Gecko Inspired Autonomous Fabrication Of Programmable Two-dimensional Quantum Materials

壁虎启发可编程二维量子材料的自主制造

• 批准号: EP/Y026284/1
• 负责人: Brian Gerardot
• 金额: $ 309.54万
• 依托单位: Heriot-Watt University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY026284%2F1
• 关键词: Gecko; Inspired; Autonomous; Fabrication; Programmable

Atomically thin materials provide a wide range of fundamental semiconductor device building blocks with unique electronic and optical properties which do not exist in the bulk. Remarkably, the atomic sheets can be stacked together without restriction to form heterostructures with unprecedented properties and capabilities. To date, heterostructure devices consisting of only a handful of individual atomic layers have led to extraordinary breakthroughs in photonics, electronics, and quantum materials. A tantalizing dream is to go beyond these few-layer systems and construct designer materials comprised of tens, hundreds, or even thousands of atomic layers, each precisely chosen and placed. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art layer-by-layer fabrication of such structures is tedious, low-yield, and not reproducible at the quantum level.Inspired by nature, 2D-Gecko aims to revolutionize the layer-by-layer-fabrication of heterostructures to realize highly reproducible materials and devices of limitless complexity. We will pioneer "smart" pick-and-place assembly of individual atomic sheets using microfibril arrays, similar to a gecko, to achieve reversible adhesion - switchable via mechanical actuation. We will incorporate this technology into a fully autonomous pilot line, combining robotic control of all assembly steps with efficient computer-vision, machine intelligence algorithms, and in-situ metrology techniques for quality control. The pilot line will be exploited to fabricate highly tunable quantum materials based on stacking layers with a relative twist (so-called moiré heterostructures) in a reproducible and deterministic fashion. Ultimately, we aim to realize scalable moiré materials, with reproducibility at the quantum level, such that programmable three-dimensional moiré solids can be realized.

原子上薄的材料提供了各种基本的半导体设备构建块，具有独特的电子和光学特性，这些特性不存在。值得注意的是，可以将原子片堆叠在一起，而无需限制，以形成具有前所未有的特性和能力的异质结构。迄今为止，仅由少数单个原子层组成的异质设备导致了光子学，电子和量子材料的非凡突破。一个诱人的梦想是超越这些几层系统和构造设计器材料，其中包括数十个，数百或什至数千个原子层，每层精确地选择并放置。不幸的是，这种结构的最先进的逐层制造是繁琐的，低收益的，并且在量子水平上不可再现。2D-Gecko旨在彻底改变异质结构的逐层工艺，以实现高度重复可重复的材料和有限复杂性的高度重复的材料和设备。我们将使用类似于壁虎的微纤维阵列进行单个原子板的“智能”选择组装，以实现可逆的粘合剂 - 通过机械激活可切换。我们将将这项技术纳入一个完全自主的飞行员线中，将所有组装步骤的机器人控制与有效的计算机视觉，机器智能算法和用于质量控制的原位计量技术相结合。试点线将探索以基于可重现和确定性方式的相对扭曲（所谓的Moiré异质结构）的堆叠层制造高度可调的量子材料。最终，我们旨在实现可扩展的莫伊尔材料，并在量子水平上具有可重现性，以便可以实现可编程的三维Moiré固体。