The search is on for better options. Writing in Science, a team of chemists at Columbia University led by Jack Tulyag, a PhD student working with chemistry professor Milan Delor, describes the fastest and most efficient semiconductor yet: a superatomic material called Re6Se8Cl2.
Rather than scattering when they come into contact with phonons, excitons in Re6Se8Cl2 actually bind with phonons to create new quasiparticles called acoustic exciton-polarons. Although polarons are found in many materials, those in Re6Se8Cl2 have a special property: they are capable of ballistic, or scatter-free, flow. This ballistic behavior could mean faster and more efficient devices one day.
In experiments run by the team, acoustic exciton-polarons in Re6Se8Cl2 moved fast-twice as fast as electrons in silicon-and crossed several microns of the sample in less than a nanosecond. Given that polarons can last for about 11 nanoseconds, the team thinks the exciton-polarons could cover more than 25 micrometers at a time. And because these quasiparticles are controlled by light rather than an electrical current and gating, processing speeds in theoretical devices have the potential to reach femtoseconds-six orders of magnitude faster than the nanoseconds achievable in current Gigahertz electronics. All at room temperature.
"In terms of energy transport, Re6Se8Cl2 is the best semiconductor that we know of, at least so far," Delor said.
A Quantum Version of the Tortoise and the Hare
Re6Se8Cl2 is a superatomic semiconductor created in the lab of collaborator Xavier Roy. Superatoms are clusters of atoms bound together that behave like one big atom, but with different properties than the elements used to build them. Synthesizing superatoms is a specialty of the Roy lab, and they are a main focus of Columbia's NSF-funded Material Research Science and Engineering Center on Precision Assembled Quantum Materials. Delor is interested in controlling and manipulating the transport of energy through superatoms and other unique materials developed at Columbia. To do this, the team builds super-resolution imaging tools that can capture particles moving at ultrasmall, ultrafast scales.
When Tulyag first brought Re6Se8Cl2 into the lab, it wasn't to search for a new and improved semiconductor-it was to test the resolution of the lab's microscopes with a material that, in principle, shouldn't have conducted much of anything. "It was the opposite of what we expected," said Delor. "Instead of the slow movement we expected, we saw the fastest thing we've ever seen."
Tulyag and his peers in the Delor group spent the next two years working to pinpoint why Re6Se8Cl2 showed such remarkable behavior, including developing an advanced microscope with extreme spatial and temporal resolution that can directly image polarons as they form and move through the material. Theoretical chemist Petra Shih, a PhD student working in Timothy Berkelbach's group, also developed a quantum mechanical model that provides an explanation for the observations.
The new quasiparticles are fast, but, counterintuitively, they accomplish that speed by pacing themselves-a bit like the story of the tortoise and the hare, Delor explained. What makes silicon a desirable semiconductor is that electrons can move through it very quickly, but like the proverbial hare, they bounce around too much and don't actually make it very far, very fast in the end. Excitons in Re6Se8Cl2 are, comparatively, very slow, but it's precisely because they are so slow that they are able to meet and pair up with equally slow-moving acoustic phonons. The resulting quasiparticles are "heavy" and, like the tortoise, advance slowly but steadily along. Unimpeded by other phonons along the way, acoustic exciton-polarons in Re6Se8Cl2 ultimately move faster than electrons in silicon.
The Semiconductor Search Continues
Like many of the emerging quantum materials being explored at Columbia, Re6Se8Cl2 can be peeled into atom-thin sheets, a feature that means they can potentially be combined with other similar materials in the search for additional unique properties. Re6Se8Cl2, however, is unlikely to ever make its way into a commercial product-the first element in the molecule, Rhenium, is one of the rarest on earth and extremely expensive as a result.
But with the new theory from the Berkelbach group in hand along with the advanced imaging technique that Tulyag and the Delor group developed to directly track the formation and movement of polarons in the first place, the team is ready to see if there are other superatomic contenders capable of beating Re6Se8Cl2''s speed record.
"This is the only material that anyone has seen sustained room-temperature ballistic exciton transport in. But we can now start to predict what other materials might be capable of this behavior that we just haven't considered before," said Delor. "There is a whole family of superatomic and other 2D semiconductor materials out there with properties favorable for acoustic polaron formation."
Research Report:Room temperature wavelike exciton transport in a van der Waals superatomic semiconductor.
Relevance Ratings:
1. Semiconductor Industry Analyst: 9/10
2. Stock and Finance Market Analyst: 8/10
3. Government Policy Analyst: 7/10
Comprehensive Analyst Summary:
Main Points:
The article discusses the discovery of a new superatomic semiconductor material, Re6Se8Cl2, by a team of chemists at Columbia University. Unlike traditional semiconductors such as silicon, this new material exhibits a unique property where excitons (electron-hole pairs) bind with phonons (quantum particles responsible for scattering electrons), leading to faster and more efficient energy and information transfer in electronic devices. The new semiconductor shows potential for processing speeds up to six orders of magnitude faster than current electronics. However, commercial applications might be limited due to the rarity and expense of the element Rhenium.
Implications:
Semiconductor Industry:
The discovery could be a significant technological leap for the semiconductor industry, potentially mitigating the speed and efficiency limitations of current materials like silicon. This is an area ripe for patenting and academic-industrial collaborations.
Stock and Finance Market:
The discovery may potentially disrupt the current semiconductor market. Companies with stakes in this new material could experience significant stock market gains. However, this is also a long-term play, as the material is not yet ready for commercial application.
Government Policy:
From a policy perspective, this development may encourage more funding into quantum materials and semiconductor research, potentially spawning new public-private partnerships. However, issues around the rarity and expense of Rhenium could also direct governmental focus on material availability and trade policy.
Historical Comparison:
Over the past 25 years, the semiconductor industry has seen incremental improvements in silicon-based technology, but nothing as disruptive as Re6Se8Cl2 could potentially be. This new discovery could be likened to the transition from germanium to silicon, which revolutionized the industry.
Correlations and Discrepancies:
The trend toward miniaturization and faster processing speed aligns with this discovery. However, the rarity and cost of Rhenium are discrepancies that pose a challenge to its commercial application.
Five Investigative Questions:
1. What is the estimated timeline for transitioning from laboratory testing to commercial application for Re6Se8Cl2 or similar materials?
2. How might the rarity and cost of Rhenium affect the commercial viability and market penetration of Re6Se8Cl2?
3. Are there alternative materials that can mimic the phonon-exciton interaction observed in Re6Se8Cl2 but use more abundant elements?
4. What policy frameworks need to be in place for the ethical and sustainable sourcing of rare elements like Rhenium?
5. How might this discovery affect existing semiconductor companies, and what strategies should they adopt to stay competitive?
By addressing these questions, analysts can gain a deeper understanding of the far-reaching implications of this groundbreaking discovery.
Related Links
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