Micro in circuit: technology for manufacturing components of ultra-compact chips has been created in the Russian Federation

Russian scientists have proposed the country's first technology for manufacturing the main components of processors — transistors — from molybdenum disulfide. They can replace silicon electronics that have reached the limit of compactness and performance. Alternative devices will be at least three times more compact than even the smallest of the available analogues, as well as hundreds of times more energy efficient. Experts note that the technology opens up prospects for the creation of fundamentally new computing systems, but its practical value will depend on the confirmation of the claimed characteristics and the possibility of industrial implementation.

Molybdenum transistors

MIPT specialists were the first in Russia to propose a method for creating transistors from molybdenum disulfide, which can be introduced into industrial production. This material will be able to replace silicon currently used in electronics, whose chips have reached the limit of compactness, and it is impossible to further reduce their size even theoretically. A molybdenum transistor will be at least three times smaller than its silicon counterpart and several hundred times more energy efficient. At the same time, devices made from it are compatible with classical computing systems.

— Molybdenum disulfide makes it possible to overcome silicon's thickness limitations from about 2 nanometers to 0.65, and the gain in energy efficiency can be hundreds of times. Due to this, chips made of a new material can, for example, reduce unwanted heating of devices by orders of magnitude," said Ilya Zavidovsky, senior researcher at the Center for Photonics and Two—dimensional Materials at MIPT.

Today, silicon remains the main material for the production of electronic component base. However, the possibilities of its further miniaturization are almost exhausted: as the transistor sizes decrease, quantum effects begin to appear, current leakage and heat dissipation increase, which limits further productivity growth. Experts around the world are researching new materials in search of alternatives. Molybdenum disulfide, a two—dimensional semiconductor with a thickness of only a few atoms, is considered one of the most promising. Laboratory research in this area is actively underway in the United States and Europe, and in China at the beginning of the year they announced the launch of the first experimental production line for processors based on this material.

Defect for Defect's Sake: Ideal Material Found for Gadgets and Auto Electronics Chips

How nickel ferrite will help create chips for non-volatile devices

"Two—dimensional materials have long promised a revolution in microelectronics, but there are a number of technological challenges between the laboratory and actual production. One of them is how to connect a metal electrode to an atom—thick material without destroying it. Our work provides a concrete answer to this question," said Roman Romanov, senior researcher at the MIPT Atomic Layer Deposition Laboratory.

The molybdenum disulfide-based structure provides perfect electrostatic control and suppresses leakage currents. However, its practical application has long been hampered by one of the key technological problems: during vacuum spraying of metal electrodes, the fragile structure of the material is damaged. Metal atoms knock sulfur atoms off the surface, forming defects and disrupting electrical contact.

MIPT scientists have proposed a solution to this problem. They formed an ultrathin insulating layer of titanium dioxide with a thickness of only a few atoms between the electrode and the semiconductor using the atomic layer deposition method.

Implementation in practice

This approach is universal and applicable to a whole class of other two—dimensional materials - tungsten disulfide, molybdenum selenides and tungsten. It can be implemented in real production facilities without radical restructuring of processes, since atomic layer deposition has long been mastered by industry. In the future, the technology will make it possible to create transistors more compact than the most advanced modern silicon analogues, as well as flexible and transparent electronic devices, experts said.

According to Evgeny Vishnevsky, NTI expert on new materials and technologies, two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide can bypass the silicon limit. They are several atoms thick, but they retain good semiconductor properties and provide reliable electrostatic control.

— Chips based on such materials open up several important possibilities. Firstly, they make transistors much more compact than the most advanced silicon counterparts, which directly leads to more dense and productive electronics. Secondly, it is the path to flexible and transparent electronics, that is, to wearable devices, flexible displays, sensors integrated into clothing or even skin, and other solutions that are difficult or impossible to implement on silicon. Thirdly, such structures can reduce energy consumption, which is critical for mobile devices, the Internet of Things and data centers," he said.

The expert stressed that atomic layer deposition is already used in production, and the method itself with a tunnel buffer made of titanium dioxide can be adapted to other two-dimensional materials. This means that development has a real chance to move from scientific articles to commercial products, especially in segments where miniaturization, flexibility, and low power consumption are important.

According to Nikolai Shelepin, head of the Microelectronics research department at the Institute of Nanotechnology and Microelectronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it makes sense to put the technology into practice if the advantages of transistors made of a new material outweigh the difficulties of such a transition.