https://physicsworld.com/a/champion-semiconductor-could-replace-silicon-say-researchers/ Skip to main content Close Menu Browse all * SUBJECT CATEGORIES + Astronomy and space + Atomic and molecular + Biophysics and bioengineering + Business and innovation + Condensed matter + Culture, history and society + Diversity and inclusion + Education and outreach + Environment and energy + Ethics + Instrumentation and measurement + Materials + Mathematics and computation + Medical physics + Optics and photonics + Particle and nuclear + Personalities + Policy and funding + Projects and facilities + Publishing + Quantum * ARTICLE TYPES + Analysis + Blog + Careers + Events + Features + Innovation showcases + Interviews + News + Opinion and reviews + Podcast + Research updates + Videos + Webinars * Collections * Jobs * EXPLORE PHYSICS WORLD + About us + Our team + Our portfolio + Advertising + Contact us + Sign in + Register [iop-publishing-logo-white] IOP Publishing site More * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Follow us on LinkedIn * Watch us on Youtube * RSS Feed * Jobs * Sign in * Register Toggle Menu Back to homepage [logo-materials] MENU Open Search Dialog * Magazine * Latest + LatestExplore all the latest news and information on Physics World + Research updatesKeep track of the most exciting research breakthroughs and technology innovations + NewsStay informed about the latest developments that affect scientists in all parts of the world + FeaturesTake a deeper look at the emerging trends and key issues within the global scientific community + AnalysisDiscover the stories behind the headlines + BlogEnjoy a more personal take on the key events in and around science + EventsPlan the meetings and conferences you want to attend with our comprehensive events calendar * People + PeopleMeet the people behind the science + CareersConsider your career options with valuable advice and insightful case studies + Opinion and reviewsFind out whether you agree with our expert commentators + InterviewsDiscover the views of leading figures in the scientific community + PersonalitiesFind out who's doing what in industry and academia * Impact + ImpactExplore the value of scientific research for industry, the economy and society + Business and innovationFind out how recent scientific breakthroughs are driving business innovation and commercial growth + Education and outreachLearn about novel approaches to educating and inspiring the scientists of the future + Policy and fundingUnderstand how emerging policy changes could affect your work and career + Projects and facilitiesFollow the latest progress at the world's top scientific experiments + Innovation showcasesA round-up of the latest innovation from our corporate partners * Collections + CollectionsExplore special collections that bring together our best content on trending topics + Artificial intelligenceExplore the ways in which today's world relies on AI, and ponder how this technology might shape the world of tomorrow + #BlackInPhysicsCelebrating Black physicists and revealing a more complete picture of what a physicist looks like + Nanotechnology in actionThe challenges and opportunities of turning advances in nanotechnology into commercial products + Revolutions in computingFind out how scientists are exploiting digital technologies to understand online behaviour and drive research progress + The science and business of spaceExplore the latest trends and opportunities associated with designing, building, launching and exploiting space-based technologies + Supercool physicsExperiments that probe the exotic behaviour of matter at ultralow temperatures depend on the latest cryogenics technology * Audio and video + Audio and videoExplore the sights and sounds of the scientific world + PodcastsOur regular conversations with inspiring figures from the scientific community + VideoWatch our specially filmed videos to get a different slant on the latest science + WebinarsTune into online presentations that allow expert speakers to explain novel tools and applications Topics Topics * [Astronomy_] Astronomy and space * [Atomic_and] Atomic and molecular * [Biophysics] Biophysics and bioengineering * [Condensed_] Condensed matter * [Culture_hi] Culture, history and society * [Environmen] Environment and energy * [Instrument] Instrumentation and measurement * [Materials_] Materials * [Mathematic] Mathematics and computation * [Medical_ph] Medical physics * [Optics_and] Optics and photonics * [Particle_a] Particle and nuclear * [Quantum__7] Quantum Close search menu [ ] Submit search Type to search * IOP Publishing * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Follow us on LinkedIn * Watch us on Youtube * RSS Feed * Jobs Sign in Register * [ ] Enter e-mail address * [ ] [ ] Show Enter password * [ ] Remember me Forgot your password? Sign in to * Unlock all the content on the site * Manage which e-mail newsletters you want to receive * Read about the big breakthroughs and innovations across 13 scientific topics * Explore the key issues and trends within the global scientific community [Sign in] * [ ] Enter e-mail address This e-mail address will be used to create your account * Registration is free, quick and easy + Unlock all the content on the site + Choose which e-mail newsletters you want to receive + Read about the big breakthroughs and innovations across 13 scientific topics + Explore the key issues and trends within the global scientific community [Register] Reset your password Please enter the e-mail address you used to register to reset your password [ ] Enter e-mail address [Reset my password] Registration complete Thank you for registering with Physics World If you'd like to change your details at any time, please visit My account Close Semiconductors and electronics Semiconductors and electronics * * * * * * Semiconductors and electronics * Research update Champion semiconductor could replace silicon, say researchers 01 Aug 2022 An artist's sketch of cubic boron arsenide, incorporating a ball-and-stick model of the chemical with four blue balls (representing arsenic atoms) and 14 smaller red balls (representing boron atoms). In the background is a burst of fuzzy purple-and blue lines suggesting movement of electrons Power cube: Researchers claim that cubic boron arsenide is the best semiconducting material ever found, and perhaps even the best possible one. (Courtesy: Christine Daniloff/MIT) Cubic boron arsenide is one of the best semiconductors known to science and could even dethrone silicon as the principal component of modern electronics. This finding, from teams headed by Gang Chen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Xinfeng Liu of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing, China, is based on experiments showing that small, pure regions of the material display a thermal conductivity and charge carrier mobility that far outperforms those of existing widely-used semiconductors, including silicon. The results validate theoretical predictions and suggest that cubic boron arsenide could revolutionize the field of electronics - at least in principle. Silicon has dominated the electronics industry for decades. It is relatively easy to purify into a material with an almost perfectly uniform molecular lattice - an important requirement for robust and reliable electronic properties - and its status as one of the most abundant elements in Earth's crust makes it commercially viable to use at scale. Silicon's performance as a semiconductor, however, leaves much to be desired. The issues with the material are twofold. The first concerns the mobility of its "holes", which are regions of positive charge left behind when electrons are excited from a semiconductor's insulating (valence) band to its conduction band. In silicon, these holes move much more slowly than the electrons in the conduction band, diminishing the material's electrical performance. The second issue is silicon's low thermal conductivity, which makes silicon-based electronic systems prone to overheating: a problem that can only be mitigated with costly cooling systems. Reduced defects yield desirable properties Several recent theoretical studies have predicted far more desirable properties in cubic boron arsenide (c-BA). According to these calculations, the material's thermal conductivity should be some 10 times higher than silicon's, stemming from its unique chemical bonding properties. Theorists also predicted simultaneously high mobilities of electrons and holes at room temperature. A photo of several boron arsenide crystals, which look like flat, pale-orange-to-red sheets of fragile-looking, semi- transparent materialHard to synthesize: Single crystals of boron arsenide. (Courtesy: University of Houston) Until now, however, these promising predictions haven't been borne out in experiments. The problem is that with existing fabrication methods, c-BA crystals typically feature large, non-uniform concentrations of defects, leading to significant discrepancies with predicted behaviour. In the latest studies, which are described in back-to-back papers in Science, members of the two teams used a combination of spectroscopic techniques to precisely map out the distribution of impurities within thin c-BA samples. This allowed them to identify local regions of uniformity in its molecular lattice, free from impurities. Within these regions, the material's semiconducting properties were some of the best ever measured, displaying exceptional values for thermal conductivity and hole mobility that were similar to those predicted from first-principles calculations. Read more A crystal created from boron and arsenic Boron arsenide crystals could cool computer chips Despite this promising discovery, it remains to be seen whether c-BA has a realistic chance of replacing silicon. Both boron and arsenic are far less abundant than silicon in the Earth's crust, and researchers would need to substantially improve the purity of the material during fabrication for large-scale applications to be feasible. However, if these barriers can be overcome, Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston, US and a corresponding author on both studies, says the discovery could have an impact similar to the advances in electronics that followed the advent of silicon wafers. Want to read more? Register to unlock all the content on the site * E-mail Address [ ] Register Sam Jarman is a science writer based in the UK * * * * [SST-Promo-Boxes-466x262-350x197] Semiconductor Science and Technology Publishing cutting-edge research on the physical properties of semiconductors and their applications. 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