Transistors used in today’s technology are much smaller in size than the previous generation transistors. They need large current densities to operate at the desired level. Many conducting materials break down due to overheating or due to other technical reason operating at high current densities. This stopovers to make the transistors even further smaller in size.
Transistors used in today’s technology are much smaller in size than the previous generation transistors. They need large current densities to operate at the desired level. Many conducting materials break down due to overheating or due to other technical reason operating at high current densities. This stopovers to make the transistors even further smaller in size.
A research study is done by a group of researchers and is led by Alexander A. Balandin, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering at University of California (UC) Riverside.
The electronic industry need alternatives to silicon and copper that can sustain extremely high current densities at material size of just a few nanometers.
Silicon and Copper materials provides less current densities at few nanometers size. The upcoming demand of technologies want alternatives to these materials.
1D materials have individual chains of atoms bonded to each other weakly.
Graphene is a 2D material that can be used in electronic components of nanoscale size which can sustain higher electric current densities.
2D materials are huge in structure size as compared to 1D materials.
The conventional metals are of polycrystalline structure. The conventional metals have rough surface which scatter electrons and also have grain boundaries.
Zirconium Tritelluride
A new research has found a material which can sustain extremely higher electrical current densities. The material discovered by researchers is Zirconium Tritelluride (ZrTe3). This material is better than other metals such as copper. The ZrTe3 is a quasi-1D material which consists of single-crystal atomic chains in single direction. Grain boundaries are not present in this material. It has atomically smoother surfaces after exfoliating.
This material can be directly manufactured into nanowires with an individual atomic chain cross-section. The current level sustained by this material quantum wires is higher than other 1D materials or metals. Current density in this material is reached in similar to that of carbon nanotubes and graphene.
This 1D material such as ZrTe3 nanoribbons can be synthesised into channels or interconnect with smaller cross-section of single atomic thread almost approximately 1nm by 1nm, researchers say.
The experiments conducted in this research used nanoribbons which was sliced from a premade sheet of material. The manufacturing of growing nanoribbon directly on the wafer is already under development. The research team believes that these nanomaterials could hold possibilities for number of applications in electronics.
Authors:
- Bunty B. Bommera
- Dakshata U. Kamble