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Future generations of chips are much faster and more efficient. (Photo: Yuichiro Chino) |
“All current electronics use chips made from silicon, a three-dimensional material,” said Shoaib Khalid, a physicist at the Princeton Plasma Research Laboratory. “Now, many companies are investing heavily in chips made from two-dimensional (2D) materials.”
This 2D material, called a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD), can be just a few atoms thick. Computer chips made from this ultra-thin semiconductor could enable the development of smaller, faster devices by packing more processing power into a smaller surface area.
In a study published in the journal 2D Materials, Khalid’s team looked at whether using TMDs instead of silicon might be the answer to the notion that silicon-based chip innovation may have reached its peak. The thinnest TMDs are just three atoms thick and are arranged like a sandwich. The scientists looked at whether they could exploit tiny, atom-sized defects in slightly thicker TMDs.
While most of the atoms in TMDs are arranged in an orderly fashion, occasionally an atom will be missing or tucked away somewhere it doesn’t belong. However, defects aren’t necessarily a bad thing, scientists say. For example, some defects make TMDs better conductors of electricity.
To harness the positive effects of defects and minimize any negative consequences, scientists need to understand how defects arise and how they affect the performance of materials. In the study, Khalid’s team identified which types of defects form most readily in TMDs and studied how those defects shape the material’s properties.
Understanding how these defects affect TMD performance could help researchers create next-generation computer chips, the scientists say. While TMD chips aren’t yet ready for the market, companies are exploring ultrathin TMD chips to tackle power-hungry AI operations.
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