I believe everyone has noticed that in recent years, the charging speed of mobile phones has become faster and faster, from the earliest 5 watts to the current 240 watts, which has greatly improved the convenience, which is inseparable from the progress of semiconductor materials. However, as the silicon-based chip manufacturing process continues to shrink, and when it comes to the scale of 5nm, 3nm, or even smaller, the size of silicon-based transistors approaches the physical limit, and the quantum tunneling effect leads to increasingly serious leakage and heating problems, affecting the performance and stability of the chip. The rapid development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of Things, and quantum computing has put forward higher requirements for the performance, power consumption, and integration of semiconductor chips. Therefore, focusing on the next generation of semiconductor materials can promote the development of the semiconductor industry from traditional silicon-based materials to diversified and high-performance materials, and promote industrial upgrading and transformation. Let's explore what semiconductor materials are worth paying attention to.
Exploring New Materials: An Overview of Next-Generation Semiconductor Materials
Graphene: Often hailed as a miracle semiconductor material for next-generation electronics, it has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. Its atomic-level thickness and mechanical strength make it a popular candidate for advanced semiconductor and nanoelectronic devices, and research efforts are focused on leveraging its unique properties in flexible electronics, ultra-high-speed transistors, and sensors. Application prospects: flexible electronic devices, high-efficiency batteries, etc.
Diamond: Recognized by the industry as the "ultimate semiconductor material". It has a band gap of up to 5.45eV, extremely high thermal conductivity of up to 2200W/(m・K) at room temperature, high breakdown electric field strength of more than 10MV/cm, high carrier mobility, and radiation resistance. It has great application potential in the fields of heat sinking, high-power, high-frequency devices, optical windows, quantum information and so on.
Perovskites: Perovskites have outstanding performance in the photovoltaic field and are known as star materials in the photovoltaic field. It has good light absorption characteristics and can be manufactured using low-cost production techniques such as the solution method. Perovskite-based semiconductors have become a disruptive force in the photovoltaic field with their high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells, which are expected to revolutionize the solar industry and provide a more economical alternative to standard silicon-based photovoltaic technology.
Organic semiconductors: Conduction of organic semiconductors is generally lower than that of traditional silicon-based materials, as is the case with organic molecules, which relies on electronic transitions between organic molecules (via π-π conjugated bonds or charge transfer) rather than through the conduction of electron bands in the crystal structure as in inorganic semiconductors, but can be improved through molecular design optimizations such as enhancing the conjugated structure and manipulating the way the stacking is conducted. Thin films can be prepared by solution printing technology (such as inkjet printing, spin coating, coating), which is suitable for large-area, low-cost manufacturing, and can be deposited on flexible substrates such as plastics and paper to meet the needs of flexible electronics. It is compatible with flexible substrates and can be used in wearable devices, e-skins, and other scenarios.
Figure: Inventory of the most promising semiconductor materials
Silicon carbide (SiC): It is the most mature and commercialized third-generation semiconductor material. Compared with the previous two generations of semiconductor materials, it has the characteristics of large band gap, high breakdown electric field, high saturation electron velocity, high thermal conductivity, etc., and can work under high power, high temperature, high frequency and other conditions, and is widely used in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, industrial motor drives and other fields, which can achieve efficient power conversion and reduce energy loss.
Gallium nitride (GaN): Outstanding photoelectric conversion performance and high signal transmission efficiency. As a wide bandgap semiconductor material, it can withstand higher operating voltages, can operate at high temperatures above 200°C, has the characteristics of high power density, low energy consumption, suitable for high frequency, and supports wide bandwidth, and is widely used in lighting, display and communication (especially 5G).
Gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃): is a new ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor material with a bandgap width of 4.9 eV, which is higher than silicon carbide and gallium nitride. It has the ability to resist irradiation and high temperature, can maintain stable properties in extreme environments such as high and low temperatures, strong radiation, etc., and the high breakdown field strength characteristics ensure that the prepared gallium oxide devices can be used at ultra-high voltages, showing great application potential in the field of power devices.
Traditional semiconductor materials (such as silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, etc.) occupy a core position in the electronic information industry, but with the development of information technology in the direction of high frequency, high temperature, integration, flexibility, low power consumption, etc., its inherent characteristics have gradually exposed its limitations, and in the context of increasingly fierce global scientific and technological competition, the next generation of semiconductor materials has become a new focus of international competition. Mastering the R&D and application technology of advanced semiconductor materials will help occupy the strategic commanding heights in the global semiconductor industry and enhance the international competitiveness of countries and enterprises.
