New Facets in Ultra-flat NanoElectronics

ABSTRACT: 

Since the emergence of Graphene, the field of nanoelectronics has been undergoing a paradigm shift. This reflects in building electronic elements on a platform of new materials that come with an intrinsic atomic confinement. The most notable of this is Graphene, but other examples include Molybdenum diSulphide, topological insulators such as Bismuth Selenide/Teluride, and so on. The atomic or molecular scale confinement in many of these materials can be realized with simple techniques like mechanical exfoliation, which has triggered a new design of field-effect transistors that offer not only speed and efficiency, but also novel concepts in fundamental science and device applications. I shall discuss some of the outstanding challenges and possibilities in this new era of nanoelectronics. This will consist of evaluating the impact of extraneous factors, such as the substrate, the charge environment etc; on limiting the performance of atomically thin field effect transistors both in terms of carrier mobility and low-frequency noise. In the context of fundamental physics, I shall highlight some new quantum effects, connected to valleys in Graphene that illustrates the enhanced functionality of ultra-flat nanoelectronics over that based on conventional two-dimensional electron systems.