MIT scientists have produced a transistor that could revolutionize electronics, building on their previous discovery of an ultrathin ferroelectric material, as reported by MIT News. The new transistor showcases high-speed charge switching, durability, and energy efficiency, meeting or surpassing current industry standards.
Led by MIT physicists Pablo Jarillo-Herrero and Raymond Ashoori, the development signifies a leap from fundamental physics to potential industrial application. "This is one of the first, and perhaps most dramatic, examples of how very basic science has led to something that could have a major impact on applications," Jarillo-Herrero told MIT News. Ashoori shared similar sentiments, indicating that the work could have significant implications in the future. Despite the complexity of the new ferroelectric material's creation, not designed for mass manufacturing, and it being early in the research journey, they believe the approach has vast potential.
Remarkably, the new transistor can switch digital information between positive and negative charges within nanoseconds and withstand over 100 billion switches without degradation. The innovation is rooted in a material made from atomically thin sheets of boron nitride, unusual due to their parallel stacking—a natural occurrence in bulk boron nitride is a 180-degree rotation between layers. This distinctive configuration becomes ferroelectric at room temperature following an application of an electric field, causing one layer to slightly slide over the other.
The material's thickness—or rather, thinness—is also a key factor, allowing for lower voltage requirements in switching and the potential for denser computer memory storage. According to the team, including Kenji Yasuda, now at Cornell University, and Evan Zalys-Geller, currently with Atom Computing, "the miracle is that by sliding the two layers a few angstroms, you end up with radically different electronics," Ashoori explained to MIT News. He also mentioned that the sliding process does not wear out the material, which could eliminate the lifecycle limitations seen in conventional flash memory.
The collective effort of MIT and Harvard University researchers, in conjunction with input from Japan's National Institute for Materials Science, brought this innovation to light. The endeavor underscored the value of interdisciplinary collaborations in advancing such complex technology. While there remain challenges to surmount, like the scalability of the production process, the results have galvanized the scientific community, with independent groups already attempting to replicate the materials on a wafer-scale.
The research, which could lay the groundwork for enhanced electronic devices and storage solutions, received support from a range of institutions including the U.S. Army Research Office, the MIT/Microsystems Technology Laboratories Samsung Semiconductor Research Fund, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and others.
