Division Leader: Massimo De Vittorio

The division carries out R&D on new materials and device architectures, nano-technological processes for electronics and optoelectronics applications.
The aim is to develop new functional materials and devices and carry out cross-disciplinary research for the development of state of art nanotechnologies and technical solutions to be applied in different fields such as optical and electronic communications, pollution control, consumer electronics and medicine.  The activity is mainly devoted to the study of innovative nanodevices and nanotechnology processes involving two classes of  semiconductor compounds: GaAs-based narrow-gap materials and III-N large gap materials. Hybrid organic/inorganic devices and technologies are also currently explored. All activities are characterised by a strong interaction between design, material development and characterisation, enhanced fabrication processes and device testing, also in collaboration with the spectroscopy group of NNL.
Computational optics is the main tool for device design based on electromagnetic (EM) analysis by full-wave 2D/3D solvers in time and frequency domain. The parallel calculus is also used for simulations of complex optical devices.
The available material deposition facilities are:

1. Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD) system, mainly dedicated to the III-Nitride epitaxy for high power/frequency electronic devices, UV sensors and non linear optics;
2. Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) system for GaAs-based and InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot –based devices;
3. DC magnetron sputtering system dedicated to III-Nitride and metal deposition;
4. plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) for Si3N4;
5. Thermal and electron beam evaporators for a broad range of metals and oxides.

Such techniques are supported by several characterisation tools, ranging from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction.
The nanotechnological  processes are based on the following technological facilities located in two clean rooms.

Lithography systems for Integrated Optics and Nanometric Structures:

TAB

RAITH 150 e-beam lithography system. Main Features: - 10 MHz DAC,  1-30 kV; Spot-size < 2 nm at 20 kV
LEICA LION LV1 e-beam lithography system Main Features: - 2.6 MHz writing speed; - Low Acceleration Voltage ranging tipically 1-5 kV; - 6" working area;
Deep dry-etching systems: - STS ICP dry etching system for III-Vs and III-N   semiconductors (GaAs/AlGaAs, GaN ) by Cl2/SiCl4/Ar+
- STS AOE dry etching system for glasses and oxides (SiO2 and TiO2) by CF4