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The world’s biggest (A4-size) single-crystal copper foil with the most complete variety (more than 30 kinds of facets) , developed by SCNU professor Xu Xiaozhi and his team, was successfully selected into the top 10 research achievements in semiconductors in China in 2020.
Organized by the Journal of Semiconductors, this selection was launched in 2020. It is the first of its kind to recognize the national landmark achievements in the field of semiconductor science and technology research. The breakthrough of SCNU in semiconductor research stood out among 38 entries after two rounds of strict assessment by 43 authoritative experts.
Schematic diagrams of large single-crystal copper foils with high-index facets
Nowadays, with the continuous progress of micro and nano-processing technology, problems of increasing chip integration, short channel effect and thermal effects appear in the manufacturing process, which puts forward higher requirements for the material performance. In addition, in the development of full two-dimensional devices, single crystal copper foil proves to be the key substrate for epitaxial growth of single crystal graphene and boron nitride (the best semi-metallic and insulator materials in full two-dimensional devices) and other two-dimensional materials.
In view of this, the preparation of large-scale single crystal copper foil with a variety of symmetric structures, low loss electrical transmission and high heat dissipation performance is of great significance in the industry. However, the controllable preparation of high-index single-crystal foils is challenging. Currently, high-index metal foils are mainly obtained by cutting bulk single-crystal metal ingots. Accurate index control and flat surfaces with uniformly parallel step edges are very challenging to realize.
To address this problem, professor Xu Xiaozhi and his colleagues from Peking University, the South University of Science and Technology of China and the South Korean Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have focused their research on thermodynamics and kinetics control of the recrystallization process. What’s more, a new growth mechanism of variation and inheritance regulated by crystal surface interface was proposed by the research team, which has helped them realize this breakthrough.
Their research findings have been published in Nature in an article entitled “Seeded growth of large single-crystal copper foils with high-index facets”. According to the article, the production of A4-size single-crystal copper foil by thermodynamic "abnormal grain seeding" control and kinetic "abnormal grain growth" control has been reported for the first time in the world.
More details on Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2298-5
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Yang Yi
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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