ADEPT - Advanced Devices by ElectroPlaTing

Almost the whole of modern technology and life is underpinned by methods for depositing and shaping materials. For instance the transistors which power our mobile phones, tablets, etc. consist of areas of silicon whose dimensions are now of the order of only tens of atoms across. Whilst current materials deposition technologies are truly impressive, there is still a need for more innovative, better and reduced cost methods for depositing technologically important materials in order to increase energy efficiency, improve their functional properties and break through into potential new markets. This is particularly true when we consider materials beyond the narrow range of those used in electronics and telecoms. A clear example of this is in the field of thermoelectric materials which can already be used in devices such as refrigerators, but more importantly in generating electricity directly from waste heat. Fundamental science has shown that if we could produce such materials in the form of dense parallel arrays of ultrathin wires that are each only 10-100 atoms across, the efficiency of these devices would be massively enhanced. However, the technology to achieve the necessary high quality materials at this size scale does not currently exist.

In the field of computer memory, materials whose electrical resistances can be altered by rapid heating and cooling, so called phase change materials, are being developed The key barriers to the wide spread application of these materials are their relatively high switching energy and reliability of many billions of switching cycles. These could be overcome if a materials deposition technique existed which allowed us to deposit smaller elements than can currently be achieved.

Finally the materials that are used in heat, i.e. infrared, sensing cameras could have a much wider range of applications, e.g. in home security and short range communications between smart appliances, if the cost of depositing them wasn't so high.

This project will directly address these challenges, by building upon our recent breakthroughs in using electrodeposition, in which an electrical current causes the deposition of a material, from unusual, 'weakly-coordinating' solvents, to develop methods for depositing high quality materials for advanced applications in the fields of thermoelectric devices, phase change memory and infrared sensors and cameras.

The non-academic beneficiaries from this research can be divided into 2 broad groups; companies that develop deposition tools, manufacture devices or integrate those devices into products; and the wider public who use those products and will also have the opportunity to engage with our outreach activities.

In the medium term (5-10 years) companies specialising in developing deposition tools and device manufacturers will benefit from the creation of a disruptive technology. This technology will allow the fabrication of sub 10 nm thermoelectric structures with significantly increased figures-of-merit, sub 5 nm phase change memory structures that can overcome current limitations in switching energies and cycle stability, and the necessary material quality with scalability and lower cost for mid-IR detectors. Our concept devices will provide examples of how new structures can be commercially implemented. These advances will open up significant new commercial market opportunities in each application area, with benefits for companies that integrate these new devices into larger products.

Over the longer term (>10 years) the wider public will benefit in terms of improved quality of life from the introduction of new commercial products and devices exploiting the new deposition technology. In the area of thermoelectrics the general public will benefit from the introduction and application of more efficient thermoelectric devices for energy harvesting and cooling, leading to greater energy efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. The general public will benefit from phase change memory through enhanced performance of a range of electronic devices, particularly in mobile computing where the fast boot and low energy burden offered by non-volatile memory will give major benefits. The benefit of IR-detectors to the general public will come from the availability of lower cost devices and their wider application in chemical sensing, short range communications for internet of things connections at home and at work, and medical diagnostics.

On a more general level the public will benefit immediately and directly from the public understanding and outreach activities that will be undertaken by investigators and researchers with a range of experiences and expertise within this multidisciplinary project.