Scientists have used a two-dimensional material just one atom thick to create a simple computer for the first time, a step toward thinner, faster, more energy-efficient electronics.
Today , silicon semiconductors are the basis for all electronic devices. Meanwhile, scientists from Pennsylvania State University have described the world's first experiment in which a two-dimensional (only 1 atom thick) material was used to build a computer capable of performing simple calculations.
According to the researchers, this achievement is an important step towards thinner, faster and less energy-consuming electronics.
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The researchers based their circuit on CMOS technology, the basis of almost every modern electronic device. However, they didn’t use silicon. Instead , they used two different two-dimensional materials to develop both types of transistors necessary to control the flow of electric current in CMOS circuits – they used molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide for the transistors.
“Silicon has driven extraordinary progress in electronics for decades, enabling the continuous miniaturization of field-effect transistors,” notes Prof. Saptarshi Das, author of the study described in the journal Nature.
“But as silicon devices get smaller, their performance starts to suffer. Meanwhile, two-dimensional materials retain their unique electronic properties even at a thickness of one atom, making them a promising avenue for development.”
Previous research had already indicated the possibility of creating small systems based on two-dimensional materials, but scaling them up to complex, functional computers remained elusive.
“This is the breakthrough of our work. For the first time, we have demonstrated a CMOS computer built entirely from 2D materials, combining molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide transistors fabricated on large surfaces,” the expert explains.
The team used what’s known as metalorganic vapor deposition, a manufacturing process that involves vaporizing components, triggering a chemical reaction, and depositing the products on a substrate. This produced large sheets of molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide, and more than a thousand transistors of each of the two basic types.
“Our 2D-material CMOS computer operates at low supply voltages, consumes minimal power, and can perform simple logic operations at frequencies up to 25 kilohertz,” says one of the researchers, Subir Ghosh.
“We also developed a computational model, calibrated against experimental data and taking into account differences between individual devices. This allowed us to estimate the performance of our 2D CMOS computer and compare it with state-of-the-art silicon technology. Although there is still room for further optimization, our work represents a significant step forward in the use of 2D materials for electronics development,” he added.
The researchers note that further work is needed to develop the approach based on 2D CMOS computers if it is to find wider application, while emphasizing that the field is developing exceptionally quickly compared to silicon technology.
“Silicon technology has been around for about 80 years, but 2D research is relatively new – it really only started around 2010,” says Prof. Das. “We expect the development of 2D computers to be gradual as well, but what we’ve achieved is a big leap forward compared to the pace of silicon technology.”
Marek Matacz (PAP)
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