Following a laboratory experiment, a research team led by a professor of physics at University of California, Berkeley has developed a new technique to create tiny materials for next-generation electronics. The technique involves fabricating minute ultrathin materials for electronics such as low-power memory circuits.
Carrying out the experiment at the nanofabrication facility at the Molecular Foundry, the research team prepared two different 2-D devices. The first device involved placing graphene between two sheets of boron nitride, and the second by sandwiching graphene between molybdenum disulfide.
Research validates materials for two 2-D devices
Meanwhile, on application of a fine electron beam to the boron nitride sandwiches, nanoscale conducting channels can be written, demonstrate the researchers. Alternately, this implies to write nanocircuits into the basic ‘active’ layer by checking the exposure of intensity of electron beam, while properly checking a back-gate electric field.
The nanocircuits when written into molybdenum disulfide or graphene layer, allow high densities of electrons called holes, to gather and traverse through the semiconductor along narrow predetermined paths. The electrons move at ultrahigh speeds with few collisions, akin to a car racing on a freeway with very less space between each other and without crashing or stalling.
Also, reapplying of the electron beam with a special back-gate to the 2-D materials can wipe out nanocircuits that have already been written, found the researchers. This suggests the technique has a great potential for 2-D reconfigurable electronics.
The conducting states of the material and ultrahigh electronic mobility continues even after the back-gate and electron beam have been removed, further demonstrated the researchers. The finding is critical to many applications. This includes nonvolatile memory energy-efficient devices that do not require continuous power to retain data, stated lead author of the study.