34th IFF Spring School

Fundamentals of Nanoelectronics

March 10 - 21, 2003 . Jülich . Germany

Information technology stands today at the edge of a revolutionary change: from microelectronics to nanoelectronics. The characteristic structure sizes will soon fall below the 100 nm mark and will continue to shrink to approximately 20 nm around the year 2015. On this length scale quantum effects determine the device functionality and lead to completely new possibilities and challenges. As an alternative to the continually increasing cost of conventional semiconductor technologies for manufacturing integrated circuits, new strategies are examined in research, which are based on basic principles of physics and chemistry. For example, molecular self-organization mechanisms are developed in order to manufacture well-defined nanostructures with desired properties. The IFF Spring School treats the basic principles of physics, chemistry and information technology that prepare the way into the new and fascinating world of nanoelectronics.

The topics of the lectures cover:

• Basics
  o Theory of electron scattering
  o Tunnelling processes
  o Coulomb blockade effects
  o Spin-dependent transport
  o Quantum communication/computing
• Analyses
  o Scanning probe methods
  o Spectroscopy with atomic resolution
  o High-resolution electron microscopy
• Technology
  o New lithography techniques
  o Atomic layer-by-layer deposition
  o Self-organization techniques
  o Scanning probe manipulation
• Concepts for nanoelectronic devices
  o Limits of Si-technology
  o Metallic nanowires
  o Spintronics
  o Electronics based on carbon nanotubes
  o Single electron device
  o Concepts for QC-devices
  o Molecular electronics