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SRC-led materials research: 40 years ago, and now

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Abstract

Today, we are living through a pivotal moment when the semiconductor industry is moving towards 3D-integration including the close integration of logic and memory, the tighter integration of mixed-signal circuits, spintronic, embedded memories, sensors, communications, and improved power management. It is expected that 3D monolithic and heterogeneous integration will result in a new, truly multi-functional platform that drives continued system progress in the coming decades. Thus, over the next 40 years, the semiconductor industry will require significant innovation. At the heart of that is the need for significant contributions from the materials ecosystem to drive materials from the laboratory to the factory. For this perspective article, a selected group of distinguished SRC Scholars have been invited to present their research in the context of the potential impact that their work will drive for the future of microelectronics.

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(Reproduced with permission from Perez et al. “High Thermal Conductivity of Sub-Micron Aluminum Nitride Thin Films Sputter-Deposited at Low Temperature”, ACS Nano, in press (2023) and Chen et al. “Electrical and Thermal Properties of Boron Nitride Thin Films Deposited at Room Temperature” in preparation)

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded in part by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The authors would like to acknowledge their colleagues for useful discussions and feedback on the article: M.C.—Dr. Eric Pop, M.M.—Dr. Srabanti Chowdhury, H.M.—Dr. Gregory Parsons, E.P.—Dr. Paul Chiarot, K.R.—Dr. Frances M. Ross and Dr. Rafael Jaramillo, and W.Y.—Dr. Nitin Samarth and Dr. Yongxi Ou. Also, TY and VZ would like to thank Dilcia Paguada for her help with the article graphics.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Semiconductor Research Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Semiconductor Research Corporation, Durham, NC, USA

    Victor Zhirnov

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Michelle E. Chen

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Mohamadali Malakoutian

  4. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Hannah R. M. Margavio

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA

    Emma Pawliczak

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Kate Reidy

  7. Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Wilson Yanez

  8. Semiconductor Research Corporation, 4819 Emperor Blvd, Suite 300, Durham, NC, 27703, USA

    Todd Younkin

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  1. Victor Zhirnov
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Contributions

HM contributed to Sect. “Expanding the semiconductor patterning toolbox with simultaneous deposition and etching,” HR contributed to Sect. “Two-dimensional materials and devices,” WY contributed to Sect. “Spin dependent phenomena in topological semimetals,” MC contributed to Sect. “Thermal materials,” MM contributed to Sect. “Low-temperature diamond as an effective self-heating spreader,” and EP contributed to Sect. “Packaging materials and processes.” VZ and TY contributed to Sects. “Introduction” and “Summary” as well as provided overall editing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Victor Zhirnov.

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Zhirnov, V., Chen, M.E., Malakoutian, M. et al. SRC-led materials research: 40 years ago, and now. MRS Advances 8, 751–762 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-023-00665-4

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