Change lanes to overtake! The rise of graphene semiconductors was not foreseen by ASML.
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The chips on the market today are based on silicon materials with high electrical conductivity. TSMC and Samsung have advanced silicon wafers to 5nm and 3nm using advanced processes.
But the road ahead has become more difficult, and researchers have begun to look for new materials and new ways. It is gratifying that thanks to the efforts of Chinese researchers, the emergence of graphene semiconductors has surprised ASML.
Graphyne semiconductors.
A silicon chip is a type of integrated circuit chip based on silicon. The development of silicon-based wafers began in the early sixties of the twentieth century, when scientists began to study how to make electronic devices from silicon. In the sixties of the twentieth century, the manufacturing process of silicon wafers was relatively simple, using diffusion and lithography technology.
The first silicon wafers were used to make simple logic gates and memory. In the seventies and eighties of the 20th century, with the development of ion implantation technology, physical vapor deposition technology and chemical vapor deposition technology, the integration and performance of integrated circuits have been greatly improved.
So far, humans have succeeded in using existing technologies to create 3nm chips, and 2nm chips are expected to be available in a few years. However, we must admit that the physical limits of silicon wafers are becoming more and more difficult to break, so scientists are looking for other ways to develop them.
The good news came that the team of Tianjin University overcame a major difficulty in the field of graphene, successfully prepared the world's first graphene semiconductor, published "Ultra-high mobility semiconductor epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide" (UHMW-SiC), and published a paper.
*According to the report, the team used quasi-equilibrium annealing technology to prepare a graphene buffer layer with good chemical, mechanical and thermal stability on the surface of silicon carbide. Using traditional semiconductor fabrication processes, it can be seamlessly connected to other graphene materials.
These characteristics make graphene have a good application prospect in nanoelectronic devices.
I didn't expect that.
For most people, graphene semiconductor is a relatively unfamiliar concept, and the first thing you need to know is that it is a two-dimensional material composed of carbon atoms, and its structure is like a honeycomb. Each layer of graphene is made up of a planar arrangement of carbon atoms connected by covalent bonds.
It has very good electrical conductivity. Electrons move at a very fast speed in graphene. Based on this, the mobility of graphene semiconductor materials is dozens of times higher than that of silicon-based chips, so the development of graphene semiconductors can be described as a rapid progress.
The Tianjin University article also points out that this technology has great commercial prospects in the future. Because this material is new, I am worried that a new processing method will be needed.
ASML's lithography process is an indispensable tool for manufacturing silicon chips, and once lithography technology becomes mainstream, it is a question of concern whether lithography technology can replace silicon chips. ASML never imagined that the advent of graphene semiconductors would change the global semiconductor industry.
Of course, it will take some time to bring graphene semiconductors to the market, but judging from the current trend, the road will be smoother and smoother.
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