Luigi Colombo

Quantum engineering of transistors based on 2D materials heterostructures

Quantum engineering entails atom-by-atom design and fabrication of electronic devices. This innovative technology that unifies materials science and device engineering has been fostered by the recent progress in the fabrication of vertical and lateral heterostructures of two-dimensional materials and by the assessment of the technology potential via computational nanotechnology. But how close are we to the possibility of the practical realization of next-generation atomically thin transistors? In this Perspective, we analyse the outlook and the challenges of quantum-engineered transistors using heterostructures of two-dimensional materials against the benchmark of silicon technology and its foreseeable evolution in terms of potential performance and manufacturability. Transistors based on lateral heterostructures emerge as the most promising option from a performance point of view, even if heterostructure formation and control are in the initial technology development stage.This Perspective assesses the commercial feasibility of digital integrated circuit technology based on heterostructures of two-dimensional materials.

Effect of film thickness on the ferroelectric and dielectric properties of low-temperature (400 °C) Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 films

We report on the effect of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) film thickness on the ferroelectric and dielectric properties using pulse write/read measurements. HZO films of thicknesses ranging from 5 to 20u2009nm were annealed at 400u2009°C for 1u2009min in a nitrogen ambient to be compatible with the back-end of the line thermal budget. As the HZO film thickness decreases, low-voltage operation (1.0u2009V or less) can be achieved without the dead layer effect, although switching polarization (Psw) tends to decrease due to the smaller grain size. Meanwhile, for 20-nm-thick HZO films prepared under the identical stress (similar TiN top electrode thickness and thermal budget), the Psw and dielectric constant are reduced because of additional monoclinic phase formation.

Publisher Correction: Quantum engineering of transistors based on 2D materials heterostructures

In the version of this Perspective originally published, in the email address for the author Giuseppe Iannaccone, the surname was incorrectly given as “innaconne”; this has now been corrected in all versions of the Perspective. Also, an error in the production process led to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 being of low resolution; these have now been replaced with higher-quality versions.