Researchers at the University of Michigan have made a breakthrough in ferroelectric semiconductors by reducing their thickness to just 5 nanometers, equivalent to 50 atoms. This advancement opens opportunities to integrate ferroelectric technology with traditional computer components and enhance AI and sensing abilities.
Additionally, it could lead to the development of batteryless devices vital for the Internet of Things (IoT) and its various applications, such as smart homes, industrial system monitoring, and safety alerts. An editor's pick, the Applied Physics Letters study, was deemed noteworthy. According to Zetian Mi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan and co-author of the study, the breakthrough will lead to the creation of highly efficient, low-power integrated devices using conventional semiconductors.
Ferroelectric Semiconductors
This is significant for the future of AI and IoT technology. Ferroelectric semiconductors differentiate themselves from other types by maintaining an electrical polarization similar to an electric magnet. This property can be used for various purposes, including detecting light and acoustic vibrations and even harnessing them as a source of energy, as per TechXplore.
Mi stated that these ferroelectric devices have the potential to be self-powered, as they can harness ambient energy, which is a thrilling possibility. These devices offer a unique approach to storing and processing classical and quantum information, as the two electrical polarization states can be used as binary and zeros in computing. This computing method can also imitate the connections between neurons, providing memory storage and information processing like the brain. This type of architecture, known as neuromorphic computing, is ideal for supporting AI algorithms that process information through neural networks.
Storing energy as electrical polarization requires less energy than RAM capacitors, which must be powered constantly or risk losing data. It is also expected to be more durable than SSDs. This kind of memory could be more densely packed, thereby increasing its capacity and resisting harsh conditions, such as high temperatures, humidity, and radiation. Mi's team had previously demonstrated the ferroelectric behavior in a semiconductor made of aluminum nitride and scandium.
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Achieving 10 Nanometers
However, to make it usable in modern computing devices, the thickness of the films needed to be reduced to less than 10 nanometers, or roughly the thickness of 100 atoms. The researchers achieved this thickness reduction using the molecular beam epitaxy technique, the same method used to create the semiconductor crystals that power CD and DVD player lasers. By precisely controlling each layer of atoms in the ferroelectric semiconductor and minimizing surface atom loss, they could produce a 5-nanometer-thick crystal - the smallest scale ever achieved.
Wang, the first author of the study and a research scientist in electrical and computer engineering, stated that the reduction in thickness also increases the possibility of reducing the operating voltage, thus decreasing device size and power consumption during operation, as mentioned in their analysis.
Moreover, nanoscale manufacturing enhances the researchers' ability to examine the material's fundamental properties, explore its performance limits at small sizes, and potentially pave the way for its utilization in quantum technologies due to its unique optical and acoustic characteristics. Ping Wang, a research scientist in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan, stated that the thinness allows for deeper exploration of the microscopic physics interactions, which will aid in developing future quantum systems and devices.
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