AVS 46th International Symposium
    Topical Conference on Emerging Opportunities and Issues in Nanotubes and Nanoelectronics Thursday Sessions
       Session NT+NS+EM+MS-ThA

Invited Paper NT+NS+EM+MS-ThA1
Opportunities and Challenges for Nanotubes in Future Integrated Circuits

Thursday, October 28, 1999, 2:00 pm, Room 6C

Session: Nanotubes: Functionalization and Metrology
Presenter: R.R. Doering, Texas Instruments
Correspondent: Click to Email
We speculate about a few potential research opportunities that may be of mutual interest to both the microelectronics and nanotube communities. Perhaps the most evolutionary use of nanotubes in integrated circuits would be in the form of "thin films." Such use would capitalize on "bulk" material properties. For example, a layer of nanotubes (with "best metallic" conductivity) might serve as an interconnect film. Alternatively, an insulating nanotube layer (e.g, "modified" CNTs or other tube chemistries) might be used as a low-K dielectric. Even lower K might be achieved by using high-conductivity CNTs as "self-supporting wires," taking advantage of their inherent mechanical strength to eliminate the need for solid insulating layers. Another type of evolutionary use might involve nanotube structures for passive IC components. For example, the huge volume density of surface area looks appealing for DRAM capacitors. A significant amount of current nanotube research is aimed at active devices, which might ultimately replace today's silicon semiconductor switches. One of the most exciting prospects is the potential for more extensive and effective use of the "third-dimension" in integrated circuits. However, as with today's "planar" IC technology, the benefit/cost of "going 3D" will depend on details of the practical fabrication techniques. For nanotubes, this brings up "formation/place/route" issues. Nanotubes may also play a role in future "atomically perfect manufacturing," which may be needed to scale much below about 50-nm features regardless of the type of device technology employed.