14 DAY TRIAL // A group of investigators in Norway announce the creation of a new manufacturing method, which enables them to grow gate-all-around (GAA) nanowires from a graphene substrate in bulk.
The achievement is remarkable because graphene is touted as being the replacement for silicon in computer chips. While this may take a few years, the superior chemical and physical properties of graphene make it unavoidable.
The material is a carbon compound only one atom thick. For all intents and purposes, it is bi-dimensional, and features a chicken wire-like, hexagonal atomic arrangement. With a bit of doping, it can be turned into an efficient semiconductor.
The new study marks the first time that the compound was used as a substrate for growing nanowires. Scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) want to use their new approach to produce enough GAA nanowires to start selling them.
Graphene and carbon nanotubes will literally change the face of the semiconductor industry, as well as usher forth a new generation of advanced computers. The real benefit is that the carbon needed to create both structures can be reclaimed from smokestacks, and prevented from polluting the air.
Details of how the new method works were published in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal Nano Letters, AlphaGalileo reports. The team has already founded a new company, called CrayoNano AS, to exploit its discovery.
“We do not see this as a new product. This is a template for a new production method for semiconductor devices. We expect solar cells and light emitting diodes to be first in line when future applications are planned,” says Helge Weman.
“We have managed to combine low cost, transparency and flexibility in our new electrode,” adds the investigator, who holds an appointment as a professor at NTNU Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, and is also the co-founder and CTO of CrayoNano AS.
The team reveals that the process used to grow nanowires from graphene is called Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE).
“Semiconductors grown on graphene could become the basis for new types of device systems, and could transform the semiconductor industry by introducing graphene as a preferred substrate for many application,” Weman concludes.