Researchers from the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems (TICNN) at Tianjin University have achieved significant progress in the field of semiconducting graphene. Led by Prof. Ma Lei, the team successfully addressed the long-standing key technical challenge of opening the bandgap in graphene, which has hindered the development of graphene electronics. This breakthrough is considered a significant milestone in paving the way for graphene chip manufacturing. The achievement was published online on the website of the journal "Nature" on January 3, 2024.
Due to the zero-bandgap structure of intrinsic graphene, its potential application in logic devices is constrained. Over the past two decades, strategies to open the band gap in graphene have encompassed a variety of external intervention methods. However, these approaches face significant challenges at the technical execution level.
By precisely controlling the epitaxial growth process of graphene, Professor Ma's team introduced a bandgap into graphene, creating a new type of stable semiconductor graphene, which exhibits electron mobility far exceeding that of silicon materials. It displays performance 10 times higher than silicon and 20 times larger than that of the other two-dimensional semiconductors.
As Prof. Ma introduced, the team made three technological innovations in creating the semiconductor graphene. Firstly, they use an innovative quasi-equilibrium annealing method to produce large single-crystal semiconductor epitaxial graphene (SEG) that boasts large growth area, high uniformity, simple process, and low costs. It filled the gaps of traditional production processes. Secondly, the electrical transport performance of semiconducting graphene, prepared by the method described above, exceeds that of all current two-dimensional crystals by at least an order of magnitude. Thirdly, the field-effect transistor switches prepared with this semiconductor epitaxial graphene basically meet the current industrial application requirements.
The development of this semiconductor not only paves the way for high-performance electronic devices surpassing traditional silicon-based technologies but also injects new impetus into the entire semiconductor industry. As the limits predicted by Moore's Law draw closer, the emergence of semiconductor graphene heralds a fundamental shift in the field of electronics. Its breakthrough properties meet the growing demand for higher computing speeds and miniaturized integrated electronic devices.
It’s learned that the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems (TICNN) at Tianjin University was established in July, 2018, with Prof. Ma Lei as its executive director. The center aims to create an international academic innovation environment and establish a world-class international research platform in the fields of graphene electronics and cluster physics.
Paper link:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06811-0
By Eva Yin
