First Transistors Made Entirely of 2-D Materials 137
ckwu (2886397) writes "Two independent research groups report the first transistors built entirely of two-dimensional electronic materials, making the devices some of the thinnest yet. The transistors, just a few atoms thick and hence transparent, are smaller than their silicon-based counterparts, which would allow for a super-high density of pixels in flexible, next-generation displays. The research teams, one at Argonne National Laboratory and the other at the University of California, Berkeley, used materials such as tungsten diselenide, graphene, and boron nitride to make all three components of a transistor: a semiconductor, a set of electrodes, and an insulating layer. Electrons travel in the devices 70 to 100 times faster than in amorphous silicon. Such a high electron mobility means the transistors switch faster, which dictates a display's refresh rate and is necessary for high-quality video, especially 3-D video."
Re:getting real sick of this (Score:2, Informative)
Cross-posted w/ you, but yeah, agreed - headline fail, big-time. This doesn't even count the fact that the electrons passing through said transistor still occupy three dimensions as well.
Re: getting real sick of this (Score:5, Informative)
Not the Cartesian thickness, the 2D refers to the absence of a degree of freedom: If the electrons are constrained to have no motion possible along the radial axis, that axis is considered removed from their freedom. Hence, 2D transistors
To all who say it's not two-dimensional (Score:3, Informative)
adjective
having or appearing to have length and breadth but no depth.
According some of the definitions of two-dimensional that I am reading here, there is no such thing as two-dimensional outside of a few popular thought experiments in theoretical physics.
appearing to have - This is why it is not incorrect to call a sheet of paper two-dimensional.
A definition from folks who study these materials (Score:5, Informative)
Re: getting real sick of this (Score:4, Informative)
since they orbit the nucleus
No, they don't do that.
Electrons exist as standing waves when coupled within an atom.
Re: getting real sick of this (Score:2, Informative)