ENGINEERS at the University of Utah have discovered a new kind of 2D semiconducting material, opening the door for faster computing devices that also consume less power.
The semiconductor in question is tin monoxide (SnO), a layer of material only one atom thick. Tin monoxide allows electrical charges to move through it much faster than conventional 3D materials such as silicon.
While transistors and other electronic components are currently made of 3D materials such as silicon, and consist of multiple layers on a glass substrate, these materials allow electrons to bounce around inside the layers in all directions.
2D materials like tin monoxide, only allow the electrons to move in one atomic layer, making for faster electron transport.
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.
To create an electronic device, a semiconductor material needs to allow the movement of both negative electrons and positive charges known as “holes”. Tin monoxide is the first stable P-type 2D semiconductor material ever in existence.
With both types of 2D semiconductors, the use of 2D semiconducting technology in the next generation of electronics can proceed much more quickly. Transistors can become even smaller, meaning more can be packed within a single chip for more powerful processors.
With less stray electron movement thanks to the 2D material, there will also be less friction, and so processors will be able to run cooler, and require less power.