February 17, 2017

A new technique using liquid metals to create integrated circuits that are just atoms thick could lead to the next big advance for electronics.

The process opens the way for the production of large wafers around 1.5 nanometres in depth (a sheet of paper, by comparison, is 100,000nm thick).

Other techniques have proven unreliable in terms of quality, difficult to scale up and function only at very high temperatures550 degrees or more.

Distinguished Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, from the School of Engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, led the project, which also included colleagues from RMIT and researchers from CSIRO, Monash University, North Carolina State University and the University of California.

He said the electronics industry had hit a barrier.

"The fundamental technology of car engines has not progressed since 1920 and now the same is happening to electronics. Mobile phones and computers are no more powerful than five years ago.

"That is why this new 2D printing technique is so importantcreating many layers of incredibly thin electronic chips on the same surface dramatically increases processing power and reduces costs.

"It will allow for the next revolution in electronics."

Benjamin Carey, a researcher with RMIT and the CSIRO, said creating electronic wafers just atoms thick could overcome the limitations of current chip production.

It could also produce materials that were extremely bendable, paving the way for flexible electronics.

"However, none of the current technologies are able to create homogenous surfaces of atomically thin semiconductors on large surface areas that are useful for the industrial scale fabrication of chips.

"Our solution is to use the metals gallium and indium, which have a low melting point.

"These metals produce an atomically thin layer of oxide on their surface that naturally protects them. It is this thin oxide which we use in our fabrication method.

"By rolling the liquid metal, the oxide layer can be transferred on to an electronic wafer, which is then sulphurised. The surface of the wafer can be pre-treated to form individual transistors.

"We have used this novel method to create transistors and photo-detectors of very high gain and very high fabrication reliability in large scale."

Explore further: Towards the T-1000: Liquid metals propel future electronics

More information: "Wafer Scale Two Dimensional Semiconductors from Printed Oxide Skin of Liquid Metals", Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS14482

Science fiction is inching closer to reality with the development of revolutionary self-propelling liquid metalsa critical step towards future elastic electronics.

Researchers at RMIT and CSIRO plan to revolutionise the manufacture of smartphones, tablets, solar cells, and LED lights.

High-performance electronic circuits made entirely from transparent materials could have countless applications, from head-up displays on car windscreens to transparent TV sets and smart windows in homes and offices. Researchers ...

Electronic components that can be elongated or twisted known as "stretchable" electronics could soon be used to power electronic gadgets, the onboard systems of vehicles, medical devices and other products. And a ...

In an advance that helps pave the way for next-generation electronics and computing technologiesand possibly paper-thin gadgets scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley ...

Breakthrough research at RMIT University is advancing transparent bendable electronics, bringing science fiction gadgets such as unbreakable rubber-like phones, rollable tablets and even functional clothing closer ...

The precise control of electron transport in microelectronics makes complex logic circuits possible that are in daily use in smartphones and laptops. Heat transport is of similar fundamental importance and its control is ...

A new technique using liquid metals to create integrated circuits that are just atoms thick could lead to the next big advance for electronics.

The ability of small intestine cells to absorb nutrients and act as a barrier to pathogens is "significantly decreased" after chronic exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, a common food additive found in everything ...

Gadgets are set to become flexible, highly efficient and much smaller, following a breakthrough in measuring two-dimensional 'wonder' materials by the University of Warwick.

Finding practical solutions to detect proteins, cancer biomarkers, viruses and other small objects has been a key challenge for researchers worldwide for decades. These solutions hold promise for saving lives through more ...

Lithium-ion batteries have become essential in everyday technology. But these power sources can explode under certain circumstances and are not ideal for grid-scale energy storage. Sodium-ion batteries are potentially a safer ...

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Read this article:

Liquid metal nano printing set to revolutionize electronics - Phys.Org