Designed view of the molecular junction of a single-walled nanotube with metal segments at the left and right ends and an ultrashort ~3.0 nm semiconductor channel between them. Credit: National University of Science and Technology, Moscow
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An international research team has used a unique instrument inserted into an electron microscope to make a transistor 25,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
The research, published in Science, involved researchers from Japan, China, Russia and Australia working on a project that began five years ago.
Professor Dmitriy Golberg, co-director of the QUT Center for Materials Science, who led the research project, said the result was a “very exciting fundamental discovery” that could pave the way for the future development of small transistors for future generations of advanced computing. device.
Professor Dmitriy Golberg led a team that used a unique instrument inserted into an electron microscope to make transistors 25,000 smaller than the width of a human hair. Credit: QUT
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“In this work, we have shown that it is possible to control the electronic properties of single carbon nanotubes,” said Professor Golberg.
The researchers created the tiny transistors by simultaneously applying power and low voltage, heating the carbon nanotubes consisting of several layers until the outer tube casing separated, leaving a single layer nanotube.
Then heat and strain alter the nanotube “entanglement,” meaning a rearrangement of patterns in which carbon atoms join together to form single atomic layers of the nanotube walls.
The result of the new structure linking carbon atoms is that the nanotubes are turned into transistors.
Team member Professor Golberg of the National University of Science and Technology in Moscow has created a theory that explains the observed changes in atomic structure and properties in transistors.
Lead author Dr Dai-Ming Tang, from the International Center for Architectural Nanomaterials in Japan, said the research demonstrated the ability to manipulate the molecular properties of nanotubes to create nanoelectric devices.
Dr. Tang started working on the project five years ago when Professor Gulberg led the research group at the center.
“Seconductor carbon nanotubes hold promise for making energy-efficient nanotransistors for building microprocessors that go beyond silicon,” said Dr. pliers.
However, the anisotropy of individual carbon nanotubes, which uniquely determines atomic geometry and electronic structure, remains difficult to control.
“In this work, we design and fabricate an intramolecular carbon nanotube transistor by altering the local contrast of metal nanotube segments by heating and mechanical stress.”
Professor Golberg said research demonstrating the basic science of creating tiny transistors was a promising step towards building microprocessors that went beyond silicon.
Transistors, which are used to switch and amplify electronic signals, are often called the “building blocks” of all electronic devices, including computers. For example, Apple says the chip that powers future iPhones contains 15 billion transistors.
The computer industry has focused on developing smaller and smaller transistors for decades, but faces the limitations of silicon.
In recent years, researchers have taken an important step in developing nanoscale transistors, which are so small that millions of them can fit into pin heads.
“Reducing transistors to the nanometer scale presents a major challenge for the modern semiconductor and nanotechnology industry,” said Professor Golberg.
“The present invention, although impractical for mass production of small transistors, demonstrates new fabrication principles and opens new horizons for the use of thermomechanical treatment of nanotubes to obtain the smallest transistors with the desired properties.”
Referensi: “Semiconductor nanochannels dalam metallic carbon nanotubes by thermomechanical change” oleh Dai-Ming Tang, Sergey V. Eruhen, Dmitriy J. Kvashnin, Victor A. Chen, Don N. Futaba, Yongjia Zheng, Rong Xiang, Xin Zhou, Feng- Chun Hsia, Naoyuki Kawamoto, Masanori Mitome, Yoshihiro Nemoto, Fumihiko Uesugi, Masaki Takeguchi, Shigeo Maruyama, Hui-Ming Cheng, Yoshio Bando, Lishiu Bando, Pavel B Sorokin dan Dmitriy Golberg, 23 Des 2021 Tersedia di sini. science.
DOI: 10.1126 / science.abi8884
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