Researchers Create One-Atom Layer Silicon Transistors

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering have created the first transistors from silicene, the world’s thinnest silicon material. This technological advance, according to researchers, holds promise of creating faster, smaller and more efficient computer chips.

The project was headed by Deji Akinwande, assistant professor at the engineering school. His research team investigated ways to create human-made silicene by referencing carbon-based graphene and other atom-thick material. With this discovery, the team was able to create a honeycomb lattice structure that was one atom thick for the transistors.

“Apart from introducing a new player in the playground of 2D materials, silicene, with its close chemical affinity to silicon, suggests an opportunity in the road map of the semiconductor industry,” Akinwande said. “The major breakthrough here is the efficient low-temperature manufacturing and fabrication of silicene devices for the first time.”

Akinwande will continue to research new structures and methods for creating silicene and its applications.

The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

For more information, visit the University of Texas at Austin.

Sources: Press materials received from the university and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.