Efficient CVD Method for Producing 2D Semiconductor DevelopedCategory: Science & Technology
Posted: April 10, 2014 03:14PM
Year after year our electronics become more and more advanced, but this may not continue in the future as we approach the physical limits of the materials being used. For these reason alternative materials with better properties are being investigated, but there are multiple hurdles preventing their adoption. Researchers at Rice University and Nanyang Technological University have recently solved one of these issues with the semiconductor molybdenum diselenide.
Molybdenum diselenide is a semiconductor that can be made into atomic thick sheets. Graphene is possibly the most famous material 2D material, and definitely has some properties that we want in our electronics, but lacks some important ones. One such property is a band gap, which is necessary to build transistors from the material. Molybdenum diselenide has a band gap, but is difficult to produce, until now that is. The Rice researchers have discovered a stable and potentially scalable means to produce 2D sheets of the semiconductor using chemical vapor deposition.
Along with a band gap, molybdenum diselenide also has impressive electron mobility, which is a measure of how quickly electrons can move across it. Graphene is still orders of magnitude superior in this regard, which is why one day we may see both materials, with their complimentary properties, used to create advanced electronics.
Source: Rice University