The Advanced Materials Show 2019 presentation

1. Nanoelectronics materials
Providing confidence in adoption of new technologies
Dr Fernando Castro
Head of Materials Science & Engineering
Advanced Materials Show - Telford 10 July 2019 fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

2. National Physical Laboratory
▪ UK’s National Measurement Institute
▪ 700+ Graduate/PhD scientists – multidisciplinary
▪ Network of >2000 companies and >70 universities
Develop & disseminate UK’s
measurement standards, ensure
they are internationally accepted
Multidisciplinary R&D and
technical services for public
and private sector
Knowledge transfer, and
advice between industry
government and academia
36,000 m2
national
laboratory
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

3. Materials at NPL
Performance in realistic conditions
Reliability
• Measurements in situ, in process and operando
• Non-destructive testing and evaluation
• Validated simulation and modelling tools
• Measurements under operational and/or
accelerated conditions
• Reliable and calibrated measurements
• Reference materials
• Standardisation
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

4. Landscape
Increasing use of electronic materials in new and complex
environments/applications. Integration is key.
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

5. What is the challenge?
Confidence in adoption of new technologies
Main challenges include:
• How manufacturing affects performance and
reliability?
• How materials and devices perform under realistic
conditions of use/operation?
• How to estimate reliability over the lifetime of the
product?
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

6. Why nanoelectronics?
Nanoelectronics
Limits of Conventional CMOS
technology
• Device physics scaling
• Interconnects
More than Moore
• Interaction with
environment and user
New paradigms
• Product integration
• Compatibility
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

7. Printed Electronics
Plastic, Organic, Carbon, Flexible, Stretchable… Electronics
Emerging electronics beyond CMOS technology
Advantages
▪ Synthesis of materials with specific physical and
chemical properties
▪ Processing from solution
▪ Large area coating/printing
▪ Functional 3D printing (electronics)
▪ (Potential) Low cost manufacturing
▪ Low temperature processing
▪ Different possible substrates (e.g. glass,
plastic, paper, metal sheet…)
▪ Roll-to-roll processing (10s m/s)
▪ Good mechanical properties
▪ Low weight
▪ Integration of functional surfaces into numerous
types of products.
$16.04bn in 2013
3000 organizations worldwide
$76.79bn in 2023

8. How small is “nano”?
Nanoelectronics – electronics with at least one dimension between
1 nm and 100 nm.
1 nm – 10-9 m
Human hair = 100’000 nm thick
DNA = 2.5 nm diameter
Gold atom = 0.3 nm diameter
Nanomaterials
Inorganic Organic
Biological
Hybrid

9. 2D Materials Heterostructures
Twisted homostructures and stacked heterostructures can produce
materials with tunable electronic properties
IEEE Spectrum: Philip Krantz/Krantz NanoArt
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

10. Manufacturing electronic sensors with 2D
Materials - WS2 growth on Graphene
Each characterisation
method provides some
information
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk
Confidential

11. Intelligent data analysis
Combining multiple data allows better understanding of
manufacturing quality
Results consistent with 4 main
features on the surface of sample
Identification of manufacturing
defects:
• substrate preparation
• uniformity of graphene
Indication of issues with sample
handling/transport:
• sample contamination
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk
Confidential

12. 12
Towards fast quality control of 2D materials
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk
Confidential

13. Supporting scaling up of thin film manufacture
Challenge
From low resolution/small area to large area/high resolution
NPL developed instrumentation and
sampling methods for high sensitivity
(1000x better) and faster imaging
(from hours to seconds)
❑Defect free large wafer manufacture critical to reduce costs
Koutsourakis, Blakesley & Castro, Sensors 2019
Bausi, Koutsourakis, Blakesley & Castro, Meas. Sci. Tech. 2019 fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

14. How to characterise
homogeneity?
Indirect (thermography, electroluminescence, photoluminescence…
Direct (Photocurrent mapping, transmission map…
0 2 4 6 8 10
2
4
6
8
10
Distance (mm)
Distance(mm)
2.000E-07
4.000E-07
6.000E-07
8.000E-07
1.000E-06
1.200E-06
1.400E-06
1.600E-06
1.800E-06
2.000E-06
2.200E-06
2.400E-06
2.600E-06
0 2 4 6 8 10
2
4
6
8
10
Distance (mm)
Distance(mm)
2.000E-07
4.000E-07
6.000E-07
8.000E-07
1.000E-06
1.200E-06
1.400E-06
1.600E-06
1.800E-06
2.000E-06
2.200E-06
2.400E-06
2.600E-06
Bad process? Better process?
Two images above are from the same device!!!
Only 1 measurement parameter was different
Which map is correct?
Mapping/imaging of nanoelectronic thin films
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

15. 8th - G7 Leaders Economic Summit1982 Versailles
Image source: http://www.lescarnetsdeversailles.fr/2016/04/la-republique-dans-les-meubles-du-roi/
Pierre Trudeau
Wilfried Martens
Francois Mitterand
Helmut Schmidt
Giovanni Spadolini
Zenko Suzuki
Margaret Thatcher
Ronald Reagan
Formed as one of 18 cooperative projects to stimulate
world trade in new technologies using advanced
materials through pre-standards research
- only one surviving and growing

16. Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards
• Sir Robin Nicholson (Chief Scientist, UK Cabinet Office) leads the effort
• NPL becomes the lead based on their materials experience
• USA strongly supports and asked to become co-leader
• Since 2008, the membership has doubled
• VAMAS is now a G16 grouping
History
…after 37+ Years - lasting and growing
Inter Collaborations - MOUs with Other Organizations

17. VAMAS Mission
To promote world trade by innovation and adoption of
advanced materials through international collaborations that
provide the technical basis for harmonization of measurement
methods, leading to best practice, reference materials and
standards
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

18. VAMAS Outputs
International interlaboratory (round-robin) trials
• validated draft procedures for standardisation
• robust multi-site precision data
• skills development
• benchmarked capability
Reference materials and artefacts
• normally available from National Measurement
Institutes (e.g. NPL)
Designation schemes, vocabularies
+Issues identified for further research
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

19. Technical Work Areas (TWA)
Currently Active TWAs
Surface Chemical Analysis (UK) Nanoparticle Populations (USA)
Polymer Composites (UK) Printed, Flexible and Stretchable Electronics (UK)
Superconducting Materials (Japan) Quantitative Microstructural Analysis (Germany)
Performance Related Properties of Electroceramics
(Japan)
Solid Sorbents (USA)
Creep, Crack and Fatigue Growth in Weldments (UK) Synthetic Biomaterials (UK)
Modulus Measurements (USA) Graphene and Related 2D Materials (China/UK)
Polymer Nanocomposites (Mexico/Brazil) Raman Spectroscopy and Microscopy (Brazil)
Thermal Properties (UK) Materials and Environment (Italy)
Self healing ceramics (Japan)
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

20. Bioelectronics
Structural electronics
Robotics
Wearables
Flexible and Stretchable Electronics

21. Evolution of flexible nanoelectronics

22. Test speed affects
fatigue behaviour
0 200 400 600 800 1000
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
SheetResistance(Ohm/sq)
Cycle number
Flat condition
Maximum bend
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
8
9
10
11
12
13
SheetResistance(Ohms/sqr)
Time (s)
Bend:
1
10
25
50
100
200
1000
5mm
Flat
Flat
a) b)
Sheet resistance vs bending cycle
Flexible Electronics
Comparison of optical, electrical and mechanical performance of
competing flexible, transparent conductors
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

23. Rational design of battery electrodes
Yao, Zhao, Castro & Mai, ACS Energy Lett 2019
Helping rechargeable
batteries last longer
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk

24. Increasing confidence in adopting nanoelectronics
Standards
Confidence to technical promises of new products, on a
global level
New technologies
Best practice guides/Reliable proceduresLack of standards
Final remarks
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk
Bankability of innovation
Confidence to lower the cost of the value chain for new
products
Innovation
Transferring R&D out of the lab into the production chain

25. Measurements for Emerging Nanoelectronics
Understating structure-function down to nanoscale Understanding performance and reliability
Bausi et al. Meas Sci Tech (2019) Koutsourakis et al. Sensors (2019)
Cao et al. Prog Photovolt. (2019) Wood et al. Phys. Rev. Applied (2018)
Arredondo et al. Sol. Energ. Mater. Sol. Cell (2017) Wood et al. Sol. Energ.
Mater. Sol. Cell (2017) Kutsarov et al Sol. Energ. Mater. Sol. Cell (2017)
1 cm
Adv, Energ. Mater. (2014) Org. Electronics (2014)
J Mater Chem A (2017) Solar Energy (2016) Solar Energy (2018)
3D molecular orientation
Scientific Reports (2016)
Nature Communication (2016)
AIP Advances (2019) Nanoscale (2017) Nanotechnology (2010)
J Phys Mater (2018)
Phys Rev B (2015)
ACS Nano (2016)
ACS Energy Lett (2019)J Mater Chem C (2015)
Energ. Env. Sci. (2011)

26. www.imaging.org/Manchester

27. Acknowledgements
The National Physical Laboratory is operated by NPL Management Ltd, a wholly-owned company
of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Surrey University
NPL colleagues
VAMAS colleagues
Thank you
fernando.castro@npl.co.uk