PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

2-D transistors promise a faster electronics future

Berkeley Lab researchers create the first fully 2-D field effect transistors

2-D transistors promise a faster electronics future
2014-06-03
(Press-News.org) Faster electronic device architectures are in the offing with the unveiling of the world's first fully two-dimensional field-effect transistor (FET) by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Unlike conventional FETs made from silicon, these 2D FETs suffer no performance drop-off under high voltages and provide high electron mobility, even when scaled to a monolayer in thickness.

Ali Javey, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and a UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer science, led this research in which 2D heterostructures were fabricated from layers of a transition metal dichalcogenide, hexagonal boron nitride and graphene stacked via van der Waals interactions.

"Our work represents an important stepping stone towards the realization of a new class of electronic devices in which interfaces based on van der Waals interactions rather than covalent bonding provide an unprecedented degree of control in material engineering and device exploration," Javey says. "The results demonstrate the promise of using an all-layered material system for future electronic applications."

Javey is the corresponding author of a paper describing this research in ACS Nano titled "Field-Effect Transistors Built from All Two-Dimensional Material Components". Co-authors are Tania Roy, Mahmut Tosun, Jeong Seuk Kang, Angada Sachid, Sujay Desai, Mark Hettick and Chenming Hu.

FETs, so-called because an electrical signal sent through one electrode creates an electrical current throughout the device, are one of the pillars of the electronics industry, ubiquitous to computers, cell phones, tablets, pads and virtually every other widely used electronic device. All FETs are comprised of gate, source and drain electrodes connected by a channel through which a charge-carrier - either electrons or holes – flow. Mismatches between the crystal structure and atomic lattices of these individual components result in rough surfaces – often with dangling chemical bonds - that degrade charge-carrier mobility, especially at high electrical fields.

"In constructing our 2D FETs so that each component is made from layered materials with van der Waals interfaces, we provide a unique device structure in which the thickness of each component is well-defined without any surface roughness, not even at the atomic level," Javey says. "The van der Waals bonding of the interfaces and the use of a multi-step transfer process present a platform for making complex devices based on crystalline layers without the constraints of lattice parameters that often limit the growth and performance of conventional heterojunction materials."

Javey and his team fabricated their 2D FETs using the transition metal dichalcogenide molybdenum disulfide as the electron-carrying channel, hexagonal boron nitride as the gate insulator, and graphene as the source, drain and gate electrodes. All of these constituent materials are single crystals held together by van der Waals bonding.

For the 2D FETs produced in this study, mechanical exfoliation was used to create the layered components. In the future, Javey and his team will look into growing these heterogeneous layers directly on a substrate. They will also look to scale down the thickness of individual components to a monolayer and the lengths of the channels to molecular-scale dimensions.

INFORMATION:

This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
2-D transistors promise a faster electronics future 2-D transistors promise a faster electronics future 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Investigating unusual three-ribbon solar flares with extreme high resolution

2014-06-03
The 1.6 meter telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) in California has given researchers unparalleled capability for investigating phenomena such as solar flares. Operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the BBSO instrument is the most powerful ground-based telescope dedicated to studying the star closest to Earth. On June 2, Distinguished Professor of Physics Haimin Wang joined NJIT colleagues at the 224th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), held in Boston, Massachusetts, to present intriguing data about solar flares — specifically, ...

Solving sunspot mysteries

2014-06-03
Multi-wavelength observations of sunspots with the 1.6-meter telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) in California and aboard NASA's IRIS spacecraft have produced new and intriguing images of high-speed plasma flows and eruptions extending from the Sun's surface to the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere, the corona. Operated by New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), BBSO houses the largest ground-based telescope dedicated to solar research. On June 2, NJIT researchers reported on the acquisition of these images at the 224th meeting of the American Astronomical ...

Complex neural circuitry keeps you from biting your tongue

Complex neural circuitry keeps you from biting your tongue
2014-06-03
DURHAM, N.C. -- Eating, like breathing and sleeping, seems to be a rather basic biological task. Yet chewing requires a complex interplay between the tongue and jaw, with the tongue positioning food between the teeth and then moving out of the way every time the jaw clamps down to grind it up. If the act weren't coordinated precisely, the unlucky chewer would end up biting more tongue than burrito. Duke University researchers have used a sophisticated tracing technique in mice to map the underlying brain circuitry that keeps mealtime relatively painless. The study, ...

Climate engineering can't erase climate change

Climate engineering cant erase climate change
2014-06-03
Tinkering with climate change through climate engineering isn't going to help us get around what we have to do says a new report authored by researchers at six universities, including Simon Fraser University. After evaluating a range of possible climate-altering approaches to dissipating greenhouse gases and reducing warming, the interdisciplinary team concluded there's no way around it. We have to reduce the amount of carbon being released into the atmosphere. "Some climate engineering strategies look very cheap on paper. But when you consider other criteria, like ...

Fatty liver disease prevented in mice

Fatty liver disease prevented in mice
2014-06-03
Studying mice, researchers have found a way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Blocking a path that delivers dietary fructose to the liver prevented mice from developing the condition, according to investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. In people, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease often accompanies obesity, elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure and other markers of metabolic syndrome. Some ...

Researchers shut down a SARS cloaking system; findings could lead to SARS, MERS vaccines

Researchers shut down a SARS cloaking system; findings could lead to SARS, MERS vaccines
2014-06-03
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —A Purdue University-led research team has figured out how to disable a part of the SARS virus responsible for hiding it from the immune system; a critical step in developing a vaccine against the deadly disease. The findings also have potential applications in the creation of vaccines against other coronaviruses, including MERS, said Andrew Mesecar, who led the research. "This is a first step toward creating a weakened and safe virus for use in an attenuated live vaccine," said Mesecar, Purdue's Walther Professor of Cancer Structural Biology and ...

Study finds coordinated approach improves quality of primary care

2014-06-03
NEW YORK (June 2, 2014) -- Primary care doctors practicing in a model of coordinated, team-based care that leverages health information technology are more likely to give patients recommended preventive screening and appropriate tests than physicians working in other settings, according to research published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study comparing quality of care by physicians using a delivery model known as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) to care from physicians in non-PCMH practices provides evidence that the previously unproven but popular ...

Progress on detecting glucose levels in saliva

2014-06-03
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Researchers from Brown University have developed a new biochip sensor that can selectively measure concentrations of glucose in a complex solution similar to human saliva. The advance is an important step toward a device that would enable people with diabetes to test their glucose levels without drawing blood. The new chip makes use of a series of specific chemical reactions combined with plasmonic interferometry, a means of detecting chemical signature of compounds using light. The device is sensitive enough to detect differences ...

Hubble unveils a colorful view of the universe

Hubble unveils a colorful view of the universe
2014-06-03
Prior to this survey, astronomers were in a curious position. They knew a lot about star formation occurring in nearby galaxies thanks to UV telescope facilities such as NASA's Galex observatory, which operated from 2003 to 2013. And, thanks to Hubble's near-infrared and visible capability, they had also studied star birth in the most distant galaxies. We see these distant galaxies in their most primitive stages due to the vast amount of time it takes their light to reach us. However, between 5 and 10 billion light-years away from us -- corresponding to a time period ...

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 2014

2014-06-03
BIOMETRICS – The eyes have it . . . By discovering and quantifying the "limbus effect," Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have advanced the state of the art for human iris recognition systems. While the iris is a proven and reliable biometric for verification or identification, non-ideal images -- such as those captured off axis -- are problematic. Reasons include cornea refraction and the limbus effect, causing iris recognition performance to decrease and in many cases fail entirely. Now, using an anatomically accurate human eye model and some slick math, a ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

X-ray flashes from a nearby supermassive black hole accelerate mysteriously

New research highlights trends in ADHD diagnoses

United States dementia cases estimated to double by 2060

“The biggest challenge is lacking public acceptance of wind turbines”

Six-month outcomes in the long-term outcomes after the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children study

Global prevalence of sexual violence against children

Chances of quitting smoking improve with integrated care, including medication and counseling

From microplastics to macro-impact: KTU expert explains plastic recycling challenges

How does the brain encode pain? Scientists uncover neuronal mechanisms of pain intensity encoding

Study finds opioid pain medications very infrequently prescribed to NFL players

Wrong place, wrong time: Why Zika virus hijacks a protein needed for brain growth

The new age of infrastructure maintenance using data from space

CNIO and CNIC research identifies a key protein for ‘burning’ fat

‘True food’ research database offers rankings for 50,000 processed foods

Mystery solved: how tumor cells die after radiotherapy

Bacterial survival genes uncovered using evolutionary map

Sodium-ion batteries need breakthroughs to compete

Tumor DNA in the blood can predict lung cancer outcome

New study unveils breakthrough in understanding cosmic particle accelerators

Previous experience affects family planning decisions of people with hereditary dementia

Does obesity affect children’s likelihood of survival after being diagnosed with cancer?

Understanding bias and discrimination in AI: Why sociolinguistics holds the key to better Large Language Models and a fairer world 

Safe and energy-efficient quasi-solid battery for electric vehicles and devices

Financial incentives found to help people quit smoking, including during pregnancy

Rewards and financial incentives successfully help people to give up smoking

HKU ecologists reveal key genetic insights for the conservation of iconic cockatoo species

New perspective highlights urgent need for US physician strike regulations

An eye-opening year of extreme weather and climate

Scientists engineer substrates hostile to bacteria but friendly to cells

New tablet shows promise for the control and elimination of intestinal worms

[Press-News.org] 2-D transistors promise a faster electronics future
Berkeley Lab researchers create the first fully 2-D field effect transistors