Microelectronics

Advancements in microelectronics underpins all aspects of modern society. However, the demands of 21st century data-driven and artificial intelligence computing far exceed today’s capabilities. The problem is that today’s microelectronics are built-up as separate logic, memory, and sensor chips. For data-intensive computation this causes up to 90% of operating energy to be wasted in the long wires connecting logic and memory, which also accounts for a significant and growing fraction of global electricity use. Building vertically can shorten the connections between logic and memory, but 3D integration requires strict thermal budget constraints to protect the sensitive circuitry below. At SSRL, we are using x-rays to study microelectronic materials beyond silicon for more energy efficient devices, such as ferroelectric hafnia-zirconia alloys for non-volatile memories, and new thermal processing approaches to enable 3D heterogeneous integration. The x-rays from high-brightness beam lines at SSRL can probe structural and chemical properties of nanometrically thin films, revealing structural phases and their transformation due to electric field cycling, providing key insight into degradation and failure mechanisms. Additionally, we use x-rays to study in-situ structural transformations during ultra-fast thermal processing, providing insight into structural transformation pathways and thermal budgets imposed to layers within heterogenous microelectronic device stacks.