On the technique of development of new insulation materials for microelectronics
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report their findings in the evaluation of the optimal properties of the structural features of the porous films are insulators for ultra-thin metal wires that are more tightly connect millions of microprocessors of the future and further increase the frequency of a computer processor.
At a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, researchers reported that in the near future they will help the development of nanoporous film transistor manufacturers and those who use them in the manufacture of electronics, cut to the length of the already tiny microwires chain next generation of microprocessors.
Microprocessors are the brains of computers and other microelectronic devices.
To increase the speed (frequency) of the processor, transistor manufacturers seek to reduce the size of the chips. However, reducing the size of encountering the problem of occurrence of electrical interference between adjacent circuit elements, which makes developing and improving insulation. Current insulating materials such as silicon dioxide and fluorinated silicate glass are approaching their limits of protection, since the neighboring circuit elements and the already very close to each other on the chip chip.
To prepare better insulating film requires the development and production of new materials, the film is saturated with very small holes that are less than 5 nanometers in diameter. But reducing the size of the hole is less than a nanometer lowers the dielectric properties of the material. Air - a perfect insulator and has a dielectric constant properties close to 1. Silicon dioxide and fluorinated silicate glass, in contrast, have dielectric properties at 4.2 and 3.7, respectively.
For several years, a team of scientists of the National Institute of Standards and Technology has carried out a number of studies to characterize the optimal potential of nanopores in the above centers.
If you fancy holes as Swiss cheese analogy poronasyscheniya in the development of new insulators, it is somewhat inaccurate picture of the perception of what should be placed and how the pores. ? Of course, penetrating the material with tiny holes, we lower its value as a dielectric, but the change and other important properties are the best. Ideal replacement for silicon dioxide, would provide the desired level of isolation, without compromising the properties of the insulator |, the scientists explain. ? The more fully we will be able to characterize the structure and properties of nanoporous materials, the more promising the final product will be a new v insulator. |
The analysis of the collected information led to the conclusion that further studies to assess the optimal nanopores in prison should be conducted on the basis of neutron measurements. New equipment can detect the neutron heterogeneity 1 nanometer in size in the matrix.
The end result is an optimal insulator with nanopores is still long and will require more than a year of research. After all, only one study of a sample procedure takes three to four days. And they need to analyze more than a thousand.
The purpose of the research team is to develop a simple method for finding the best insulators, which would have led scientists to obtain the final result is faster and cheaper.
Contact information:
Contact: Mark Bellomailto: mark.bello @ nist.gov, (301) 975-3776, NIST 2002-12
