Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021 - 20

Electrical/Electronics
Method Integrates Elements of Electronic Filters onto a
Single Component
This component takes up ten times less space on computer chips.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign
lectronic filters are part of the inner
workings of phones and other wireless
devices. They eliminate or enhance
specific input signals to achieve the
desired output signals; however, they
take up space on chips. Researchers
have integrated the individual elements
that make up electronic filters onto a
single component, significantly reducing
the amount of space taken up by
the device.
E
The conventional 2D on-chip lumped
or distributed filter network design -
composed of separate inductors and
capacitors - was replaced by a single,
space-saving, 3D rolled membrane that
contains both independently designed
elements. The team used a specialized
etching and lithography process to pattern
2D circuitry onto very thin membranes.
In the circuit, they joined the
capacitors and inductors together and
with ground or signal lines, all in a single
plane. The multilayer membrane can
then be rolled into a thin tube and
placed onto a chip.
The patterns, or masks, used to form
the circuitry on the 2D membrane layers
can be tuned to achieve whatever kind
of electrical interactions are necessary
for a particular device. The team tested
the performance of the rolled compoE-Beam
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H 57.03
Electron microscope image of an array of new chip components that integrate the inductors (blue)
and capacitors (yellow) needed to make the electronic signal filters in phones and other wireless
devices. (Image courtesy of Xiuling Li)
nents and found that under the current
design, the filters were suitable for applications
in the 1- to 10-gigahertz frequency
range. While the designs are targeted
for use in radio frequency communications
systems, the team believes that
other frequencies, including in the
megahertz range, are also possible based
One-Atom-Thin 2D Magnet
The ultrathin magnet could advance new applications in computing and electronics.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
he development of an ultrathin magnet
that operates at room temperature
could lead to new applications in
computing and electronics - such as
high-density, compact spintronic memory
devices - and new tools for the study of
quantum physics.
T
The magnetic component of today's
memory devices is typically made of
magnetic thin films. But at the atomic
20
Cov
level, these materials are still threedimensional
- hundreds or thousands
of atoms thick. For decades, researchers
have searched for ways to make thinner
and smaller 2D magnets and thus
enable data to be stored at a much higher
density. Previous achievements in the
field of 2D magnetic materials have
brought promising results. But these
early 2D magnets lose their magnetism
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ToC
and become chemically unstable at
room temperature.
State-of-the-art 2D magnets need very
low temperatures to function but for
practical reasons, a data center, for example,
needs to run at room temperature.
The new 2D magnet reaches the true 2D
limit - it is as thin as a single atom.
The researchers synthesized the new
2D magnet - called a cobalt-doped van
Tech Briefs, October 2021
on their ability to achieve high power
inductors in past research.
The team worked with several simple
filter designs but theoretically can make
any filter network combination using
the same process steps.
For more information, contact Xiuling Li
at xiuling@illinois.edu; 217-265-6354.

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Tech Briefs Magazine - October 2021

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