The newly patented material could be used to create a new type of transistor for chip production, replacing silicon transistors whose functionality is limited due to their ultra-small size.

Israel Institute of Technology on July 3 said that Israeli scientists and their partners have developed a new material that can replace silicon.

The new material could be used to create a new type of transistor used to make chips. (Artwork: Business Standard)

According to the Israel Institute of Technology, this material can be used to create a new type of transistor for chip production, replacing silicon transistors whose functionality is limited due to their ultra-small size. of them.

The transistor controls the operation of the chip by controlling the current flowing through it. Over time, these types of transistors have been reduced in size to just tens of atoms, allowing a chip to contain billions of transistors.

Recently, however, the trend towards miniaturization of silicon transistors has slowed as researchers discovered that transistors at small sizes can harm processor operation, causing many problems. danger such as leakage of current when the transistor is turned off.

In addition, miniaturization of silicon transistors also wastes energy, such as draining cell phone batteries quickly and heating up the device, creating huge amounts of heat released into the atmosphere.

A new research report published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials shows that the team developed the oxide in a unique laboratory system, while achieving the same effect on the electrical and insulating properties of the metal. this material to create efficient and accurate transistors.

The researchers have achieved the ability to control the distance between the atoms of the new material with an accuracy of the picometer (or one-thousandth of a nanometer), while the distance between two atoms in silicon, to compare in comparison, is about 1/4 nanometer.

According to the researchers, transistors of the future will be quickly switched on and off thanks to the precise degree of tuning of the material and its atomic structure.