Enabling spatially-resolved mapping of electric activity in operational devices at atomic-resolution

Introduction

Advanced materials are at the core of innovation in the 21st century for a wide range of industries, including semiconductors, consumer electronics, automotive, and aerospace. Demands for products with increased functionality, performance, and reduced power consumption are driving the need for new device structures and materials.

Device Structures and Materials

Designing, characterizing, and testing of two-terminal devices such as MIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitors for high-performance DRAM capacitors or MSM (metal-semiconductor-metal) select elements for advanced non-volatile memory are key for improved materials stack design and integration.

Proposed Technique

In ELECTRON, I will develop a technique that allows for direct imaging of "brain-like" functions in operational RRAM devices. I aim to achieve operando electron beam-induced current imaging (EBIC) inside a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) by using amplifiers to measure electrical currents in a contacted working device exposed to a microscope's electron beam.

Mapping Electrical Activity

This technique will enable the first-ever mapping of electrical activity in a real device, similar to how neuroscientists use fMRI to track blood flow within the brain. The parts that are being used will light up in the map.

Sensitivity and Visualization

This technique will provide a unique and previously non-existent way to visualize electric activity in working devices while being sensitive to:

• Electric potential
• Electric field
• Work function
• Conductivity
• Temperature

These measurements will be taken under simultaneous external stimuli, such as heating, biasing, and gas.

Expertise and Goals

I propose this project based upon the internationally recognized expertise of my group in the development of situ/operando TEM, specifically the ability to operate and electrically contact stack devices inside an electron microscope. My experience in MEMS-based chip platform design (Nature Communications, 4445(2018)) further supports this initiative.

Spatial Resolution

The goal is to push the spatial resolution of STEM-(SE)EBIC to reach atomic-resolution dimensions while probing industry-relevant electronic devices under realistic conditions.