ABSTRACT

For decades engineers have aimed to develop a universal memory technology that was low cost, reliable, high density, and non-volatile. Ideally, this technology could be quickly written, read, or erased, and would last indefinitely in any defined state. However, current technologies have limited lifetimes, are often arduous to write, consume significant amounts of power, and are not capable of sustaining the current global data growth. Biological systems on the other hand, solved this problem billions of years ago using deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) coupled with enzymatic methods for reading, writing, and erasing the data. In fact, the average human writes 40 exabytes of data each day while consuming comparatively little energy. Moreover, this data can be stored for hundreds or thousands of years. Thus, DNA represents a unique and interesting platform for developing memory technologies for the next generation of electronic devices. However, in order to leverage its phenomenal storage capabilities and become a viable memory technology contender, a number of important technical and fundamental hurdles must be examined and overcome. As an initial step toward this goal, this proposal aims to create a DNA-based Read-Only Memory (ROM) that can be patterned, placed, and programmed as desired, can be read electrically, and is capable of interfacing with conventional semiconductor electronics for long-term data storage and retrieval. To achieve this goal, we have established a collaborative, multidisciplinary team working at the nexus of biological systems electrical and computer engineering and charge transport physics. This Team has expertise in the control and assembly of DNA nanostructures, nano- and molecular electronic systems, and the theory and modeling of nanoscale electronic devices. Together, this team will work with students and junior researchers to understand and control the charge transport properties of DNA-based nanostructures, to assemble DNA-based memory devices and circuits, to develop tools for modeling and programming these systems, and to train a new generation of scientists and engineers capable of working at the interface between biology and nano/electrical engineering. Graduate students involved in this project, will obtain interdisciplinary training involving electrical engineering, device physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and material science. In addition, this transdisciplinary research project is also integrated with an outreach program aimed at expanding the enrollment of under-represented minorities and female students in STEM fields, providing research experience for undergraduate students, and introducing K-12 students to cutting edge science and engineering problems.

To fully harness the advantages of DNA for a general memory platform within semiconductor-based systems, it must be possible to access and read information from it electronically. To develop this translational capability, several technological and fundamental advances are required. It is the goal of this project to develop methods for creating an electrically readable DNA-based memory system. Specifically, this proposal aims: i) to optimize and control the charge transport properties of DNA-nanowires grown using bottom-up self-assembly techniques using a combination of molecular and ionic dopants, and templated growth of inorganic structures; ii) to develop design rules for creating DNA-based multi-level memory cells by examining the effects of sequence, structure, and length on the transport properties; iii) to combine this knowledge to develop DNA-based cross-wire (X-wire) read-only memory systems; iv) to develop predictive transport models to simulate the functionality of this memory architecture; and v) to develop Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools that can be used to program the self-assembly of large-scale memory architectures. The success of this approach will create translational capabilities for carbon-based electronics, memory technologies, and DNA-based nano-assemblies, and the breadth of this project will result in new knowledge in a variety of realms. It will: i) enhance our fundamental understanding of the inherent charge transport properties of DNA; ii) provide insights into how to chemically control these properties to achieve the desired electrical responses; iii) provide new insights into how to scale-up the self-assembly of DNA nanostructures; iv) aid the development of new CAD tools for modeling and controlling the assembly and addressability of DNA-based memories; v) provide foundational information about how to interface biological materials with conventional semiconductor technologies; vi) advance the utility of DNA self-assembly to a novel manufacturing platform for nanoscale electronic materials; vii) enable new methodologies for modeling transport in these bottom-up hybrid systems; and viii) provide information about novel memory architectures for next-generation computation. The knowledge developed in these areas will enable the design of carbon-based, nanoscale electronic devices with desired functionality from the bottom-up. And more generally, the success of this project will provide a broad, systematic framework that can be followed to develop unique electronic device paradigms for nanoscale electronic materials.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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