Is it possible to make materials that defeat graphene's magic?

Creating a graphene-like material that is semiconductor will open many excellent applications in digital technology.

Which material can defeat graphene, the metamaterial that is only one atom thick, which is 200 times harder than steel? Scientists seem to have found it, at least in theory. Instead of a network of carbon atoms that make graphene, the material uses a similar network of silicon, boron and nitrogen. It will " copy" all the properties of graphene that the cost of manufacturing is not expensive.

The structure of the material promises to defeat graphene.

The study of graphene beat material was conducted in collaboration with the University of Kentucky, USA, Daimler research facility in Germany and the Institute of Electronic and Laser Structures, Greece. Scientists use computer simulations to build a cheaper and more stable material graphene from silicon, boron and nitrogen atoms.

Accordingly, this similar graphene material is very sustainable. Madhu Menon, a physicist at the University of Kentucky Computer Science Center, said: "We heated this material up to 1000 ^° C, it's still not broken."

It sounds very impressive, but actually scientists heat this material on a computer. It simply hasn't been created yet. So why are they confidently affirming their results?

Three scientists in the study, including Menon, Antonis Andriotis from the Institute of Electronic and Laser Structures, Greece and Ernst Richter of Daimler, used the most advanced theoretical calculations today. They made it clear that graphene has a major drawback: it behaves like a metal, not a semiconductor. This, their new materials can be overcome.

Semiconductor properties of new materials are built on silicon components in it. Networks will also be hexagonal like graphene. This overcomes the instability of the flat structure of three silicon, boron and nitrogen atoms combined.

The graphene network consists of identical carbon atoms like this, which is more like a metal than a semiconductor.

Creating a graphene-like material that is semiconductor will open many excellent applications in digital technology. Everyone knows that electronic semiconductor chips are getting thinner. The thinner they are, the more compact and powerful the computer will be. But then the chips won't be thin forever.

"We know semiconductor chip technology is reaching its limits. We are increasingly expecting them to be smaller and smaller," Menon said. "But everyone knows they can't go on thin, we need a better material."

What Menon refers to is the material they developed on computers at the University of Kentucky Computer Science Center. So far, it has been evaluated as a success on the theoretical model. The next step scientists will have to find a way to create this material in practice.

"The final theory will have to be verified experimentally, as soon as possible , " Menon said. If successful, this material will surely open a new page for material science. "We can expect surprises to be created," Menon concluded.