A nanoscale ferroelectric semiconductor could power AI on a phone and post-Moore's Law computing

Ferroelectric semiconductors could be a contender for bridging mainstream computing and next-generation architectures. A team from the University of Michigan has now made them five nanometers thick, a span of only 50 or so atoms.

Ferroelectric semiconductors could be a contender for bridging mainstream computing and next-generation architectures. A team from the University of Michigan has now made them five nanometers thick, a span of only 50 or so atoms.

This opens up the possibility of integrating ferroelectric technology with other components in smartphones and computers, expanding artificial intelligence capabilities and sensing capabilities. They could also be used to power batteryless devices, which is crucial for the Internet of Things (IoT), which powers smart homes, detects problems in industrial systems, and alerts people to potential safety hazards." This will enable the realization of ultra efficient, ultra-low power, fully integrated devices with main semiconductors," Zetian Mi, U. M professor of electrical engineering and co-author of the study, said." This will be extremely important for future AI-related devices and IoT-related products." Ferroelectric semiconductors are unique because they can maintain an electrical polarization like the electric version magnetism. They can also switch between the positive and negative ends, unlike a refrigerator magnet. This property can be used for many purposes, including sensing light and acoustic vibrations as well as harvesting them as energy.

They offer a different way to store and process both quantum and classical information. The two states of electrical polarization can be used as the one and zero in computing. This computing method can also emulate the connections between neurons. This allows for both memory storage and information processing in brain. This architecture is known as neuromorphic computing and it is ideal for supporting AI algorithms which process information through neural network.

The storage of energy as electrical polarization takes less energy than the RAM capacitors, which draw power constantly or lose data. An SSD could even outlast them. This type of memory can be more densely packed and have a higher capacity. It is also more resistant to extreme temperatures, humidity, and radiation.

Mi's team had previously demonstrated ferroelectric behaviour in a semiconductor made from aluminum nitride and spiked with scandium. This metal is sometimes used to fortify aluminum in fighter jets and performance bikes. They needed to be able make it in films less than 10 nanometers to use it in modern computing devices. This is about 100 atoms thick.

This was possible using molecular beam epitaxy (the same technique used to make semiconductor crystals for CD and DVD players). They were able to lay down a 5 nanometer thick crystal in a machine that exuded steampunk spirit. They achieved this by controlling each layer of atoms in ferroelectric semiconductor and minimizing losses from the surface.

Ding Wang, a researcher in electrical and computer engineering, and the first author of the study, stated that "by reducing the thickness, it was possible that we could reduce the operation voltage." This means that we can reduce the device's size and power consumption during operation.

Nanoscale manufacturing also improves the ability of researchers to study the fundamental property of the material, discovering its limits at small sizes and possibly opening the door to its use in quantum technology due to its unusual optical or acoustic characteristics." With this thinness we can really explore physics interactions," said Ping Wang (U-M research scientist, electrical and computer engineering)."This will allow us to develop future quantum systems, and quantum devices."