Fundamental Limits in Semiconductor Materials Processing

The trend in semiconductor device fabrication of employing increasing numbers of more complex processes to produce materials systems with higher tolerances of performance has produced encounters with the fundamental limits of materials processing. As a result, scaling in materials processing has assumed an importance equal to scaling of device design. This talk will examine the roles of phase stability, interface coherency, defect equilibria, and electronic processes at defects in defining the ultimate limits in feature size, compositional and structural heterogeneity, and device performance.