Faculty
Eric Pop
Assistant Professor
2258 Micro and Nanotechnology Lab
208 N. Wright Street
Urbana, Illinois 61801
(217) 244-2070
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2005
Research Statement:
Our group's work is broadly motivated by power dissipation challenges in integrated circuits. We take a "bottom-up" approach to this issue, looking at electrical and thermal transport in nanometer-scale devices, interconnects, and nanoscale material interfaces. Carbon nanotubes and graphene are particularly interesting because they benefit from both very high electrical and thermal conductivity. Another aspect of our work is understanding and engineering power dissipation at the device level, to produce very low-energy transistors and memory devices. Finally, while in the "nano" realm, we also study the interesting properties of low-dimensional (0-, 1- or 2-D) devices and interfaces, and their applications. Our work is both computational and experimental, benefiting from the nanotube CVD system, cleanroom, and characterization facilities in the Micro and Nanotechnology Lab (MNTL), our own in-house modeling codes, and collaborations with Beckman Institute computational groups.
Research Interests:
- Nanoscale energy transport
- Power and thermal challenges in integrated circuits
- Carbon nanotubes and graphene for electronic and thermal applications
- Solid-state memory, especially based on phase-change materials
- Multi-scale simulation, from analytic models to Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics
- Characterization of devices and material interfaces
- Inverse problems
Undergraduate Research Opportunities:
Typical undergraduate projects in the Pop Lab can be grouped into three areas: (1) Nanoscale measurements and characterization, (2) Setting up and maintaining lab hardware interfaces, (3) Computer modeling and simulation.
For more information:
Pop Lab website: poplab.ece.illinois.edu
Honors, Recognition, and Outstanding Achievements for Teaching
- List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent (2009)
Honors, Recognition, and Outstanding Achievements for Research
- AFOSR Young Investigator Program (YIP), 2009
- DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA), 2008
- Arnold O. Beckman Research Award, 2007
- SRC Graduate Fellowship, 2001-2004
Journal Articles
- P. Martin, Z. Aksamija, E. Pop, U. Ravaioli, “Impact of Phonon-Surface Roughness Scattering on Thermal Conductivity of Thin Si Nanowires,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 125503, 2009. Selected as Editor's Suggestion in Phys. Rev. Lett. Selected for Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology April 13, 2009 issue.
- A. Liao, Y. Zhao, E. Pop, “Avalanche-Induced Current Enhancement in Semiconducting Single- Walled Carbon Nanotubes,” Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 101, p. 256804, 2008. Selected for Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology Jan 5, 2009.
- S. Verma, E. Pop, P. Kapur, K. Parat and K. Saraswat, "Operational Voltage Reduction of Flash Memory Using High-K Composite Tunnel Barriers," IEEE Electron Device Letters vol. 29, p. 252, 2008.
- E. Pop, D. Mann, K. Goodson and H. Dai, "Electrical and Thermal Transport in Metallic Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes on Insulating Substrates," Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 101, p. 093710, 2007. Selected for Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology May 28, 2007.
- E. Pop, S. Sinha, K. E. Goodson, "Heat Generation and Transport in Nanometer-Scale Transistors," Proceedings of IEEE, special On-Chip Thermal Engineering issue, vol. 94, p. 1587, 2006.
- E. Pop, D. Mann, J. Cao, Q. Wang, K. E. Goodson and H. Dai, "Negative Differential Conductance and Hot Phonons in Suspended Nanotube Molecular Wires," Physical Review Letters, vol. 95, p. 155505, 2005. Selected for Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology Oct 17, 2005.