Liu to Lead Team in Nanoelectronics Research Center
December 7, 2018 鈥� of the Georgetown 海角论坛 is a theme leader in a major research center on nanoelectronic computing research led by the University of Minnesota.
The (SMART) will focus on fundamental research on novel materials and devices with the potential to significantly advance the field of nanoelectronic computing. Total funding for the SMART center is $10.3 million over 4 years, including a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce鈥檚 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), and $2.8 million from SMART partners.
Liu, an incoming McDevitt Chair in the Department of Physics, will work alongside colleagues from the University of Minnesota, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland.
A NEW PARADIGM
SMART will conduct research on spintronics, a field of physics that focuses on the 鈥渟pin鈥� of electrons that leads to magnetism. This is a different property than the charge of electrons, the subject of traditional electronics.
Spintronics hold the potential for new technology and computational systems that are faster, more reliable, and use less energy than traditional electronics.
鈥淭he energy consumption in today鈥檚 electronics has become a critical challenge, leading to the coming end of that has been the icon of the high-tech industry over the past 5 decades,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淪pintronics offers an exciting new paradigm for future nanoelectronics using electron spin as the information carrier, with vast potentials to fundamentally transform its energy landscape.鈥�
According to the SMART team proposal, the center will be 鈥渄riven by the need for innovative memory and processing architectures that promise to significantly improve the energy efficiency, throughput, and overall functionality of tomorrow鈥檚 computing paradigms; in particular, neuromorphic computing, probabilistic computing, in-memory computing, and wave-based information processing.鈥�
Liu will lead a team on magneto-ionic materials, one of three themes in the SMART Center鈥檚 research portfolio. He will examine how properties of materials may be manipulated by the application of an electric field through controlled motion of ions.
鈥淭his is an exciting approach that could be a potential 鈥榞ame-changer,鈥欌�� Liu said. 鈥淭he all-important interfaces in these materials 鈥� and, consequently, their material properties 鈥� may be drastically changed with a voltage bias, without the flow of relatively inefficient, conventional electric current.鈥�
The SMART center will also offer excellent opportunities for the training of graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers.
ON-CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY
Though Minnesota will be home to the SMART Center鈥檚 headquarters, Georgetown has been preparing to conduct cutting-edge spintronics and nanomagnetics research as well.
The NSF has recently awarded Georgetown a for a state-of-the-art magnetic characterization instrument known as the Magnetic Property Measurement System (MPMS3).
An interdisciplinary team of faculty 鈥� including physics professors Kai Liu, and and chemistry professors , , and 鈥� will use MPMS3, which is scheduled to be installed and commissioned in Liu鈥檚 lab in early 2019. MPMS3 enables a broad range of ground-breaking research projects. It will also be a timely addition to conduct SMART research.
This shared facility will also help to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields and provide research experience for undergraduate students through several partner REU programs.
鈥淚n addition to the fantastic opportunities created for our students, Prof. Liu鈥檚 program benefits all of the materials research on campus, both by contributing to our shared resources and by raising our profile in the scientific community,鈥� said.
Liu also organized an last month for NSF鈥檚 Division of Materials Research. The workshop focused on challenges and opportunities in the post-Moore’s Law era.
鈥淭his workshop brought together leading experts in the field to highlight scientific opportunities that may address the energy challenges in nanoelectronics in general, as symbolized by the coming end of Moore’s law,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淲e are very pleased to be able to host this important meeting at Georgetown, with strong support from the Department of Physics, Georgetown 海角论坛, and campus as a whole.鈥�