In his famous 1959 lecture “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Richard Feynman envisioned extraordinary progress through miniaturization. For decades, this vision guided the semiconductor industry under Moore’s Law. Today, much of that “room” has been used, and continued progress depends on controlling matter with atomic precision. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography now defines the limits of device scaling, while atomic-scale processing provides the complementary capability to shape and build materials atom by atom and to construct the complex three-dimensional structures needed for next generation devices. This talk will highlight recent advances in atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomic layer etching (ALE), and area-selective deposition (ASD) with a particular focus on the use of these methods for processing 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides such as MoS₂, WS₂, and related compounds. With these atomically thin inorganic materials, the remaining “room at the bottom” is used to full advantage, enabling logic and memory devices in the Ångström era and advancing Feynman’s vision of Future Chips.
Erwin Kessel obtained his M. Sc. and Ph. D. degrees in Applied Physics from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He is currently a professor at TU/e, where his research focuses on the synthesis of ultrathin films and nanostructures using techniques such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomic layer etching (ALE), and area-selective deposition (ASD). His most notable contributions include pioneering work on plasma-enhanced ALD, advancements in ALD for semiconductor technology and photovoltaics, ALD for nanopatterning, and in-situ spectroscopic studies of ALD and ALE. His achievements have been recognized with several awards, including the AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award (2007) and the ALD Innovation Award (2019). Erwin serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology and has held visiting professorships at Ruhr University Bochum and the National University of Singapore. He is also the driving force behind the AtomicLimits.com blog and the founder of the
ALD Academy.
In his famous 1959 lecture “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Richard Feynman envisioned extraordinary progress through miniaturization. For decades, this vision guided the semiconductor industry under Moore’s Law. Today, much of that “room” has been used, and continued progress depends on controlling matter with atomic precision. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography now defines the limits of device scaling, while atomic-scale processing provides the complementary capability to shape and build materials atom by atom and to construct the complex three-dimensional structures needed for next generation devices. This talk will highlight recent advances in atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomic layer etching (ALE), and area-selective deposition (ASD) with a particular focus on the use of these methods for processing 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides such as MoS₂, WS₂, and related compounds. With these atomically thin inorganic materials, the remaining “room at the bottom” is used to full advantage, enabling logic and memory devices in the Ångström era and advancing Feynman’s vision of Future Chips.
Erwin Kessel obtained his M. Sc. and Ph. D. degrees in Applied Physics from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 1996 and 2000, respectively. He is currently a professor at TU/e, where his research focuses on the synthesis of ultrathin films and nanostructures using techniques such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), atomic layer etching (ALE), and area-selective deposition (ASD). His most notable contributions include pioneering work on plasma-enhanced ALD, advancements in ALD for semiconductor technology and photovoltaics, ALD for nanopatterning, and in-situ spectroscopic studies of ALD and ALE. His achievements have been recognized with several awards, including the AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award (2007) and the ALD Innovation Award (2019). Erwin serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology and has held visiting professorships at Ruhr University Bochum and the National University of Singapore. He is also the driving force behind the AtomicLimits.com blog and the founder of the
ALD Academy.
