Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough in semiconductor technology by creating the world’s first functioning graphene-based semiconductor. Unlike conventional semiconductors made from silicon, this new material, made from epitaxial graphene bonded to silicon carbide, offers greater electron mobility and less resistance. According to a study published in the journal Nature, transistors made from this material can operate at terahertz frequencies, which is ten times faster than the silicon-based transistors currently used in chips.
Silicon has been the go-to material for semiconductors, but it is reaching its limits in terms of speed, heat generation, and miniaturization. Lead researcher Walt de Heer from the Georgia Institute of Technology explains that the rapid advancements in computing are starting to slow down as a result. Enter graphene, a hexagonal lattice of tightly bound carbon atoms that boasts better conductivity than silicon. However, its lack of a “band gap” has prevented its application in electronics, essentially limiting its potential in transistors.
To overcome this challenge, the researchers fused graphene onto silicon carbide using a specialized heating and cooling process, which allowed them to create a functional graphene semiconductor with a band gap. The unique quality of this graphene-based semiconductor opens up possibilities for faster PCs and quantum computers in the future. The researchers suggest that, due to its quantum mechanical wave-like properties, particularly at low temperatures, graphene-based semiconductors have the potential to be used in quantum computing.
While the researchers acknowledge that further research is needed to determine whether graphene-based semiconductors can outperform current superconducting technology, the fact that this new material can be integrated into existing manufacturing processes is a significant step forward. The transition from silicon wafers to silicon carbide wafers used in epitaxial graphene is considered feasible. This breakthrough brings new hope for the continued advancement of computing technology, offering the potential for faster PCs and the development of more powerful quantum computers.
The source of the article is from the blog trebujena.net