A 1950s Material Just Set a Modern Record For Lightning-fast Chips (sciencedaily.com) 14
"Researchers engineered a strained germanium layer on silicon that allows charge to move faster than in any silicon-compatible material to date," reports Science Daily. "This record mobility could lead to chips that run cooler, faster, and with dramatically lower energy consumption.
"The discovery also enhances the prospects for silicon-based quantum devices..." Scientists from the University of Warwick and the National Research Council of Canada have reported the highest "hole mobility" ever measured in a material that works within today's silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing.... The researchers created a nanometer-thin germanium epilayer on silicon that is placed under compressive strain. This engineered structure enables electric charge to move faster than in any previously known silicon-compatible material...
The findings establish a promising new route for ultra-fast, low-power semiconductor components. Potential uses include quantum information systems, spin qubits, cryogenic controllers for quantum processors, AI accelerators, and energy-efficient servers designed to reduce cooling demands in data centers. This achievement also represents a significant accomplishment for Warwick's Semiconductors Research Group and highlights the UK's growing influence in advanced semiconductor materials research.
"The discovery also enhances the prospects for silicon-based quantum devices..." Scientists from the University of Warwick and the National Research Council of Canada have reported the highest "hole mobility" ever measured in a material that works within today's silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing.... The researchers created a nanometer-thin germanium epilayer on silicon that is placed under compressive strain. This engineered structure enables electric charge to move faster than in any previously known silicon-compatible material...
The findings establish a promising new route for ultra-fast, low-power semiconductor components. Potential uses include quantum information systems, spin qubits, cryogenic controllers for quantum processors, AI accelerators, and energy-efficient servers designed to reduce cooling demands in data centers. This achievement also represents a significant accomplishment for Warwick's Semiconductors Research Group and highlights the UK's growing influence in advanced semiconductor materials research.
Operation Paperclip (Score:2)
Operation Paperclip -> Clippy -> Chippy?
21st century material (Score:5, Informative)
Nobody was doing strained-layer epitaxy in the 1950s.
Re:21st century material (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:21st century material (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder... (Score:5, Interesting)
TFA doesn't mention this; but if PN junctions in this new material have the same 300mV forward voltage drop that regular germanium diodes and transistors have, then that will contribute a bit to the speed. I think it should also reduce power consumption by a non-trivial amount - perhaps by a factor of two when compared with regular silicon junctions.
Expected (Score:3)
SiGe isn't knew:
https://anysilicon.com/introdu... [anysilicon.com]
Gallium Arsenide is also a thing.
Re: (Score:3)
Article mentions gallium arsenide and very briefly issues with using it.
Anyway, research on alternatives to Silicon-based semiconductors comes up in the news every few years or so, and then vanishes again. Research may get some real funding at some point though, as eventually we're gonna run out of ways to get more mileage from Silicon base. Eventually. Probably. Just that there's so much invested into current that trying to catch anything else up for performance seems like a real risk with no guarantee
Re: (Score:3)
One issue with germanium, and even more so with gallium, is the very limited number of sources for them. China controls over 70% of world germanium production, and well over 90% of gallium. Get dependent on one or the other for computing and you are thus dependent on China for computing.
Re: (Score:2)
Wow talk about a spelling error. SiGe isn't gnu either!
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, but GaAs is relatively difficult and expensive to work with. The article is about Germanium on a Silicon substrate. Similar process, very different requirements.
For us, or them? (Score:2)
This record mobility could lead to chips that run cooler, faster, and with dramatically lower energy consumption.
But not for consumers if they still keep the AI hype up and everything is bought up for datacenteers..
We can put them in the PC's we cant afford! (Score:2)
Great timing.