A Process for Hybrid Superconducting and Graphene Devices

Abstract

As the search for ever-higher-speed, greater-density, and lower-power technologies accelerates, so does the quest for devices and methodologies to fulfill the increasingly-difficult requirements for these technologies. A possible means by which this may be accomplished is to utilize superconducting devices and graphene nanoribbon nanotechnologies. This is because superconductors are ultra-low-power devices capable of generating extremely high frequency (EHF) signals, and graphene nanoribbons are nanoscale devices capable of extremely high-speed and low-power signal amplification due to their high-mobility/low-resistance channels and geometry-dependent bandgap structure. While such a hybrid co-integrated system seems possible, no process by which this may be accomplished has yet been proposed. In this thesis, the system limitations are explored in-depth, and several possible means by which superconducting and graphene nanotechnological systems may be united are proposed, with the focus being placed on the simplest method by which the technologies may be hybridized and integrated together, while maintaining control over the intended system behavior. This is accomplished in three parts. First, via circuit-level simulation, a semi-optimized, low-power (~0.21 mW/stage) graphene-based amplifier is developed using ideal and simplified transmission line properties. This system is theoretically capable of 159-269 GHz bandwidth with a Stern stability K >> 1 and low noise figure 2.97 <= F <= 4.33 dB for all appropriate frequencies at temperatures between 77 and 90 K. Second, an investigation of the behavior of several types of possible interconnect methodologies is performed, utilizing hybrid substrates and material interfaces/junctions, demonstrating that an Ohmic-contact superconducting-normal transmission line is optimal for a hybrid system with self-reflections at less than -25 dB over an operating range of 300 GHz. Finally, a unified layout and lithography construction process is proposed by which such a hybrid system could be developed in a monolithic physical system on a hybrid substrate while maintaining material and layout integrity under varying process temperatures.