Lately, research has been focused on coming up with different varieties of graphene better suited to electronics applications. A so-called “graphene monoxide (GMO)” looks promising, and an isotopically engineered graphene could find use in heat management applications for electronics.
Researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology have taken a different approach. Instead of altering the graphene, they have re-engineered the basic operating principles of digital switches.
They developed a three-terminal active device (described in the journal Science) in which the key feature is a “an atomically sharp interface between graphene and hydrogenated silicon.” The device, capable of switching on and off via a Schottky barrier that controls the flow of current by changing its height, does so without the graphene losing any of its precious electron mobility.
Whenever you demonstrate a transistor, you get the usual refrain of: “Let me know when you make a simple logic circuit.” Ask and it shall be given. The Samsung researchers have reported the most basic logic gate (inverter) and logic circuits (half-adder) as part of their research, and demonstrated a basic operation (adding).
With nine patents already filed around this research, maybe this will be the way forward in bringing graphene to commercial electronics.
