Breakthrough promises better smartphone battery life

Scientists in Shanghai have developed a new material that can be used to create two-dimensional, energy-efficient computer chips. They could significantly improve their energy efficiency and have a significant impact on the endurance of smartphone batteries.

According to the researchers, energy-saving and efficient integrated circuits built on the basis of this material will support the sustainable development of 5G technologies, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and other fields, as well as contribute to the popularization of a new generation of intelligent devices.

As electronic devices become smaller and more efficient, the number of transistors continues to increase even as the integrated circuits themselves become smaller.

Experts explained that when the thickness of conventional silicon-based transistor materials is reduced to the nanometer level, their insulating properties are greatly reduced, which causes current leakage. This not only increases the chip’s power consumption but also causes increased heat generation, which affects the stability and life of the device.

To solve this problem, a team of researchers from the Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai developed an innovative metal intercalation oxidation technology and used it to create a sapphire crystal dielectric, which is currently used in the development of low-power, high-performance two-dimensional integrated circuits.

A paper describing the breakthrough discovery was published on Wednesday in the international scientific journal Nature.

2D semiconductor materials are ideal for the next generation of integrated circuits. Samsung is working on using such materials to produce high-frequency, low-power circuits. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is investigating how to integrate such materials into existing semiconductor processes to improve transistor performance and reduce power consumption.

The European Union has adopted the European Integrated Circuits Act, which promotes research and development of 2D semiconductor materials.

Di Zengfeng, a principal investigator on the team, said the heart of the technology lies in the ability to precisely manipulate oxygen atoms so that they can be deposited layer by layer into the aluminum crystal lattice at room temperature, creating an ordered single-crystal aluminum oxide dielectric material — sapphire.

Conventional alumina materials often exhibit a disordered structure, which can lead to a significant reduction in their insulating properties in very thin films. However, the structure of single-crystal sapphire results in higher electron mobility and lower leakage current, Di said.

“The orderly arrangement of the material at the microscopic level ensures electron stability during transport, which helps prevent current leakage even at thicknesses as small as 1 nanometer, significantly improving the energy efficiency of integrated circuits,” he said.