Will 2D Materials Play a Role in Semiconductor Electronics?

This talk will present my (biased!) perspective on how 2D materials could play a role in semiconductor 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 well, or where their integration cost cannot be justified. 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]. Recent 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.

[1] A. Daus et al., Nat. Elec. 4, 495 (2021). [2] K.N. Nazif, et al., Comm. Phys. 6, 367 (2023). [3] C. English et al., IEDM (2016). [4] M. Aly et al., Computer 48, 24 (2015). [5] A. Khan et al. Science 373, 1243 (2021). [6] C. McClellan et al. ACS Nano 15, 1587 (2021). [7] R. Bennett & E. Pop, Nano Lett. 23, 1666 (2023). [8] J.S. Ko et al., VLSI Symp. (2024). [9] I. Datye et al., Nano Lett. 22, 8052 (2022). [10] S. Das et al., Nat. Elec. 4, 786 (2021). [11] M. Jaikissoon et al., Nat. Elec. 7, 885 (2024). [12] S. Vaziri et al., Science Adv. 5, eaax1325 (2019). [13] C. Koroglu & E. Pop, EDL 44, 496 (2023). [14] M. Chen et al., 2D Mat. 8, 035055 (2021).