South Korean Research Team Develops Sub-Nanometer Transistors

TapTechNews July 4th news, the research team of the Institute of Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea has made a breakthrough and successfully developed sub-nanometer transistors, surpassing the existing industry development expectations. This technology is expected to lead the research and development of the next generation of low-power high-performance electronic devices.

According to TapTechNews, the integration degree of semiconductor devices depends on the width and length of the gate electrode. In the traditional semiconductor manufacturing process, due to the limitation of lithography resolution, it is impossible to reduce the gate length to several nanometers or less. The mirror twin boundary (MTB) of two-dimensional semiconductor molybdenum disulfide is a one-dimensional metal with a width of only 0.4 nanometers, so the researchers used it as a gate electrode to overcome the limitation of lithography process.

This achievement is significantly better than the prediction of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems of Integrated Circuits (IRDS) previously released by the IEEE predicted that by 2037, the chip manufacturing process will reach about 0.5 nanometers and the transistor gate length will be 12 nanometers. However, the 1DMTB transistor developed by Korean researchers has a gate length of only 3.9 nanometers.

This research was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology on July 3rd. The research team explained in the paper that they achieved this breakthrough by atomically controlling the crystal structure of the existing two-dimensional semiconductor and transforming it into a one-dimensional mirrored twin boundary (MTB) metal phase. The artificial control of crystal structure to synthesize materials is the key to this technological progress.

Compared with traditional fin field-effect transistors (FinFET) or GAA technology, this new type of 1DMTB transistor also has inherent advantages. The researchers said that due to its simple structure and extremely narrow gate width, this transistor can minimize parasitic capacitance, thereby bringing higher stability.

Director JOMoon-Ho of IBS is optimistic about the prospect of this technology and believes that 1DMTB transistor is expected to become a key technology for the future research and development of various low-power high-performance electronic devices.