In recent years, with the rapid development of global science and technology, the semiconductor chip industry has become the main competition object of countries around the world, from 12nm process technology, 7nm process technology to 3nm process technology. Mankind's pursuit of high-precision chip technology is approaching the limit step by step.
Therefore, mankind has been looking for new semiconductor raw materials that can replace silicon, and graphene has become a new research direction.
Recently, according to a document published in the world journal Nature, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States have developed the world's first functional semiconductor product made of graphene.
It is reported that the first author of the paper comes from Zhao Jian, Ji Peixuan, Li Yaqi, Li Rui and other signed authors from the research team of Tianjin University in mainland China, and the research and development of the project is led by the mainland research team, which undertakes the main research work and technical research.
Graphene semiconductors have made such a huge sensation in the secondary market, what is it, and how does graphene "carry" on semiconductors?
Although graphene has a very broad application prospect in the field of microelectronics in the future, the electronic structure of graphene has a serious impact on the role of gas molecules on its surface due to the zero-band gap characteristic of graphene, which seriously hinders the application of graphene in the semiconductor industry.
Graphene does not have a suitable band gap, so it cannot be opened and closed at a normal ratio, resulting in its direct application in the semiconductor field. Therefore, some scientists have some doubts about the feasibility of graphene application in the field of electronics, but scientists have been trying various methods to solve this problem.
As of now, this problem has finally been solved. The research team made a major breakthrough in growing graphene on silicon carbide wafers using a special furnace to produce an epitaxial graphene. It is reported that this epitaxial graphene is a monolayer that grows on the carbide crystal plane, and when it is manufactured properly, the epitaxial graphene will undergo chemical bonding related to silicon carbide and can exhibit the characteristics of semiconductors.
However, in order to be able to make a functional semiconductor transistor, a large number of other operations on the semiconductor material must be performed, but this may compromise its performance, and in order to be able to function as a viable semiconductor, the research team measures the properties of its electrons without damaging the structure of graphene.
It is reported that the scientific research team placed atoms on graphene and used doping technology to "donate" electrons to the system to see that this material can become a benign conductor. Measurements show that the mobility of this graphene semiconductor is 10 times that of silicon, and in the process, electrons move with very low resistance, which means that graphene semiconductors have faster computing power in electronics, in other words, faster performance.
In addition, graphene semiconductors are currently the only 2D semiconductors with all the necessary characteristics for nanoelectronics, and their electronic properties are better than those of other 2D semiconductors currently under development. According to members of the R&D team, epitaxial graphene could cause a paradigm shift in electronics, leading to technologies that take advantage of its unique properties. The inclusion of this material allows the use of the quantum mechanical wave properties of electrons and thus meets the needs of quantum computing.
So, what is graphene, and why can it become a revolutionary material in the field of electronics in the future?
Graphene is a two-dimensional crystalline structure formed by carbon atoms, and its name comes from the prefix of graphite and is structurally similar to graphite. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms stacked in layers, each of which forms a covalent bond with three surrounding carbon atoms. This special structure gives graphene some unique physical properties.
Graphene has become a revolutionary material in the field of electronics for several reasons:
1. High electrical conductivity: The carbon atoms in graphene only occupy a two-dimensional space, so electrons can move more freely on its surface, resulting in graphene having extremely high electrical conductivity. In fact, graphene is one of the most conductive materials known.
2. High mobility: The electrons in graphene move very fast in the crystal lattice, which means they can respond to external electric field changes at a very high speed. This makes graphene ideal for manufacturing high-speed electronic devices such as transistors.
3. High strength and flexibility: Although graphene is only one atomic layer thick, it has excellent strength and flexibility. This enables graphene to provide smaller, lighter, and more flexible designs in the fabrication of electronic devices.
4. High thermal conductivity: Graphene has an extremely high thermal conductivity and can transfer heat quickly. This is very important in electronics because it can help to dissipate the heat generated by the device, which can improve the performance and reliability of the device.
In general, graphene, as a material with unique structure and properties, has great application potential in the field of electronics. Graphene has the potential to enable revolutionary breakthroughs in electronics, flexible electronics, sensors, energy storage and conversion, and more.