University of Tokyo builds 0.6 nm 2D semiconductor as TSMC is reportedly backing 12-inch wafer goal
A research team at the University of Tokyo has developed a new two-dimensional semiconductor material called BCN, made of boron, carbon and nitrogen, and used it to build working transistors, according to the source article. The findings were published in Nature and, as reported by Nikkei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has begun supporting the project with a target of achieving 12-inch wafers around 2031. The team said it formed a uniform film about 0.6 nanometers thick on a 2-inch copper wafer. The report also said transistor performance can rival silicon semiconductors. Researchers from National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Academia Sinica were listed as participants in the Nature paper. The work addresses a long-standing issue in 2D semiconductor manufacturing, where carbon tends to clump during reactions and degrade material quality. The team said it overcame that by supplying carbon slowly on insulating boron nitride crystals and coordinating the timing of boron, carbon and nitrogen atom supply. BCN is also described as a high-performance p-type 2D material, a category the industry has lacked for building full logic circuits with both n-type and p-type semiconductors.
