The Promise and Challenge of Bottom-Up Synthesized Carbon Electronics

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) synthesized from the bottom up with molecular precursors have enabled the capability of engineering the electronic, optical, magnetic and quantum physical properties with atomics scale precision, which promises novel functionalities and next-generation computing devices. This talk presents recent progress and remaining challenges of the technology integration of bottom-up synthesized GNRs into field-effect transistors (FETs). Several key technology components for GNR FETs are covered, include band-gap engineering, synthesis and alignment of long-length GNRs, achieving low-resistance electric contacts, and high-k gate stack integration. A statistical approach that combines theoretical modeling and experimental characterization is developed to evaluate and benchmark the device performance. Remaining challenges and future research directions are discussed for the further improvement of device performance of GNR FETs.