CHALLENGES OF NANOTECHNOLOGIES AND SOME RELIABILITY ASPECTS

Abstract

The article focuses on the analysis of different nanoelectronic architectures with special design rules, taking into account the reliability of the future product. In the next decade, the reliability will play an even bigger role for industries in nanofabrication, which amounts to designing, and manufacturing devices on the nanometre scale. The main thrust in any reliability work is identifying failure modes and mechanisms. This is especially true for the new technology of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). High reliability is often stressed as an argument for projects in nanotechnology. Despite these claims, only little work has actually been done in the field of reliability in nanotechnology in clear contrast with microelectronics which is now extending its reliability modelling to nanoscaled semiconductor circuits. Nano-manufacturing will provide more twists to the traditional models due to the nature of nano-defects, and Heisenberg uncertainty. Nanotechnology has the potential to create many new materials and devices with wide-ranging applications, such as in medicine, electronics, and energy production. The reliability aspect includes both the electronic and the mechanical parts, complicated by the interactions. The challenging issue in MEMS technology development and commercialization is justifying its reliability. Packaging has often been referred as the “Achilles heel of MEMS manufacturing”.

Keywords

• mems
• nems
• nano-objects
• quantum-dots
• nanodevices
• nanoelectronics
• dominant failures modes
• micro / nanosystem products
• reliability
• failure analysis