Advanced electronic substrates for the nanotechnology era

Advanced electronic substrates, coupled with device architecture, has enabled the industry to overcome many limitations encountered by traditional scaling. SOI substrates made possible increasing the drive current while simultaneously reducing parasitic leakage, thereby improving IC performance and reducing power consumption. SOI has allowed the power industry to develop excellent solutions for high performance logic, including the latest gaming-dedicated microprocessors. The device development of the future technology nodes appear to be marked by two distinct technical strategies, one focused on high performance, and one driven by system-on-chip (SOC) applications, including low power, portable RF applications. Monolithic integration of dissimilar materials, such as GeOI, but also GaN on Si or Si on poly-SiC, will enable future electronic, optoelectronic, and photovoltaic applications, while controlled defect arrays will contribute to the advancement of self-organizing nanostructures.