Precise pitch-scaling of carbon nanotube arrays within three-dimensional DNA nanotrenches

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 368; no. 6493; pp. 874 - 877
• Main Authors: Sun, Wei, Shen, Jie, Zhao, Zhao, Arellano, Noel, Rettner, Charles, Tang, Jianshi, Cao, Tianyang, Zhou, Zhiyu, Ta, Toan, Streit, Jason K., Fagan, Jeffrey A., Schaus, Thomas, Zheng, Ming, Han, Shu-Jen, Shih, William M., Maune, Hareem T., Yin, Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 22.05.2020
• Subjects: Alignment; Arrays; Assembly; Bricks; Carbon; Carbon nanotubes; Contact resistance; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Fabrication; Field effect transistors; Hybridization; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Polymers; Semiconductor devices; Silicon; Silicon wafers; Single-stranded DNA; Substrates; Transistors
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz7440

Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an attractive platform for field-effect transistors (FETs) because they potentially can outperform silicon as dimensions shrink. Challenges to achieving superior performance include creating highly aligned and dense arrays of nanotubes as well as removing coatings that increase contact resistance. Sun et al. aligned CNTs by wrapping them with single-stranded DNA handles and binding them into DNA origami bricks that formed an array of channels with precise intertube pitches as small as 10.4 nanometers. Zhao et al. then constructed single and multichannel FETs by attaching the arrays to a polymer-templated silicon wafer. After adding metal contacts across the CNTs to fix them to the substrate, they washed away all of the DNA and then deposited electrodes and gate dielectrics. The FETs showed high on-state performance and fast on-off switching. Science , this issue p. 874 , p. 878 DNA brick crystal templates precisely align and position parallel carbon nanotube arrays. Precise fabrication of semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into densely aligned evenly spaced arrays is required for ultrascaled technology nodes. We report the precise scaling of inter-CNT pitch using a supramolecular assembly method called spatially hindered integration of nanotube electronics. Specifically, by using DNA brick crystal-based nanotrenches to align DNA-wrapped CNTs through DNA hybridization, we constructed parallel CNT arrays with a uniform pitch as small as 10.4 nanometers, at an angular deviation <2° and an assembly yield >95%.