Ferroelectrics fabbed on plastic

PORTLAND, Ore - Ferroelectric memories, energy harvestingarrays, sensors, and actuators could soon be fabricated on plastic substrates,according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who recentlydemonstrated a new low-temperature process using an atomic-force microscope(AFM).

Using a process called thermochemical nanolithography, ateam led by Georgia Tech professor NazaninBassiri-Gharb has discovered alow-temperature process for depositing ferroelectric materials on plasticsubstrates. The group, which also includes postdoctoral fellow Suenne Kim,professor Elisa Riedo, and graduate assistant Yaser Bastani, recentlydemonstrated nanoscale ferroelectric structures that could be used tofabricated ferroelectric devices on cheap polymers.

Using the heated tip of an AFM, the group fabricatedferroelectric structures suitable for semiconductor devices or MEMS-likesensors and actuators, including wires just 30 nanometers wide and spheres just10 nm in diameter. For ferroelectric memories, the group estimates thatdensities as high as 200 gigabytes per square inch could be fabricated withtheir process.

The research was performed in cooperation with theUniversity of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and the University of Nebraska(Lincoln). Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and the USDepartment of Energy.

This story was originally posted by EE Times.

Ferroelectrics fabbed on plastic