What's Needed to Make 2D Semiconductors Useful for Electronics?

I will present my perspective of how two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors could be used in electronics. For example, they could be used in applications where their ultrathin nature provides distinct advantages, such as flexible electronics [1], light-weight solar cells [2], or nanoscale transistors [3]. They may not be useful where conventional materials work sufficiently well, like transistor channels thicker than a few nanometers. I will focus on 2D materials for 3D heterogeneous integration of electronics, which has major advantages for energy-efficient computing [4]. Here, 2D materials could be monolayer transistors with low leakage (due to larger band gaps than silicon), used to access high-density memory [5]. Some encouraging results from our group [6-9] and others [10] have shown monolayer transistors with good performance, which cannot be reached with sub-nanometer thin conventional semiconductors, and the 2D performance can be boosted by strain [9,11]. I will also describe some unconventional applications, using 2D materials as thermal insulators [12], heat spreaders [13], and thermal switches [14]. Combined, these studies reveal fundamental limits and some applications of 2D materials, which take advantage of their unique properties.<br/><br/><b>[1]</b> A. Daus et al., Nat. Elec. 4, 495 (2021).<b> [2] </b>K.N. Nazif, et al., Nat. Comm. 12, 7034 (2021). <b>[3]</b> C. English et al., IEDM (2016). <b>[4]</b> M. Aly et al., Computer 48, 24 (2015). <b>[5]</b> A. Khan et al. Science 373, 1243 (2021).<b> [6]</b> C. McClellan et al. ACS Nano 15, 1587 (2021). <b>[7]</b> R. Bennett & E. Pop, Nano Lett. 23, 1666 (2023). <b>[8]</b> J.S. Ko et al., VLSI Symp. (2024). <b>[9] </b>I. Datye et al., Nano Lett. 22, 8052 (2022). [<b>10] </b>S. Das et al., Nat. Elec. 4, 786 (2021). <b>[11]</b> M. Jaikissoon et al., IEEE-EDL, DOI: 10.1109/LED.2024.3410095 (2024). <b>[12]</b> S. Vaziri et al., Science Adv. 5, eaax1325 (2019). <b>[13]</b> C. Koroglu & E. Pop, IEEE-EDL 44, 496 (2023). <b>[14] </b>M. Chen et al., 2D Mat. 8, 035055 (2021).