The next generation of electronics could be faster and more energy-efficient than ever, thanks to a group of engineers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who have discovered a new way to grow graphene.
Graphene is an extremely thin sheet of carbon atoms that conducts electricity and dissipates heat much more efficiently than silicon, which is the material most commonly used today in computer chips. But in order to take full advantage of graphene’s electronic potential, the material must be in the form of ultra-narrow strips, or nanoribbons, that are less than 10 nanometers wide.
In the past, scientists have struggled to fabricate the material into nanoribbons that are narrow enough to be used in high-performance semiconductor electronics.
Now, a team of engineers has found a way to grow graphene nanoribbons with desirable semiconducting properties directly on a conventional germanium semiconductor wafer. This could enable manufacturers to use graphene nanoribbons in hybrid integrated circuits, which scientists say could significantly enhance the performance of electronic devices in the future.
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