New 2D semiconducting material could lead to faster electronics

A new kind of 2D semiconducting material for electronics could lead to faster computers and smartphones that also consume less power.

The semiconductor, made of the elements tin and oxygen, or tin monoxide (SnO), is a layer of 2D material only one atom thick, allowing electrical charges to move through it much faster than conventional 3D materials such as silicon.

The material could be used in transistors, the lifeblood of all electronic devices such as computer processors and graphics processors in desktop computers in mobile devices. The material was discovered by a team led by University of Utah materials science and engineering associate professor Ashutosh Tiwari.

Transistors and other components used in electronic devices are currently made of 3D materials such as silicon and consist of multiple layers on a glass substrate. But the downside to 3D materials is that electrons bounce around inside the layers in all directions.

The benefit of 2D materials is that the material is made of one layer the thickness of just one or two atoms. Consequently, the electrons “can only move in one layer so it’s much faster”, said Tiwari.

While researchers in this field have recently discovered new types of 2D material such as graphene, molybdenun disulfide and borophene, they have been materials that only allow the movement of N-type, or negative, electrons. In order to create an electronic device, however, you need semiconductor material that allows the movement of both negative electrons and positive charges known as ‘holes’.

The development can lead to the manufacturing of smaller and faster transistors. A computer processor comprises billions of transistors, and the more transistors packed into a single chip, the more powerful the processor can become.

Transistors made from the new semiconducting material could lead to computers and smartphones that are more than 100 times faster than regular devices, claim the researchers. Also, the processors featuring the new material will not get as hot as normal computers because the electrons move through one layer instead of bouncing around in a 3D material, which means there will be less friction. Also, they will require much less power to run, a boon for mobile electronics that have to run on battery power. Tiwari said this could be especially important for medical devices such as electronic implants that will run longer on a single battery charge.

Tiwari expects to see “at least some prototype device” in two or three years.