Researchers in a new project report that 2D transistors made from bismuth are less brittle and more flexible than those made from traditional silicon. (Image credit: mailsonpignata/500px via Getty Images)
Scientists in China claim to have created a new silicon-free transistor that can dramatically improve performance while reducing power consumption. The team says the discovery opens up a new direction in transistor research.
The researchers claim that this new transistor could be built into chips that could in future be 40% faster than the best silicon processors currently available from US companies such as Intel, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports.
Despite this significant increase in performance, the researchers claim that such chips will also consume 10% less energy. The scientists presented their results in a new study published February 13 in the journal Nature.
Lead author of the study Hailin Peng, a professor of chemistry at Peking University (PKU), told SCMP: “If chip innovation based on known materials can be considered a 'shortcut', then our development of transistors based on 2D materials is a 'lane change'.”
New type of transistor without silicon
The scientists say the increased efficiency and performance are due to the chip’s unique architecture, specifically a new 2D silicon-free transistor they created called a gate-encompassing-all-source field-effect transistor (GAAFET). Unlike previous advanced transistor designs, such as the fin field-effect transistor (FinFET), the GAAFET encircles the source with its gate on all four sides, rather than just three.
At its most basic level, a transistor is a semiconductor device found in every computer chip. Each transistor consists of a source, gate, and drain that allow the transistor to function as a switch.
The gate regulates the flow of current between the source and drain terminals and can act as a switch and amplifier. Wrapping this gate completely around the source (or sources, since some transistors have several) – instead of three, as in traditional transistors – leads to potential improvements in both performance and efficiency.
This is because a fully wrapped source provides better electrostatic control (since energy losses due to static discharges are lower) as well as the possibility of higher drive currents and faster switching times.
While the GAAFET architecture itself is not new, what is new is the PKU group's use of bismuth oxyselenide as a semiconductor, and the fact that they used it to create an “atomically thin” 2D transistor.
The scientists also noted in the study that 2D bismuth transistors are less brittle and more flexible than traditional silicon ones. Bismuth exhibits better carrier mobility — the speed at which electrons can move through it under the influence of an electric field. It also has a high permittivity — a measure of a material’s ability to store electrical energy — which helps improve the transistor’s efficiency.
If the transistor is integrated into a chip that is faster than chips made in the U.S. by Intel and others, it could also give China an opportunity to bypass current restrictions on purchasing advanced chips and take advantage of U.S. chip manufacturing capabilities by switching to an entirely new manufacturing process.
TOPICS China
Sourse: www.livescience.com
