Integrating advanced nanomaterials into transformative technologies

Moore's Law, the touchstone for advances in microelectronics, has bench-marked improvements in computer processing power over the past 40 years. The demand for continued increase is insatiable, but conventional technologies will succumb to fundamental limits on device size within a decade. My vision is removal of this roadblock to Moore's Law. My solution is to replace today's binary technologies with a range of intrinsically multi-state devices, thereby dramatically increasing performance without a need for further miniaturization. During my fellowship I will build a research group to explore the physics, materials and advances in characterisation techniques required to enable this transformation. My core research programme takes as an exemplar resistive random access memory (Re-RAM), a genuinely next-generation technology that could make obsolete both conventional random access memory (RAM) and hard disk drives (HDDs). It offers in a single device the non-volatility and write-endurance of HDDs with the rapid access times of conventional RAM. Furthermore, it has the potential for 'stacked', 3-dimensional architectures and intrinsic multi-state functionality, which together could truly revolutionise data storage densities. Re-RAM materials undergo reversible chemical or structural changes under an applied voltage, giving a substantial change in device resistance that can function as a switch or stored data 'bit'. However, even basic understanding of the fabrication and nano-patterning protocols, let alone the underlying physics of the switching mode, is lacking for most candidate materials. Thus, it is not currently possible to build reliable multi-state devices. Moving the nanoscience to application can only be enabled by substantial research into processing and function. In many cases, the present uncertainty is simply because appropriate tools for nano-resolved characterization are only now becoming available. One of the most exciting aspects of this fellowship is my proposed development of in-situ electron microscopy characterization of prototypical devices during operation. For the first time, it will be possible to use electron microscopy to image devices and probe their chemistry on the nanometre scale whilst simultaneously applying voltage or current pulses to the sample. This advance will enable a full understanding of Re-RAM devices, their kinetics, scalability and their tolerance to defects. Ultimately, it will lead to improved device design and I confidently expect it to have a variety of beneficiaries outside of this programme. A further transformative aspect of the Fellowship is that I will augment Re-RAM far beyond the current state of the art by incorporating multiferroic materials. These materials retain well-defined electric and magnetic states that could be incorporated into the basic Re-RAM device but switched independently, further expanding the multi-state capability to truly transcend today's binary technologies. During this Fellowship, improved fabrication protocols will be developed and the combined functionality and intrinsic scalability of these new technologies will be assessed. The switching behaviour and structure-function correlation will be imaged directly, leading to unprecedented insights and, potentially, discovering a host of new and exciting physics.

Who? The Fellowship programme is positioned precisely where technology-driven academic research excels: in the adventurous terrain lying upstream of the roadmap set out by industry. However, my research area is also notable for the short timescale leading from fundamental discoveries to commercialized products. It is now clear that entirely new device strategies are essential if consumer demands for increased data storage capacity are to be met. These demands encompass almost all areas of modern life, from the prospect of on-demand, high definition and three-dimensional movies to the need for instantly-accessed, high resolution medical images. It is therefore difficult to over-estimate the potential impact of my research programme. International microelectronics and data-storage manufacturers, and ultimately the global consumer, are my target beneficiaries. Each of my objectives anticipates the future needs of these industries. My focus on developing a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between materials and their switching mechanisms will lead to better, more reliable devices. It will also allow me to develop entirely novel device designs that, by incorporating multiple switching mechanisms, truly transcend today's 'state-of-the-art'. More widely, my research will benefit manufacturers needing to integrate advanced epitaxial films into CMOS technologies. For example, the switching capability of multiferroic materials and the potential for high-temperature stability of oxide-based devices enables entirely new sensors for a host of end-users, from automotive manufacturers to industrial chemical producers. I will provide detailed 'growth phase diagrams' that can be used to determine optimal deposition conditions for a number of materials. Further, I propose to develop in-situ microscopy techniques. The new ability to probe current/voltage driven changes in solid state chemistry and to observe redox reactions in-situ will find wide application, including fuel cells, batteries and dielectric breakdown. How? I am already a co-investigator on projects with some of the major microelectronics and data-storage manufacturers, including IBM, Intel and National Semiconductor. In addition, the Glasgow Solid State Group has a long collaborative history with Seagate. I will maintain a dialogue with these contacts during the Fellowship to ensure industrial relevance of my own output. Resultant Knowledge Transfer activities will be conducted through the EPSRC's recent KTA award to Glasgow University. There is an excellent potential for exploitable intellectual property to be developed during the Fellowship and I will be vigilant to the prospect of commercialisation. Exploitation will be undertaken via licensing agreements and/or direct collaboration with interested companies. I will enhance the traditional dissemination route of high impact publications with strong collaborations, to ensure good engagement and knowledge exchange with the research community. Fostering productive collaborations has been an exciting theme of my research that has opened new cross-discipline prospects and has already led to a number of successes. During the Fellowship I will continue building new collaborations, for example by promoting the in-situ microscopy techniques to new areas. I also intend to maintain a limited teaching role during my Fellowship and will actively incorporate research material into my lecturing and Outreach activities. A small level of financial support is requested to support all this networking activity and will be supplemented by existing funds.