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'Next-gen semicon could be carbon-based'

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CIOL Bureau
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PORTLAND, USA: Researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States have said that the next generation of semiconductors is likely to be based on carbon instead of silicon.

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They claim that they have perfected a method to fabricate pure sheets of carbon semiconductor, named graphene, on 100-millimetre (4-inch) wafers.

Graphene, which is the crystalline form of carbon that self-assembles into 2-dimension hexagonal arrays, is perfect for making electronic devices, the researchers have said.

According to the researchers at the Electro-Optics Center Materials (EOC) Division of Pennsylvania State University, the process they have developed can be used to fabricate graphene chips that are 100 times to 1,000 times faster than silicon. Besides, this process can be employed to make more sensitive sensors, solar cells, electronics, sensors, hydrogen storage devices, and displays.

David Snyder and Randy Cavalero, researchers at the Electro-Optics Center Materials (EOC) Division of Pennsylvania State University, say that when conventional deposition techniques are used with carbon to grow sheets larger than 1 inch, these sheets tend to degenerate into irregular graphite structures.

But, David Snyder and Randy Cavalero claim that they have developed a method – known as ‘sublimation’ – that thermally removes silicon from silicon carbide wafers, leaving pure graphene.

Another research team at EOC is already working on perfecting a non-sublimation technique to produce wafers with 200 millimetres (8 inches) in diameter – which is the standard size used currently by most silicon fabrication equipment.

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