials such as insulators and metals used in integrated circuits to find the most powerful and efficient combination," Wallace said.
The UT Dallas team is conducting research on the interfaces of these materials.
"The ability to control the surfaces and interfaces in these types of material systems is the most important aspect of future device operations."
Besides conducting research in LEAST, Wallace, holder of the Erik Jonsson Distinguished Chair, is also a center coordinator. His previous discovery that hafnium silicates and oxides could be used in transistors to enable smaller nanoscale devices revolutionized the computer industry. Hafnium-based transistors are now used in processor chips in desktop and laptop computers, iPads and cellphones.
Cho is an expert in multiscale computer modeling related to new materials, and Kim is an expert in nanoscale electron microscopy advanced techniques that allow atom-to-atom modeling and chemical mapping of materials. The team will use this expertise in the surface and interface studies.
The world-class facilities housed in the $85 million Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory (NSERL) are an important factor in wha
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| Contact: Lakisha Ladson LaKisha.Ladson@UTDallas.edu 972-883-4183 University of Texas at Dallas Source:Eurekalert |