Graphene holds promise as a high-mobility alternative to silicon for beyond-next-generation information-processing devices. But to create a bandgap (and thus permit device development), it must be patterned to sub-10-nanometer dimensions. Similarly, a range of beyond-next-generation information-processing devices require prototyping at the sub-10-nanometer length scale.  In this research thrust, the Berggren group works to develop tools and techniques for prototyping such systems.

Ultra-thin-body strained silicon directly on insulator is a potentially interesting semiconductor-device material because it permits devices with enhanced mobility relative to conventional silicon. But making deeply-scaled (i.e. very narrow) patterned nanowires to control the device electrostatics is extremely difficult. Researchers in the Hoyt group at MIT came to us to collaborate on this problem, and together we realized a method for patterning suspended uniaxial tensile strained-silicon nanowires at the 10-nm length scale.