Carbon electronics — From material synthesis to circuit demonstration

Carbon-based technology offers a viable path for the continued scaling of integrated circuits and has received much attention in recent years as a promising extension to silicon-CMOS due to the excellent intrinsic delay [1]. Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs) are also well-known for their superior current conduction. From simulation, CNFETs are projected to achieve a 5X speed improvement for a four-core processor in comparison with 11nm partially depleted silicon-on-insulator (PDSOI) technology [2]. Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and metallic carbon nanotubes are promising candidates for future interconnect technology since they offer low parasitic capacitance for the same resistance [3–4]. In spite of the great performance potentials, many obstacles still exist on the path towards realizing the vision of robust, large-scale commercial carbon-based device technology. In this paper, we review some of our recent progress from material synthesis to VLSI-circuit demonstration for a carbon-based nanoelectronics technology.