1 QUANTUM TUNNELING NEMS 3D MONOLITHIC DEVICES UTILIZING QUANTUM TUNNELING BETWEEN 2D ARRAYS OF QUASI–1D NANOWIRES M.T. Michalewicz, P. Glowacki, Z. Rymuza, N. Lumpkin, S. Bremner, and E. Radlinska ABSTRACT Quantum tunneling is an exceedingly sensitive probe of inter-electrode separation, electrode area, the type of electrode material and the nature of intervening insulator. Our devices are based on variable overlap area of the quasi 1D–nanowires 1,2, electrodes placed on two opposing atomically flat surfaces. A generic nanoTrek® device is composed of two plates separated by a very thin layer of insulator, e.g. soft-matter spacer, air, vacuum. Several hundred to many thousands quasi-1D nanowires are deposited on each plate. The device can be thought of as a 2D plate/insulating layer (liquid)/ 2D plate sandwich. The nanowires on the two opposing surfaces facing each other and aligned with each other form elongated electrodes in the tunneling process. We have built and successfully tested devices composed of two individual Si chips separated with monolayer of soft-matter spacer 3,4,5 In this poster we describe the concept leading to 3D monolithic nanoTrek® device specifically suited for sensing dynamic quantities. Both 2D substrates are part of one monolithic unit. One plate is suspended on etched beams. Depending on desired functionality or performance there can be one to four beams with width-to-length-to-thickness ratios designed for specific device sensitivity. Nanowires are fabricated on the top surface of the larger, bottom plate and, opposing them, at the bottom surface of a movable, top plate. Separation between the plates is in the range of 1–10 nm. We discuss several different candidate processes suitable for fabrication of our monolithic devices. INTRODUCTION Quantum Precision Instruments Inc. (Quantum-π) proposes to develop a new type of Nano Electro-Mechanical System (NEMS) vibration sensors based on quantum tunneling between arrays of nanowires. Our nanoTrek® devices are based on variable overlap area of the quasi-1D nanowire electrodes placed on two opposing atomically flat surfaces 1,2. Apart of building a standalone vibration sensor we will address issues of distributed power supply, either through energy harvesting or storage, and of building a large wired and wireless networks of sensors, with a goal of delivering a network system for structural health monitoring. Our sensors utilize exceedingly sensitive physical phenomenon of quantum tunneling hence will be superior in accuracy, smaller in size and of lower cost than existing sensors. Eighty six years after the proposal of quantum mechanics by M. Planck in 1900 G. Binnig and H. Rohrer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for constructing and successful demonstration of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM). Very soon after their feat several groups attempted to build cantilever or beam geometry sensors based on quantum tunneling through a variable inter–electrode gap 7,8,9,10,11. Despite considerable efforts and some successes, cantilever geometry quantum tunneling sensors have not achieved broad commercial success. Here, we propose an entirely different principle of operation for quantum tunneling devices. Unlike their commercially less successful predecessors Quantum-π’s nanoTrek devices are not cantilever or beam devices. They are based on a constant inter–electrode separation, but variable area tunneling between two sets of nanowire arrays deposited on two substrates. Hence, Quantum-π sensors are unlike any previously built or designed devices 13,14,15,16,17,18,19. 1 Q1Quantum Precision Instruments Asia Pte Ltd, 14A Prince George’s Park, Singapore – 2Technical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland – 3Cavendish Laboratory, The University of Cambridge, UK – 4Department of Applied Mathematics, The Australian National University, Australia 3D MONOLITHIC DEVICES UTILIZING QUANTUM TUNNELING BETWEEN 2D ARRAYS OF QUASI–1D NANOWIRES M.T. Michalewicz1, P. Glow