Collaborative:High Performance III-V Nanowire FETs Enabled by Controlled MOCVD Growth and ALD High-k Passivation

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this research is to explore the growth mechanism and transport properties of a novel type of III-V semiconductor nanowires and establish it as a viable nanotechnology building block that is suitable for high performance metal-oxide field effect transistor devices in a scalable and integrable fashion. The approach is to grow nanowire transistor with precise alignment and tailored lateral doping profile through controlled metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on appropriate substrates, passivate by atomic layer deposited high-k dielectrics, and transfer-print to desired substrates for heterogeneous integration. The intellectual merit of this research is to open up a new direction in III-V device possibilities using the self-aligned planar geometry; and fundamentally advance the understanding of 1D semiconductor epitaxial growth aspects from nucleation, propagation, to dopant incorporation and activation at the nanometer scale, as well as surface states and Fermi level pinning and unpinning effect on carrier transport properties at nano-scale dimensions. The broader impact of this research is to accelerate the advancement of fundamental nano concepts into engineering solutions by making the bottom-up nanowire growth method compatible with the manufacturable planar processing technology; to attract and retain women engineers and reduce attrition rate at the master degree level through active mentoring and community building; and to cultivate environment for elementary school girls to defy negative stereotype and confidently stay on track for a career in science and engineering.