Keynotes
From Power Delivery to Heat Dissipation: Materials Challenges for Scaled Electronics
Bernd Gotsmann, IBM Research
Bernd Gotsmann is a Principal Research Scientist at IBM Research.
He is manager of the Physics and Science of Information group in the Science of Quantum and Information Technology department at IBM Research – Zurich. Currently, his research is focused on the mechanisms of thermal transport on the nanoscale and materials for CMOS, including topological semimetals for interconnects. Bernd Gotsmann studied Physics at the University of Muenster, Germany, and the University of York, UK. After receiving his PhD he joined IBM in 2001 as a postdoctoral fellow and became a Research Staff Member in 2006. Since then he has worked on a range of topics including thermoelectricity, tribology, molecular electronics and nanomechanics.
Abstract
Computing demands are growing at an unprecedented rate, raising serious concerns about the long-term sustainability of current technologies. Continued progress requires major innovations in microelectronic fabrication and design. As transistors and interconnect dimensions shrink, power delivery and signal transport increasingly limit performance, calling for new architectural solutions. At the same time, rising power densities make heat dissipation a critical challenge across all length scales of computing, from data centers down to individual nanometer-scale transistors.
After reviewing selected advances such as backside power delivery and transistor stacking, we focus on key materials-science challenges. One major challenge is the identification of alternatives to copper interconnects that reduce energy dissipation during signal transmission. Another is the development of materials and device architectures that enhance thermal transport within the CMOS device layer. Addressing these questions requires advanced characterization techniques capable of probing micro- and nanoscale structures and their interfaces. We will discuss several such methods, including MEMS-based measurement platforms, self-sensing test structures, and scanning thermal microscopy, and present examples of recent progress enabled by these approaches.
Bernd Gotsmann