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Subvolt transistors With redox gating to more energy-efficient microelectronics

A guest post by Henning Wriedt | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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Scientists at the Argonne Research Center have developed a novel approach called redox gating to control charge transport in semiconductors. It offers potential for functional semiconductor heterostructures and low-dimensional quantum materials for use in electronic devices.

Image 1: Illustration of redox gating for charge carrier manipulation and control of electronic states through electric fields. The green threads represent functional molecules for redox gating and the ability to operate at low power. This mimics synaptic switching in the human brain, as represented by the underlying synapse.(Image: Argonne National Laboratory)
Image 1: Illustration of redox gating for charge carrier manipulation and control of electronic states through electric fields. The green threads represent functional molecules for redox gating and the ability to operate at low power. This mimics synaptic switching in the human brain, as represented by the underlying synapse.
(Image: Argonne National Laboratory)

*Henning Wriedt is a freelance specialist author.

Microelectronics faces a major challenge due to its small size. To avoid overheating, it can only consume a fraction of the power of conventional electronics yet must still operate at peak performance.

Researchers from the U.S.-based Argonne National Laboratory have made a breakthrough that could enable a novel semiconductor material to achieve just that. In a new study published in the journal "Advanced Materials", the Argonne team proposes a new kind of "redox gating" technique that can control the movement of electrons in and out of a semiconductor material.

The term "redox" refers to the non-ionic reaction that causes a transfer of electrons. Microelectronic devices normally rely on an electrical "field effect" to control the flow of electrons.

In the experiment, the scientists designed a circuit that could regulate the flow of electrons from one end to the other by applying a voltage to a material that acted as a kind of electron gate. When the voltage reaches a certain threshold, about half a volt, electrons from a redox source are injected through the gate into a conduction channel.

By using the voltage to change the flow of electrons, the semiconducting component acts like a transistor, switching between more conductive and more insulating states.

"The new redox gating strategy allows us to significantly modulate the flow of electrons even at low voltages, which leads to much higher power efficiency," explains material scientist Dillon Fong. "This also prevents damage to the system. We see that these materials can be operated repeatedly without loss of performance."

Circuits that behave like synapses

"The subvolt range in which this material operates is of tremendous interest to researchers looking for circuits that behave similarly to the human brain, which also operates with great energy efficiency," adds materials scientist Wei Chen.

The redox gating phenomenon could also be useful for developing new quantum materials whose phases can be manipulated with low energy effort, says physicist Hua Zhou. In addition, the redox gating technique could also be used for versatile functional semiconductors and tiny quantum materials made from sustainable elements.

Characterization of the redox gating behavior was aided by work at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne, a facility of the DOE Office of Science. In addition, the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne, also a facility of the DOE Office of Science, was used for material synthesis, device fabrication, and electrical measurements of the components. (kr)

Argonne Center for Nanoscale Materials (National Lab)

The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs). They are leading national facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale, supported by the DOE Office of Science.

Together, the NSRCs form a series of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities for fabrication, processing, characterization, and modeling of nanoscale materials, representing the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at the DOE national laboratories Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia, and Los Alamos.

The Argonne National Laboratory is seeking solutions to urgent national problems in science and technology. As the country's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts basic scientific research and high-level applied research in virtually all scientific disciplines.

Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state, and local agencies to help them solve their specific problems, promote America's scientific leadership, and prepare the nation for a better future, with employees from more than 60 nations.

Link: Original publication in Advanced Materials "Redox Gating for Colossal Carrier Modulation and Unique Phase Control"

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