Researchers have produced the first transistors made of silicene, a material that is just one atom thick and known to be the "thinnest silicon" in the world.

The latest development offers great promise in enhancing the speeds of computers and electronics.

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering, who created the transistors made of silicene, believe the new material has exceptional electrical properties. Until now, it has been very difficult to work with and produce silicene.

Deji Akinwande, assistant professor in the Cockrell School's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with his team, claims to have solved a key challenge that surrounds silicene. The researchers showed that the material can be created into transistors. A transistor is a semi-conductor device, which is used to switch and amplify electrical power and electronic signals.

Akinwande posits that the new material can revolutionize the semiconductor industry and help in the development of superfast and energy-efficient chips.

Several years back silicene made by humans was just a theoretical material. Researchers looked at carbon-based graphene, which is also an atom-thick material with potential for chip development, and wondered if silicon atoms could also be structured in a similar way.

"Apart from introducing a new player in the playground of 2-D materials, silicene, with its close chemical affinity to silicon, suggests an opportunity in the road map of the semiconductor industry," said Akinwande.

Akinwande also believes that it is the first time a silicene device has been made and fabricated at low temperature.

Silicene, according to the researchers, is very difficult to work with when it is exposed to air due to its instability and complexity. To overcome this challenge, the researchers developed a novel method of fabricating silicene, which reduces air exposure.

How exactly did they produce the material?

The scientists allowed silicon atoms in the form of vapor to condense onto a crystalline block of silver, which was in a vacuum chamber. A silicene sheet was then formed on a thin layer of silver. A nanometer-thick layer of alumina on top was added to the sheet.

"Because of these protective layers, the team could safely peel it off its base and transfer it silver-side-up to an oxidized-silicon substrate. They were then able to gently scrape some of the silver to leave behind two islands of metal as electrodes, with a strip of silicene between them," the researchers noted.

The transistor has just been tested in vacuum conditions and is yet to be tested in open air. Even though it is not possible to have vacuum conditions in the real world, researchers suggest it is still an important step toward the development of silicene-based transistors.

The study was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Note: The spelling of silicene was corrected in several instances on Feb. 5.

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