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Advanced semiconductor device programs
IBM seeks to support quality proposals for university research in the area of materials and devices for microelectronics which align with IBM's high priority research interests. This is done through direct funding such as the University Partnership Program (UPP) or funding sources such as the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), and the Focus Center Research Program of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
While the area of interests outlined in the Research Needs documents in the SRC and other funding agencies generally aligns with IBM's views, we would like to highlight certain aspects that we feel are of the highest priority from the IBM / industrial perspective.
FET and CMOS research at the 5-20 nanometer dimension. This includes innovative devices, structures and materials, as well as circuit/device innovations, that may improve device performance and extend the perceived limits of FET device scaling. Rather than trying to find an entire technology solution, however, it is hoped that these efforts should focus on demonstrating the potential benefits and confirming the characteristics of the new structures. This includes not only efforts to prototype new devices, but also efforts that lead to fundamental physical understanding of these devices, structures and materials, either by computational modeling or experimental means, providing the crucial basis for future development.
Materials research in support of proposed new devices mentioned above is considered particularly important, as a major contribution of leading edge university research could be to look for new, potentially game-changing materials beyond what the industry is already considering.
Beyond CMOS research, it is also hoped that at least 25% of the work would be focused on materials, structures and devices that address the space with critical dimensions below 20 nm, and moving towards dimensions at the molecular level (< 2 nm). This may include non-FET, non-silicon devices and materials. While looking at more "far out" options, it is also important to consider the migration path to the new technologies, and hence a priority should be placed on showing how these new devices/materials can be integrated into conventional technology platforms. Si CMOS is expected to dominate for at least the next 10 - 15 years, while scaling of traditional FETs is expected to slow in the next 5-10 years, so finding ways to add function and improve performance of future IC's with new structures is crucial. As an example, if an organic molecular device or material is identified as having promising characteristics for an application, a necessary requirement would be to show how it can be integrated with Si CMOS at a wafer-scale This work should be done in parallel with the actual prototyping of the new device itself, to insure that the concept will be feasible outside of the laboratory. This is of utmost importance if these highly risky and speculative new devices/materials are to become useful to the semiconductor industry.
Although CMOS device scaling tends to focus on high-performance devices, topics such as wireless, RF, analog/mixed signal, memory, non-volatile memory and new memory devices are also of interest to the degree that these devices provide overall system benefits for a diverse set of applications.
In general, leveraging of other funding sources to complement the proposed funding is considered beneficial. These include both internal university support, as well as support from community and state agencies, and even industrial partners. Note the support may be in the form of matching funds or infrastructure or research partnerships, all of which not only increase the research power of the proposed program, but demonstrate the relevance of that program to others outside the immediate academic community.
For collaborative research on a larger scale where several principal investigators are involved, the proposal will benefit greatly by including a diverse set of participants, some of whom may currently reside outside of the mainstream of microelectronics research. While the CMOS research path may be relatively clear, given its significant history, the formulation of the path for more exploratory work requires inputs from a wider community, and it is IBM's intent to support quality research proposals that specifically include a broad range of research expertises.
Moreover, IBM recognizes that many research opportunities span technical area boundaries and require tight collaboration with the Design & Test, Interconnect, Circuits, Systems and Software. Hence collaborative work across technical areas is encouraged.
One very important aspect of university research is the training of students. IBM seeks to hire high quality students to join our research and development teams. The proposed research should contain a strong element that address training of students.
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