Semiconductors are physical systems whose electrical conductivity lies between that of conductors and insulators and is strongly tunable by temperature, impurity concentration, and external fields. Their behavior is governed by band structure, featuring a finite band gap between valence and conduction bands that enables controlled carrier generation and recombination. Charge transport arises from electrons and holes, with densities modulated via doping, optical excitation, or electrostatic gating. Semiconductor systems support phenomena such as drift, diffusion, and quantum confinement, and they serve as the foundational medium for devices like diodes, transistors, and optoelectronic components through engineered heterostructures, junctions, and nanostructures.
Advances in computing power over the decades have come thanks in part to our ability to make smaller and smaller transistors, a building block of electronic devices, but we are nearing the limit of the silicon materials typically ...
Nanomaterials
Feb 15, 2023
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Van der Waals heterostructures integrated from various two-dimensional (2D) layered materials provide fundamental building blocks for optoelectronic devices with novel functionalities, such as photovoltaic solar cells, light ...
Nanophysics
Feb 3, 2023
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In the year 1808, French chemists Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thenard, and independently, English chemist Humphry Davy, discovered the fifth element of the periodic table—boron. In crystalline form, boron primarily ...
True to Moore's Law, the number of transistors on a microchip has doubled every year since the 1960s. But this trajectory is predicted to soon plateau because silicon—the backbone of modern transistors—loses its electrical ...
Nanophysics
Jan 18, 2023
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As semiconductor devices become ever smaller, researchers are exploring two-dimensional (2D) materials for potential applications in transistors and optoelectronics. Controlling the flow of electricity and heat through these ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 4, 2023
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110
A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team of scientists and engineers has developed a new method for making thin films of perovskite oxide semiconductors, a class of "smart" materials with unique properties that can ...
Nanophysics
Jan 3, 2023
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251
A pressing quest in the field of nanoelectronics is the search for a material that could replace silicon. Graphene has seemed promising for decades. But its potential has faltered along the way, due to damaging processing ...
Nanophysics
Dec 21, 2022
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A team of researchers in China have developed a high-conductivity material that could greatly reduce contact resistance and Schottky barrier height within critical parts of electronic and optoelectronic microchips, paving ...
Nanophysics
Dec 8, 2022
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TU Wien (Vienna) has succeeded in making a new type of material usable for chip technology. This enables faster, more efficient computers and new types of quantum devices.
Nanophysics
Nov 8, 2022
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175
Ruddlesden-Popper-type (RP) quasi-two-dimensional (2D) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted extensive attention due to their unique photovoltaic properties and excellent device stability. Due to disordered crystallization, ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 3, 2022
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