A University of Tokyo research team has developed a new semiconductor material called BCN with a thickness of roughly one atom and has already built transistors from it, with the results published in Nature. According to Nikkei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has started supporting the research, with a goal of reaching 12-inch wafers around 2031.
Silicon scaling is nearing physical limits
The report frames the development against the semiconductor industry’s long-running reliance on Moore’s Law, under which integrated circuit performance has roughly doubled every two years. For decades, chipmakers improved performance by shrinking circuits and packing more of them onto chips.
That path is getting harder to sustain as mainstream silicon semiconductors move closer to physical scaling limits. The search for next-generation materials that could replace silicon has become a major issue across the global chip industry.
BCN film formed at about 0.6 nanometers
Among the candidate technologies, atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors have drawn attention. The University of Tokyo team developed BCN, a material made of boron, carbon and nitrogen, and formed a uniform thin film about 0.6 nanometers thick on a 2-inch copper wafer.
The report said the team used that film to fabricate transistors and confirmed that they operate normally. It added that the transistor performance can rival silicon semiconductors.
The Nature paper also lists researchers from National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Academia Sinica among the participants in the study.
Team addressed carbon clumping by slowing carbon supply
A persistent obstacle in making 2D semiconductors has been carbon clustering during reactions, which lowers material quality and complicates mass production.
The researchers said they found that supplying carbon slowly on non-conductive boron nitride crystals allows the crystal to grow uniformly. By adjusting the chemical composition of the source materials, they also coordinated the supply timing of boron, carbon and nitrogen atoms, solving the earlier mismatch in when atoms arrived during growth.
Thin even in stacked layers
The report said BCN remains very thin even when stacked in multiple layers. That could allow future chips not only to keep shrinking circuits laterally, but also to stack upward vertically, raising circuit density and opening a path to higher-performance semiconductors.
Building complete logic circuits with 2D chips requires both n-type and p-type semiconductors. The article said the industry has lacked a high-performance p-type 2D material, and BCN could fill that gap.
TSMC support was reported after the research announcement
According to Nikkei, TSMC began supporting the project after the University of Tokyo announced the research results. The target is to realize 12-inch wafers around 2031, matching the wafer size widely used in advanced manufacturing processes today. If achieved, the technology could move closer to industrial use.
TSMC had not publicly responded to the report at the time the source article was published.
The article added that high-performance semiconductors could be used in next-generation electronics such as low-power computers and smartphones. University of Tokyo professor Vincent Tung said the new material will become a new foundation supporting a range of technologies.