Howard Katz, professor of materials science and engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering, and colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Austin have received a $1.9 million National Science Foundation Future of Semiconductors (NSF FuSe2) grant.
Their project, “Co-Designing Indium-Based Sol-Gel Precursors for Extreme Ultraviolet Resist and Back-End-Of-The-Line Oxide Nanoelectronics,” aims to develop indium oxide-based materials for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a semiconductor manufacturing technique that makes complex, tiny patterns on computer chips.
Professor Howard Katz
“Indium oxide, a known semiconductor, strongly absorbs X-ray radiation at the nanoscale level. This makes it ideal for developing patterns in semiconductors,” says Katz.
As a co-investigator on the project, Katz’s expertise in molecular metal oxide films and semiconductors will guide the creation of silicon chips with miniscule circuits that use indium oxide in nanoelectronics.
“Applying indium oxide in nanoelectronics and making chips smaller will make them more energy efficient, since there are fewer parts used and steps involved to create them,” says Katz.
Leading the project is Julia Hsu of the University of Texas at Dallas’ Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. Katz will also team up with Assistant Professor Cormac Toher and Assistant Professor Kevin Brenner of the UT Dallas Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Chih-Hao Chang, Associate Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.