Title: The Physics and Technology of Nanonet Electronics
Speaker: Muhammad Ashraful Alam, Professor, Purdue University
Abstract: As the future of Moore’s law of transistor scaling appears uncertain, Electronics is being reinvented with a broader focus on other areas including macroelectronics (electronics of large, possibly flexible and transparent displays), bioelectronics (e.g., nanobio sensors for genomics, proteomics), and energy-harvesting (e.g., solar cells). In this regard, a material based on nanonets of Carbon Nanotubes or Si/ZnO/SiGe Nanowires have attracted considerable attention. The nanonets act as channel materials for thin-film transistors for flexible/transparent electronics, as sensor elements for label-free bio-sensors, and as transparent top electrode for solar cells. The performance of these Nanonet devices have been good (and sometimes impressive) and various laboratories have reported considerable improvements over the years.
A lack of predictive transport models, however, had stymied the translation of laboratory experiments to practical, disruptive technology. The classical theory of bulk semiconductors, developed over last 50 years in close collaboration with experimentalists, device physicists, numerical analysts, and computer scientists, does no longer apply to these new electronic components with spatially inhomogeneous transport properties. In this talk, I will discuss a simple theory of the Nanonets based on 2D percolation and fractal dynamics to show how these simple/intuitive approach can challenge conventional wisdom and allow optimization of nanonet transistors, biosensors, and solar-cells.
Speaker Bio: Professor Alam teaches Electrical Engineering at Purdue University, where his research focuses on the physics, simulation, characterization and technology of classical and novel semiconductor devices. From 1995 to 2001, he was with Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ, as a Member of Technical Staff in the Silicon ULSI Research Department. From 2001 to 2003, he was a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Agere Systems, Murray Hill, NJ. He joined Purdue University in 2004. Dr. Alam has published over 200 papers in international journals and has presented many invited and contributed talks at international conferences. He is a fellow of IEEE, APS, and AAAS, and recipient of 2006 IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award for contributions to device technology for communication systems.