*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Title: Experimental Benchmarking of CVD Graphene for Memory and Interconnect Applications
Committee:
Dr. Azad Naeemi, ECE, Chair , Advisor
Dr. Muhannad Bakir, ECE
Dr. Eric Vogel, MSE
Dr. Jeffrey Davis, ECE
Dr. Francky Catthoor, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Abstract:
The continuous increase in the 3D memory density required an increase in the height of the 3D stack. This, in turn, dictated an increase in the width of the memory hole which is accompanied by a reduction in the electric field inside the memory hole. To compensate for the reduced electric field, an increase in the programming voltage and/or programming time is required at the expense of higher power dissipation and/or slower memory operation. Furthermore, with the continuous scaling of feature size, interconnects become the dominating factor in determining the performance of electronic circuits due to increased RC delay of interconnects, increased crosstalk between nearby interconnect lines, increased dynamic power dissipation, and reliability issues due to electron migration. In this thesis, we study CVD-grown graphene as a potential candidate for memory as well as electrical interconnects applications. Graphene can compensate for the reduced electric field in 3D memory devices while keeping the programming voltage sufficiently low by enhancing the electric field at its atomically-thin, sharp edges. Furthermore, Graphene is considered a promising alternative to copper interconnects owing to its current carrying capability that can reach 108 A/cm2, ultrahigh intrinsic carrier mobility, and low resistivity.
