Penn State University scientists have unveiled the world’s first silicon-free, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) computer made of 2D materials that could usher in faster, thinner, and more energy-efficient microelectronics.
A Silicon-Less Computer
Silicon has been the backbone of the semiconductor industry for decades now, but it is slowly reaching its limits as the industry transitions from the nano to the pico; any miniaturization beyond a certain threshold would render the metalloid’s properties obsolete.
Which is why Penn State’s 2D material-computer — composed of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2) that create the n-type and p-type transistors vital to CMOS circuits — presents a key milestone at the right juncture for next-gen microelectronics.
Faster, Thinner, and Better
Silicon shrinks as its electronic properties degrade, affecting the flow of current in a device. This causes performance lags and higher energy consumption. Penn State’s 2D materials, on the other hand, face no such issues as they’re just an atom thick. They can maintain their exceptional electronic properties no matter how small a transistor is made.
According to the scientists led by Prof. Saptarshi Das, scaling these materials without diminishing their electronic qualities could pave the way for ultra-thin, high-performance devices.
A Milestone for 2D Microelectronics
Das’ team used the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process to grow large sheets of MoS2 and WSe2. This allowed them to fabricate more than 1,000 individual n- and p-type transistors, proving that these 2D materials could be scaled for complex, large-scale applications.
Currently, the 2D computer’s operating frequency is 25 kilohertz — slower than conventional silicon-based computers — but the scientists say this is a work in progress. and by tweaking the threshold voltages of both the n-type and p-type transistors, they could lower the power consumption and increase the computer’s performance characteristics.
Image credit: Krishnendu Mukhopadhyay/Penn State