Research

Engineering Sciences

Title :

Transfer-Free Fabrication of High-Performance Atomic switches using Wafer-scale single-Crystal si2Te3 and GeTe 2D Thin Films

Area of research :

Engineering Sciences

Principal Investigator :

Dr. Anupam Giri, University Of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

Timeline Start Year :

2023

Timeline End Year :

2026

Contact info :

Equipments :

Details

Executive Summary :

This project aims to manufacture practical devices from two-dimensional (2D) metal chalcogenide (MC) thin films. It proposes an easy synthesis of single-crystal MC thin films over a 6-inch wafer surface and a transfer-free device fabrication process compatible with conventional manufacturing lines. The project aims to fabricate multi-level high-performance atomic switches from single-crystal si2Te3 and GeTe thin films, revealing the mechanisms of synthesis, oxidative passivation, and atomic switching experimentally. The project's technological objectives include designing and preparing a uniform, thickness-tunable Te and se precursor film for flux-controlled growth of metal tellurides and selenides, synthesizing uniform single-crystal si2Te3 and GeTe thin films, extending to other single-crystal MC thin films, using doping systems like Cu & Ge as cations and s & se as anions, understanding the natural oxidation, stability, and electrical properties of the si2Te3 and GeTe thin films, achieving high-resolution atomic switching device fabrication without using the transfer process, and integrating atomic switches with single-grain Mos2-based transistors for ultra-low power operation. The project's excellence lies in allowing single-crystal MC thin films growth over the entire surface of a 6-inch wafer, allowing for commercialization of the 2D MC thin films. The switching mechanism of the proposed atomic switches is the formation of a local tunneling site by a series of positional changes of si and Ge atoms in the unit cells, different from existing concepts of forming atomic filaments by cation transport. Upon successful completion, practical device fabrication from wafer-scale single-crystal 2D MC thin films will lead to breakthroughs in the synthesis of high-quality MC thin films and the commercialization of 2D materials for next-generation electronics.

Co-PI:

Prof. Anup Kumar Ghosh, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh-221005

Total Budget (INR):

55,11,000

Organizations involved