2D circuit photographs and bandgap chart. (via the group's report on Nano Letter.)
So thin that they call it two dimensional, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a new class of semiconductor. Quantum confinement is at the heart of the development, where the electrical and optical properties of an unconfined bulk semiconductor change as the size is reduced. The biggest benefit of the discovery comes in the fact the conductors can be applied to any substrate.
The tech is dubbed Quantum Membranes (QM). To fabricate the conductor, indium arsenide is first grown on Gallium Antimonide (GaSb) or Aluminum Gallium Antimonide (AlGaSb). The bottom layers are removed, leaving the indium arsenide conductors, in whatever shape was originally formed. The conductors can then be placed on any substrate desired. This is somewhat of a elaborate trick to get material compatibility. The electron mobility of the QM is not dependent on electrical fields applied at all but very high fields. The result is used in quantum electrical and optical applications, where graphene was predominantly used. The added benefit of the new conductor over graphene is the bandgap of the material. Graphene hovers around 30eV while this indium arsenide conductor can get lower than 0.4eV.
Researchers on the project, led by Ali Javey, claim that this new semiconductor will give unprecedented data on how quantum confined materials operate. Which, of course, will soon lead to further tweaking and new materials.
Cabe