New material to make next generation of electronics faster and more efficient

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/08/2024) — Researchers at the University of Minnesota have achieved a new material that will be pivotal in making the next generation of high-power electronics faster, transparent and more efficient. This artificially designed material allows electrons to move faster while remaining transparent to both visible and ultraviolet light, breaking the previous record.

The research, published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, marks a significant leap forward in semiconductor design, which is crucial to a trillion-dollar global industry expected to continue growing as digital technologies expand.

Semiconductors power nearly all electronics, from smartphones to medical devices. A key to advancing these technologies lies in improving what scientists refer to as "ultra-wide band gap" materials. These materials can conduct electricity efficiently even under extreme conditions. Ultra-wide band gap semiconductors enable high-performance at elevated temperatures, making them essential for more durable and robust electronics.

In this paper, the researchers looked at creating a new class of materials with increased “band gap,” enhancing both transparency and conductivity. This unique achievement supports the development of faster, more efficient devices, paving the way for breakthroughs in computers, smartphones, and potentially even quantum computing.

The new material is a transparent conducting oxide, created with a specialized thin-layered structure that enhances transparency without sacrificing conductivity. As technology and artificial intelligence applications demand ever-more capable materials, this groundbreaking development offers a promising solution.

"This breakthrough is a game-changer for transparent conducting materials, enabling us to overcome limitations that have held back deep ultra-violet device performance for years," said Bharat Jalan, Shell Chair and Professor in the University of Minnesota's Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

The work not only demonstrates an unprecedented combination of transparency and conductivity in the deep-ultraviolet spectrum but also paves the way for innovations in high-power and optoelectronic devices that can operate in the most demanding environments, Jalan explained.

The study’s first co-authors Fengdeng Liu and Zhifei Yang, chemical engineering and materials science Ph.D. students working in Jalan’s lab, said they proved that the properties of the material were almost too perfect to believe for these electronic applications. They ran multiple experiments and eliminated defects in the material to increase its performance.

“Through detailed electron microscopy, we saw this material was clean with no obvious defects, revealing just how powerful oxide-based perovskites can be as semiconductors if defects are controlled,” said Andre Mkhoyan, a senior author on the paper and Ray D. and Mary T. Johnson Chair and Professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

In addition to Jalan, Liu, Yang, and Mkhoyan, the team included Silo Guo from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and David Abramovitch and Marco Bernardi from the California Institute of Technology’s Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science.

This work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the National Science Foundation, and the University of Minnesota Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). The work was completed in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Characterization Facility and the Minnesota Nano Center.

To read the full paper titled, “Deep-ultraviolet transparent conducting SrSnO3 via heterostructure design,” visit the Science Advances website.