Technology and metrology of new electronic materials and devices

Scaling of the metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistor has been the basis of the semiconductor industry for nearly 30 years. Traditional materials have been pushed to their limits, which means that entirely new materials (such as high-kappa gate dielectrics and metal gate electrodes), and new device structures are required. These materials and structures will probably allow MOS devices to remain competitive for at least another ten years. Beyond this timeframe, entirely new device structures (such as nanowire or molecular devices) and computational paradigms will almost certainly be needed to improve performance. The development of new nanoscale electronic devices and materials places increasingly stringent requirements on metrology.