2D Materials for Future Physical Computing

The continuous enhancement of computational power is crucial for driving societal progress. Currently, this improvement heavily relies on the integration of transistors. As this integration level nears its limit, marking the end of Moore's Law, the growth in hardware computational power has slowed and been struggling to meet the exponential data processing needs of the AI era. This presents a significant challenge. To overcome it, we need to explore entirely new computing approaches to process information. Unlike traditional digital computing, which relies on abstract symbolic representation and operates at the CMOS circuit level, physical computing processes information at the device level by leveraging material-specific physical processes, thus offering ongoing improvements in computational power. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, with their atomic-layer thickness, enable precise control of physical properties using external fields, creating a superior platform for future physical computing. In this talk, I will show how 2D materials open up unprecedented opportunities for harnessing new physics to advance physical computing. I'll begin by presenting our findings on Wigner crystals and ferroelectricity in graphene moiré systems and discuss how these properties can be applied to build basic solid-state quantum simulators [1], moiré synaptic transistors [2], and noise-resistant neuromorphic devices [3]. I will also show how adjusting the interface potential barrier in heterostructures composed of 2D materials can lead to the development of reconfigurable retinomorphic sensors [4-6], visual motion perceptrons [7], and in-sensor dynamic computing [8]. Finally, I will present our initial explorations on new physical computing schemes [9-10] and share our vision of future physical computing.

References
[1] Nature 609, 479 (2022).
[2] Chinese Physics Letters 40, 117201 (2023).
[3] Nature Nanotechnology (2024, in press).
[4] Science Advances 6, eaba6173 (2020).
[5] Nature Electronics 5, 248 (2022).
[6] National Science Review 8, nwaa172 (2021).
[7] Science Advances 9, eadi4083(2023).
[8] Nature Electronics 7, 225 (2024).
[9] Nature Nanotechnology 16, 1079 (2021).
[10] Nature Electronics 6, 381 (2023).