Semiconductors present in the world now are made of different materials, but one of the most famous is the Silicon take, which manufacturers say is the best there is for the chips. Several examples of this include Apple's M-series and A-series chips and Google with the Tensor chip.

However, MIT researchers argue that Silicon is not the best there is for processors but rather a discovery found in their study. [1]

Figure 1. MIT Discovers Semiconductor that can Perform Far Better than Silicon

Figure 1 shows one reason is that although silicon allows electrons to readily flow through its structure, it is much less accommodating to “holes” — electrons’ positively charged counterparts —and harnessing both is crucial for particular types of devices. Furthermore, silicon does a poor job of transporting heat, which contributes to the frequent overheating problems and pricey cooling systems in computers.

Now, a team of scientists from MIT, the University of Houston, and other institutions has carried out experiments showing that a material called cubic boron arsenide overcomes both of these limitations. In addition to providing high mobility to both electrons and holes, it has excellent thermal conductivity. [2]

Cubic boron arsenide has so far only been made and tested in small, lab-scale batches that are not uniform. In fact, in order to test small regions within the material, the scientists had to use special methods originally developed by former MIT postdoc Bai Song. More work will be needed to determine whether cubic boron arsenide can be made in a practical, economical form, much less replace the ubiquitous silicon. But even in the near future, the researchers say, the material could find some uses where its unique properties would make a significant difference. [3]

The earlier experiments demonstrated that the thermal conductivity of cubic boron arsenide is almost 10 times greater than that of silicon. “So, that is very attractive just for heat dissipation,” Chen says. They also showed that the material has a very good bandgap, a property that gives it great potential as a semiconductor material.

Now, the new work fills in the picture, showing that, with its high mobility for both electrons and holes, boron arsenide has all the main qualities needed for an ideal semiconductor. “That’s important because of course in semiconductors we have both positive and negative charges equivalently. So, if you build a device, you want to have a material where both electrons and holes travel with less resistance,” Chen says.

Silicon has good electron mobility but poor hole mobility, and other materials such as gallium arsenide, widely used for lasers, similarly have good mobility for electrons but not for holes. [4]

References:

1. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/278388/20220722/semiconductors-better-silicon-mit-discovers-new-material-processors.htm
2. https://techsens.in/mit-discovers-semiconductor-that-can-perform-far-better-than-silicon/
3. https://headtopics.com/us/mit-discovers-semiconductor-that-can-perform-far-better-than-silicon-28333718
4. https://scitechdaily.com/mit-discovers-semiconductor-that-can-perform-far-better-than-silicon/

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2022), MIT Discovers Semiconductor that can Perform Far Better than Silicon, Anatechmaz, pp.262