Frontiers in device engineering: Synthesis for non-intuitive design
Electrical Engineering Dept, University of Southern
California
Today, nano-science
provides an overwhelmingly large number of experimentally accessible
ways to configure the spatial position of atoms, molecules, and other
nanoscale components to form devices. The challenge is to find the
best, most practical, configuration that yields a useful device
function. In the presence of what will typically be an enormous
non-convex search space, it is reasonable to assume that traditional
ad-hoc design methods will miss many possible solutions. One
approach to solving this difficult problem is to employ machine-based
searches of configuration space that discover user-defined objective
functions. Such an optimal design methodology aims to identify the
best broken-symmetry spatial configuration of metal, semiconductor,
and dielectric that produce a desired response. Hence, by harnessing
a combination of modern compute power, adaptive algorithms, and
realistic multi-physics models, it should be possible to seek robust,
manufacturable designs that meet previously unobtainable system
specifications.
In
this talk I will discuss some of our experience creating electronic
and photonic components using optimal design methods we have
developed and provide a vision of what this frontier in device
engineering might lead to.