In 2021, a team of MIT physicists made waves by creating an ultrathin ferroelectric material with the potential to transform computer memory and beyond. Now, that same team, joined by colleagues including researchers from the neighboring lab, has achieved a significant milestone. They have successfully built a transistor using this innovative material, and the results are astounding.
“In several aspects, its properties already meet or exceed industry standards” for existing ferroelectric transistors, explains Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, who co-led the research with physics professor Raymond Ashoori. Both professors are also affiliated with the Materials Research Laboratory.
While the team’s achievement currently involves a single laboratory transistor, its implications are far-reaching. “In my lab, we primarily do fundamental physics. This is one of the first, and perhaps most dramatic, examples of how very basic science has led to something that could have a major impact on applications,” says Jarillo-Herrero. Ashoori echoes this sentiment, stating,
When I think of my whole career in physics, this is the work that I think 10 to 20 years from now could change the world.
What makes this new transistor so remarkable? It boasts a unique set of properties: lightning-fast switching speeds between positive and negative charges (essential for digital information processing) on the nanosecond scale, incredible durability even after 100 billion switching cycles, and an incredibly thin profile measuring only billionths of a meter. This thinness translates to denser computer memory storage and significant energy efficiency due to the ultralow voltages required for operation.
Details of this groundbreaking work are published in a recent issue of Science. The research was spearheaded by co-first authors Kenji Yasuda, now an assistant professor at Cornell University, and Evan Zalys-Geller, currently at Atom Computing. Additional contributors include Xirui Wang, an MIT graduate student in physics; Daniel Bennett and Efthimios Kaxiras of Harvard University; Suraj S. Cheema, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an affiliate of the Research Laboratory of Electronics; and Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi of the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan.
At the heart of this innovation lies the unique structure of the ferroelectric material. Unlike naturally occurring boron nitride, where layers are rotated by 180 degrees, this new material features atomically thin sheets of boron nitride stacked parallel to each other. When an electric field is applied, these layers slide slightly, altering the positions of boron and nitrogen atoms and causing a change in polarization that can be used to encode digital information.
“So the miracle is that by sliding the two layers a few angstroms, you end up with radically different electronics,” says Ashoori. Adding to the wonder, this sliding mechanism shows no signs of wear and tear, explaining the transistor’s unprecedented durability.
The development of this transistor is a testament to the power of collaboration. Yasuda highlights the synergy between Jarillo-Herrero’s team, who created the material, and Ashoori’s team, who brought their expertise in measurement techniques. Ashoori emphasizes the natural fit of their combined expertise and the exciting discoveries that emerged from their collaboration.
Despite the significant achievement, challenges remain. Scaling up production of the new ferroelectric material to meet potential demand is a key hurdle. However, with various research groups already exploring solutions, the future of this technology looks promising. As Ashoori concludes, while challenges exist, “if you solve them, this material fits in so many ways into potential future electronics. It’s very exciting.”
This research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office, the MIT/Microsystems Technology Laboratories Samsung Semiconductor Research Fund, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Ramon Areces Foundation, and the Basic Energy Sciences program of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan.
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