Engineering of new 2D materials phases not existing in Nature

Project Information

2D-ENGINE

Grant agreement ID: 101135168

DOI

10.3030/101135168

EC signature date 26 October 2023

Start date 1 October 2023

End date 30 September 2027

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 3 967 285,00

EU contribution

€ 3 967 284,00

Coordinated by

"NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ""DEMOKRITOS"""
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 2D-ENGINE (Engineering of new 2D materials phases not existing in Nature)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The 2D ENGINE project looks for 2D semiconductor and dielectric materials which cannot be exfoliated from bulk but they need to be engineered as atomically thin films using chemical vapor deposition on metal catalyst substrates or on melted surfaces. The semiconducting materials are envisaged to have the outstanding stability of graphene and offer excellent electrostatic control in digital electronic devices which allows their miniaturization and their operation with superb energy efficiency. The project mobilizes diverse expertise in materials science and engineering, materials growth, condensed matter physics, atomistic simulation, in-situ surface characterization techniques, equipment development, semiconductor processing and electrical engineering to face the challenges.

We envision that our atomically thin semiconductor channels combined with ultrathin dielectrics, will form the next generation of the multisheet gate-all-around field effect transistor (GAAFET) architectures. It is expected that the 2D ENGINE devices will have an impact on the efforts for chip miniaturization according to the requirements of future aggressively scaled 2 nm technology nodes. Moreover, 2D ENGINE targets the integration of 2D light emitting diode (LED) devices with planar waveguides to increase the efficiency of silicon photonic integrated circuits (PIC) for low power on-chip communications.

The envisaged free-standing wafer scale 2D semiconductors and dielectrics are expected to be transferable so they could offer innovative solutions for the integration of power devices on the back-side of the wafer with the aim to decouple the power delivery network in the back-side from the signal (logic) network on the front side of the wafer.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The main objective for the first 18-month period was to develop ultrathin 2D semiconductor and dielectric/insulating layers of sufficient quality that could be used for the fabrication of thin channel FETs and thin active layer LEDs in the project periods to follow. In more detail, the consortium focused on obtaining good quality ultrathin films, using the liquid metal catalyst (LMCat) growth technology, with good surface coverage at a wafer scale and validated them in terms of structural and morphological integrity and stability to ensure that electronic grade materials are obtained for device fabrication. Moreover, the consortium adapted layer transfer methodologies known from graphene research to develop new layer transfer protocols from the growth to the target substrates, an important task towards devices fabrication

2D ENGINE made significant progress in all materials classes mentioned above, also made important accomplishments which can be headlined as follows:
(a) We have obtained compelling evidence that cm-scale thin SiC membrane is catalytically grown on melted Silicon surfaces by CVD
(b) Large area ultrathin (3-4 mL) GaN has been grown, in-situ monitored by Radiation Mode Optical Microscopy (RROM) at a reactor located in the synchrotron facility. In addition, thin GaN crystals with good surface coverage were obtained in different reactor
(c) Multilayer and ultrathin crystals of 2D h-BN have been achieved by LMCat. The growth has benefited from real-time RMOM as well as from improvements in the reactor, which are implemented within the project.
(d) h-BN and graphene were successfully transferred from LMCat growth substrates onto SiO2/Si target substrates and characterized to verify their morphological integrity.
(e) automated analysis of experimental RMOM and Raman spectra as well as real-time experimental control via computer vision have been demonstrated

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has achieved significant intermediate results which help a lot achieving our final goals. Atomically thin 2D semiconductors (SiC, GaN) and dielectrics (h-BN) have been obtained. These are the main ingredients of future aggressively scaled digital electronic devices with good electrostatic control and low leakage currents. The materials are in the form of wafer scale free-standing 2D thin film layers which are transferable. This provides flexibility in their integration with silicon devices and circuits and presents an advancement beyond the state of the art. Equally important is the method used to produce the ultrathin materials which is based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on liquid metal catalyst (LMCat) substrates or on melted surfaces. This technique of growing 2D materials is an innovative methodology beyond the state of the art. It suggests growth on melted surfaces with viscous flow instead of the typically used rigid (solid) substrates and is a paradigm shift for the growth of 2D materials, in general.

The already grown innovative 2D materials require further validation of their crystallographic structure, their stability in air and under thermal and chemical treatment before they are used to devices. Layer transfer has already been developed but it needs to be perfected. All the aforementioned improvements will be done based on project's resources. After the project end we foresee the valorization of our materials and technology in a pilot line, most likely the 2D PL pilot operating within the Graphene Flagship initiative in a time frame of 2 to 3 years. The main aim is to find out whether the new 2D materials can be processed using standard semiconductor manufacturing equipment and conclude whether new in-line and end-of-line inspection tools are needed. The most challenging will be to validate the suitability liquid metal catalyst (LMcat) growth technology with pilot lines. Cross contamination issues and cleaning of equipment methods must be addressed. While valorization of or materials and technologies is a first step, more steps are needed for commercialization. Further validation in development at higher TRL requires validation in advanced pilot lines such as the ones run by CHIPS JU and transfer of the LMCat technology to large area wafers (8 or 12 inch) in a timeframe of 3-5 years.

Liquid metal catalyst growth technology

3D to 2D transition below a critical thickness