Space-time visualization of microelectronic chip operation with femtosecond electron microscopy

Descrizione del progetto

Una combinazione pionieristica cattura il trasporto di elettroni nelle nanostrutture

La nostra capacità di vedere il mondo in cui viviamo a una risoluzione sempre più elevata sia nello spazio che nel tempo apre nuovi orizzonti dal punto di vista dell’innovazione e della scoperta. L’elaborazione delle informazioni è un ottimo esempio. Migliorare le nostre conoscenze sulla mobilità dei portatori di carica potrebbe aiutarci a progettare materiali e metodi per aumentare notevolmente la velocità del segnale. Il progetto STMICRO, finanziato dall’UE, sta affrontando questo problema combinando la tecnologia laser ultraveloce e la microscopia elettronica per risolvere dinamiche terahertz. Accrescerà le nostre conoscenze fondamentali sul trasporto di elettroni, aprendo al contempo le porte a un cambiamento decisivo nella diagnostica dei prototipi per la prossima generazione di componenti micro e nanoelettronici.

Obiettivo

Progress in modern information processing relies on the combination of a few-nanometer structures with ever-increasing signal speeds approaching the terahertz (THz) level and beyond. However, the design of such devices is currently restricted by our inability to see and measure the underlying charge carrier dynamics at sufficient resolution in time and space. This proposal aims at solving this problem by combining femtosecond laser technology with electron microscopy for achieving sub-nanometer and multi-THz space-time resolution of electromagnetic fields and charge motion in future microelectronic devices. It relies on the recently demonstrated technique of electron pulse compression down to femtoseconds by means of optical radiation. Electron pulses can capture the electric fields in structures as small as atoms at an instant of time. While conventional electron microscopy is the main tool allowing to see modern nanometer-sized electronic components, it can only sense the structure of devices and not how they operate dynamically. In contrast, femtosecond electron microscopy allows to resolve THz dynamics. Here, in order to drive microelectronic components at THz frequencies, laser-generated THz pulses will be used. Furthermore, a variation of scanning nanotip microscopy will be added providing ultrafine spatial resolution. In combination, this will allow to visualize charge motion and electric fields in microelectronic devices in real-time at with unprecedented space-time resolution. This investigation will critically expand our fundamental knowledge of electron transport at extremely high frequencies, which is necessary for designing future microelectronic devices. Furthermore, it will introduce a disruptive diagnostic solution for industry to see their current and future prototypes while in operation, in order to guide future micro- and nano-electronics towards faster frequency regimes than current technology allows.