Semiconductors and tiny microchips form the backbone of modern technology. Used everywhere from smartphones to TV remotes, semiconductors have battled a severe global famine during the pandemic. This has caused production difficulties for many industries and has led to higher prices for electronic devices. Fortunately, the chip shortage is now over. And researchers are already working on new ways to improve this technology.It can revolutionize
Finally, researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have developed a new microchip that uses two-dimensional (2D) materials to improve its performance. It should be noted that 2D materials are incredibly thin, while some are only a single atom thick. This makes them very strong and light. However, 2D materials make the critical difference with their unique electrical and optical properties.
However, integrating 2D materials into electronic devices has not been possible due to their fragility and the difficulty of producing them on a large scale. The KAUST team reported that they have overcome these challenges by developing a new method for transferring 2D materials to microchips. Researchers who made a statement on the subject describe their work as follows:“Our motivation was primarily to increase the technology readiness of 2D materials-based electronic devices and circuits using traditional silicon-based CMOS microcircuits and standard semiconductor fabrication techniques. The challenge, however, is that synthetic 2D materials can contain local defects such as atomic impurities that can cause small devices to fail. Also, it’s very difficult to integrate 2D material without damaging the microchip.”
Potential use from wearables to security systems
The team fabricated the 2D material – hexagonal boron nitride or h-BN – on copper foil and transferred it to the microchip using a low-temperature wet process. Electrodes were then formed by conventional vacuum evaporation and photolithography. The team was thus able to fabricate a 5×5 array of transistor/a memristor cells coupled to a crossbar matrix. It is stated that the properties of 2D h-BN, which is only 18 atoms or 6 nanometers thick, make it an ideal memristor.
The team is now working to improve the performance and scalability of the microchips. New applications for this technology are also being explored. The KAUST team believes the microchips could be used in a variety of applications, including wearables, flexible displays, artificial intelligence chips, medical devices, energy harvesting sensors and security systems. However, let’s underline that there is a long time ahead for these developments.
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