Using 2-D Materials to Build Tiny High-Performance Transistors

(ETH Zurich, August 10, 2020)

Due to the increasing challenges associated with the miniaturization of electronic components, it is widely believed that Moore’s scaling law will reach its limits in the near future, which means that the currently manufactured silicon-based transistors (Si FinFETs) will no longer be able to be made arbitrarily smaller, due to quantum effects. However, a research group led by ETH Professor Mathieu Luisier and EPFL Professor Nicola Marzari recently suggested that this problem could be overcome with new two-dimensional materials, after having simulated the 100 most promising contenders that were identified in a previous theoretical study by Marzari and his team in 2018. Following their evaluations, the researchers identified 13 possible compounds with which future transistors could be built and which could also enable the continuation of Moore's scaling law.