EPSRC Fellowships in Manufacturing: Additive nanomanufacturing via probe-based pick-and-place nanoparticle assembly

The United Nations University in Tokyo estimates that an average 2g silicon chip costs 1.6kg of fossil fuel, 73g of chemicals and 32 kg of water. This is primarily because the nanomanufacturing technology used thus far is a layer-by-layer additive and subtractive process. Innovations thus far in nanomanufacturing have focused mostly on reducing feature sizes, which have now reached remarkably small dimensions; further scaling will not necessarily deliver increased performance. This opens up the possibility of updating existing electronics, as functionality rather than scaling (or the feature size node) is the main driver. Meanwhile in academia, considerable research into self-assembly of nanoscale particles has also been of interest. These techniques have been very important in understanding how to use chemistry to make particles arrange themselves in pre-determined patterns. In this fellowship, I intend to advance these developments towards a directed, additive nanomanufacturing technique using nanoscale probes to pick and place nanoparticles. The proposed research aims to have nanoscale robotic arms picking and placing nanoparticles to manufacture new devices with increased functionality, update nanoscale devices and to reduce the subtractive waste generated in nanomanufacturing.

The global market for semiconductors is estimated to be worth $279 billion. In contrast to heavy manufacturing areas, a standard silicon fabrication plant costs in excess of $1.5 billion and has immense running costs in terms of the scientists required to operate them. This market is reliant on the use of these specialised and highly expensive fabrication plants. This drives up the cost of development and limits innovation in this sector. Furthermore, this industry has traditionally had the perception of being a 'clean' industry environmentally, and they have a large impetus to adapt technologies that are more environmentally friendly. The reduction in costs of water waste that is a result of the frequent cleansing requirements in a layer-by-layer subtractive manufacturing process will be an obvious impact of the proposed process.
Whist the manufacturing plants are predominantly in the US and Far East, the design and development of silicon chips is concentrated first in the US and then in Europe. In fact the South West of England is home to the biggest silicon design cluster outside of Silicon Valley. The region is home to over 200 design and development companies including major internationals such as ST Microelectronics, Broadcom, Nvidia and Infineon. Such a fundamental change in the manufacturing process has significant potential for impact improving their bottom line through cheaper processes. Smaller design houses could bring products to market far more quickly and cheaply should the process be validated, opening up the market to greater innovation and growth potential. Therefore, this cluster has a direct interest in the research project and in order to use their knowledge I intend to work with the Microelectronics iNet (support letter attached), a network dedicated to this cluster. With the additional involvement of global semiconductor firms, this will ensure the explicit involvement on the industry, as this is essential to establish impact.
The proposed project is ambitious, and has the potential for very high impact in an industry that the PI is very familiar with. In addition to the industrial advisory committee, impact activities including presenting research at conferences attended by the industry and government stakeholders such as the Materials Research Society meetings and IEEE Nanotechnology Conferences will be undertaken. Peer reviewed research articles in journals such as Nanotechnology, Nano Letters and IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology will also be submitted.
The University of Exeter's Business School is actively pursuing research on, and has practical commitments with regard to responsible innovation, in particular on how impact is achieved by scientific research and technological innovation stemming from emerging techno-scientific fields, such as nanotechnology. Dr Elena Simakova, Lecturer of Management and a Social Scientist at the University of Exeter, will thus dedicate 5% of her time to study the societal relevance of the research of this project. Given public concerns over the potential ill effects of nanomanufacturing using nanoparticles, such a cross-disciplinary approach to impact is timely and innovative.