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Advancing microelectronics through nanoscale science: A perspective on needs and opportunities from the nanoscale science research centers

Bradicich, Adelaide [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000239772126)·Allemang, Christopher R. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000187120782)·Addamane, Sadhvikas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000252387409)·House, Stephen D. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000320356373)·Chen, Aiping [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000326392797)·Yoo, Jinkyoung [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000295786979)·Bussmann, Ezra [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000252852825)·Smyth, Christopher M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000346689555)·Maksymovych, Petro [Clemson Univ., SC (United States)] (ORCID:0000000308228459)·Checa, Marti [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000326076866)·Neumayer, Sabine [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000281671230)·Dyck, Ondrej [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000182009874)·Wen, Jianguo [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:0000000237550044)·Basso, Luca [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000279419976)·Kehayias, Pauli [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Lexington, MA (United States). Lincoln Lab.] (ORCID:0000000275974358)·Mounce, Andy M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000281152764)·Doiron, Chloe Florence [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000283546492)·Pettes, Michael Thompson [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000168626841)·Li, Nan [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000282489027)·Yates, Luke [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150528944)·Jarzembski, Amun [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:000000016639635X)·Harris, Charles Thomas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000349467181)·Nam, Chang-Yong [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)] (ORCID:0000000290934063)·Titze, Michael [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347014453)·Hackett, Lisa Anne Plucinski [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0009000849975892)·Wali, Akshay [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:000000024632687X)·Sumant, Anirudha V. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:0000000260280038)·Iyer, Prasad [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000268983619)·Pan, Wei [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000256295296)·Jozwiak, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)] (ORCID:0000000209803753)·Ruiz, Ricardo [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry] (ORCID:0000000216984281)·Dingreville, Remi Philippe Michel [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:000000031613695X)·Nelson, Jeffrey S. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies]·Lu, Tzu-Ming [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000233631226)
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Abstract

Microelectronics are the cornerstone of the modern world, enhancing our daily lives by providing services such as communications and datacenters. These resources are accessible thanks to the continual pursuit of a deeper understanding of the chemical and physical phenomena underlying the materials synthesis approaches and fabrication processes used to create microelectronic components and subsequently the components' responses to electrical, optical, and other stimuli that are utilized within microelectronic systems. Today, further development of microelectronics requires multidisciplinary expertise across scientific disciplines and fields of study—synthesis, materials characterization, nanoscale fabrication, and performance characterization—with focus placed on comprehending the nanoscale forms and features of microelectronic components. The Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs) are Department of Energy, Office of Science user facilities that support the international scientific community in advancing nanoscale science and technology. As a key component of the U.S. Government's National Nanotechnology Initiative, the NSRCs enable transformative discoveries by providing world-class facilities, expertise, and collaborative opportunities. Here, in this perspective, we showcase a non-exhaustive cross-section of the capabilities housed at and developed by the NSRCs and their user communities to address fundamental synthesis, metrology, fabrication, and performance considerations toward advancing the development of new microelectronics. Finally, we provide a timely outlook on the next major areas of necessary development in nanoscale sciences to continue the innovation of microelectronics into the next generation.

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2D materials36 MATERIALS SCIENCE77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGYCMOSMaterial characterization methodsMaterials synthesis and processingMetrologyMicroelectronicsNanofabricationNanotechnologySemiconductors

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Bradicich, Adelaide [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000239772126), Allemang, Christopher R. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000187120782), Addamane, Sadhvikas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000252387409), House, Stephen D. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000320356373), Chen, Aiping [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000326392797), Yoo, Jinkyoung [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000295786979), Bussmann, Ezra [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000252852825), Smyth, Christopher M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000346689555), Maksymovych, Petro [Clemson Univ., SC (United States)] (ORCID:0000000308228459), Checa, Marti [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000326076866), Neumayer, Sabine [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000281671230), Dyck, Ondrej [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)] (ORCID:0000000182009874), Wen, Jianguo [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:0000000237550044), Basso, Luca [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000279419976), Kehayias, Pauli [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Lexington, MA (United States). Lincoln Lab.] (ORCID:0000000275974358), Mounce, Andy M. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000281152764), Doiron, Chloe Florence [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000283546492), Pettes, Michael Thompson [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000168626841), Li, Nan [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)] (ORCID:0000000282489027), Yates, Luke [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000150528944), Jarzembski, Amun [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:000000016639635X), Harris, Charles Thomas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000349467181), Nam, Chang-Yong [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)] (ORCID:0000000290934063), Titze, Michael [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347014453), Hackett, Lisa Anne Plucinski [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0009000849975892), Wali, Akshay [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:000000024632687X), Sumant, Anirudha V. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)] (ORCID:0000000260280038), Iyer, Prasad [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000268983619), Pan, Wei [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000256295296), Jozwiak, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)] (ORCID:0000000209803753), Ruiz, Ricardo [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry] (ORCID:0000000216984281), Dingreville, Remi Philippe Michel [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:000000031613695X), Nelson, Jeffrey S. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies], Lu, Tzu-Ming [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies] (ORCID:0000000233631226). 2025-10-21. Advancing microelectronics through nanoscale science: A perspective on needs and opportunities from the nanoscale science research centers. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0283106

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