{"id":55,"date":"2023-05-08T09:11:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T09:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/partstack.com\/blog\/?p=55"},"modified":"2023-05-08T09:11:29","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T09:11:29","slug":"exploring-latest-advancements-semiconductor-materials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/partstack.com\/blog\/exploring-latest-advancements-semiconductor-materials\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Latest Advancements in Semiconductor Materials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the push for smaller and faster microchips continues, researchers are finding new ways to construct semiconductors. In this article, we’ll explain what some of those new materials are, how manufacturing techniques continue to evolve to take advantage of these materials, and how these devices may impact the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semiconductor Material Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Semiconductors function similarly to a switch. When voltage is applied to semiconductors<\/a>, they allow current to flow through them. But when the voltage is removed, the current stops. The discovery of semiconducting materials was a major step toward creating the transistor, which made nearly all modern electronics possible. Transistors are what allow microprocessors to control the flow of electricity and perform the logic operations they do. Without transistors, computers would still take up entire rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first transistor was created<\/a> in 1948, and by 1959, the first integrated circuits were being produced. Although much smaller than the room-sized processors that came in the days of vacuum tube computers, those integrated circuits were much larger than what we have today. Part of this shrinking can be attributed to improvements in manufacturing. However, it has also been made possible by the discovery of semiconducting materials that behave more efficiently than silicon, the original standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced Materials for Semiconductors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Silicon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The desired attributes for a semiconductor essentially come down to two things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. How low the on-resistance is<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How well it handles heat<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A semiconductor is supposed to prevent current from flowing when it\u2019s off and allow it to flow when it\u2019s on. But there is always some resistance to that flow. The higher the resistance, the less efficiently the semiconductor uses electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cooling is a major limiting factor in high-powered microprocessors. That’s why the most powerful ones have huge fans and heatsinks. A semiconductor that resists heat better allows for faster processors. Heat resistance also comes into play when dealing with high voltages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the search to improve these qualities, advancements in silicon manufacturing have been made. But increasingly, researchers are turning to newer materials instead. Some of those materials are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Gallium Nitride (GaN)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This material offers an improvement over silicon<\/a> in both important areas (cooling and heat resistance). It has a lower on-resistance, meaning it can more efficiently use the power provided to it. It also dissipates heat more quickly and has a higher melting point than silicon. Both of these factors make it more suitable than the older material for high-heat applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Silicon Carbide (SiC)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Compared to GaN, silicon carbide<\/a> provides many of the same advantages over traditional silicon. However, it differentiates itself from GaN-based semiconductors in a few key areas. SiC has a higher maximum temperature than GaN, making it even more well-suited to higher-temperature applications. The structure of SiC also allows it to work in higher voltage applications than GaN can.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Organic Semiconductors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Researchers are also finding organic materials that can function as semiconductors. There are many materials already in use<\/a> for this purpose. While these materials vary in their properties, they are growing in popularity due to their low production cost and flexibility. The latter allows them to be used in wearable devices that must bend more freely than traditional semiconductor materials would allow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other Advanced Materials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    An area of active semiconductor research is 2D materials\u2014semiconductors that are only one or two atoms thick. These semiconductors come from materials such as silicene, germanene, and black phosphorus. Of these, graphene shows the most promise, boasting 250 times the mobility<\/a> of silicon and increased flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Advances in Manufacturing Techniques<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Microscopic<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Part of the struggle to improve the performance of semiconductors comes from limitations in the manufacturing process. In addition to searching for improved materials, creating better ways to take advantage of those materials is a big part of how the industry is evolving. Below are some of the techniques that are advancing the state of the art:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Epitaxial Growth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Epitaxy<\/a> is a method of crystal growth that allows the crystal to be oriented in very specific ways. This gives manufacturers more explicit and fine-grained control over the placement of compatible semiconductor materials. The process involves laying down a thin film of material, which is then heated so it melts and re-solidifies into a single-crystal layer. This layer of crystal is grown to the desired thickness. As advances in epitaxy improve, the precision with which semiconductors can be utilized and the types of materials that can be used also improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nanoscale Patterning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Modern microprocessors and other complex integrated circuits have millions of transistors in a small package. As semiconductor materials become more heat resistant and efficient, manufacturers can pack them more densely without the negative effects that inferior materials would provide. But as the need for more dense packing increases, so does the need for a manufacturing process that works on smaller scales. Nanoscale patterning<\/a> is a way of controlling the placement of semiconducting materials at a nanometer level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Atomic Layer Deposition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    An angstrom is a unit of length equal to one ten-billionth of a meter. It’s a unit so small that its primary use is measuring the size of atoms. Atomic layer deposition<\/a> is a way of creating layers of material at this extremely tiny scale. It works by converting the semiconductor material into a vapor and depositing it in very precise ways. This is another way of shrinking the size of integrated circuits and taking advantage of new semiconductor materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Applications of Advanced Semiconductor Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Representation<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In just the past century, advancements in electronics have been significant. Computers have gone from taking up entire rooms and being something that only big businesses can afford to something many children of all income levels carry in their pockets. The rate of advancement is showing no signs of slowing either. Below are just a few examples of how advanced semiconductor materials support these advancements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Microelectronics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The need for chips to get smaller and faster has necessitated many improvements in semiconductor materials and manufacturing techniques. Advanced materials can operate at higher temperatures, allowing them to pack together more tightly into a chip. Microprocessors also need their components to switch on and off very quickly. The bits in modern computers do this billions of times per second. Advanced materials are also more efficient at switching, so the chips made with them can operate at higher speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Quantum Computing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The world of quantum physics promises to bring our machine computing tasks beyond the binary. Quantum computers<\/a> rely on precise communication between components of a quantum system. However, semiconducting materials cannot maintain a coherent quantum system for an indefinite amount of time. The decoherence time of a semiconductor is how long it takes before the system cannot maintain quantum operations. Newer semiconducting materials have longer decoherence times, which will help make quantum computing a commercial reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Power Electronics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As we’ve seen, materials like silicon carbide and gallium nitride can operate at higher temperatures and voltages than traditional silicon. This opens up the door to using more advanced semiconductor constructions in areas that typically wouldn’t be able to take advantage of them, such as power inverters and other high-power applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Optoelectronics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Gallium nitride provided a major step in optoelectronics back in 1972<\/a>, when scientists created the first LED using the material. Since that very dim light, the efficiency of LEDs has improved dramatically. The technology has now all but completely replaced incandescent bulb technology, offering significant efficiency improvements and improved light production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Solar Power<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    As the world moves towards renewable energy, solar power is becoming a larger player in the power generation industry. Solar panels<\/a> work by using semiconductors to convert the light from the sun into electricity. However, traditional semiconductors aren’t very efficient at this. Advanced semiconductor materials facilitate the conversion of more light from the sun, increasing the power output of the solar cells which use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Challenges and Future Directions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    As the quest to improve semiconductor technology marches on, several challenges must be overcome at each step. First, manufacturers must source these new materials in high enough quantities to fill the demand at an effective price point. Often, the problem on this front is that manufacturers need precise control over temperature, pressure, or other variables in order to produce the materials. Developing the processes and infrastructure to do this at scale takes time and money. All of these factors mean that semiconductor companies must be careful about developing materials that not only behave efficiently as semiconductors but that are commercially viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Avenues for Improving the Technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to working on ways to solve the challenges above, researchers are actively looking at ways to improve the technology of semiconductors in general. There are several promising avenues that they’re currently exploring, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n