SBIR Phase I: Enhancing CMOS with RF Nanotubes

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize RF Nano's extremely low defect long carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to both develop an analog nanotube amplifier with gain at 1 GHz and plan for the manufacturing of CMOS compatible high performance RF nanotube devices. The project innovation involves electrically combining many individual nanotube transistors in a way that minimizes capacitance and thus maximizes roll-off frequency. With THz cut-offs; power density 100 times GaAs and 4 times GaN; extreme robustness for temperature, voltage, and likely radiation; predicted quantum-limited noise; and inexpensive growth on silicon, CNTs show excellent promise for RF electronics and are compatible with CMOS. For analog performance, the digital requirements of nanometer location control and on/off ratios of a million which have stymied nanotube based bets against digital CMOS are substantially relaxed. Based on predicted results from the proposed innovation, current CNT manufacturing technology is sufficient for many if not most analog and RF applications. Manufacturing parameters such as nanotube density, alignment, and purity are still important and their impact on analog performance will be determined. The broader impact of the activity will be to leverage millions of dollars of federal R&D into a manufacturable, broad, realistic application for nanotube technology: analog and mixed signal electronics. The 2006 revenue forecast for this market is currently $60B with 13% growth through at 2011. Nanotubes grown on silicon show strong potential for high performance applications such as wireless communications and optical networking making low-cost applications such as single chip cell phones possible. In the future, by combining low cost nanotube technology for RF signal processing with the computational power and economy of silicon, entire communications systems may be integrated onto a single chip. With the expected results of this phase I project, follow on activities and investment to scale up the technology to manufacturing quantities will be justified. This could lead to revolutionary advances in combined and distributed computing and communications systems at very low cost, benefiting all economic strata in both advanced economies and developing nations.