Revolutionising the semiconductor industry: Chinese scientists unveil 12-inch wafer with groundbreaking 2D materials

Name: China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war
Uploaded: 2023-08-28T06:00:20.000Z
Duration: 3 min 36 s
Description: China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war

Researchers have managed to produce new 12-inch wafers that are just one atom thick and have low production costs

Work still needs to be done to transform them into a usable chip but scientists expect they will eventually complement silicon chips

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A breakthrough in the production of 2D 12-inch wafers could revolutionise the semiconductor industry. Photo: AFP

Zhang Tongin Beijing

Published: 2:00pm, 28 Aug 2023

A breakthrough in the production of a new two-dimensional (2D) material, which is the thickness of about one atom, is set to pave the way for the transition to next-generation semiconductors.

Chinese scientists have managed to use the new semiconductor material to produce 12-inch wafers. The milestone could see them complement traditional silicon chips.

As the new 2D material is so thin, it gives the wafers excellent semiconducting properties. But the team of scientists had to solve issues around the scaling up of the wafers’ size and being able to produce them at a high capacity.

In an exclusive interview with the Post, Professor Liu Kaihui of Peking University, who was the lead scientist on the project, said his team’s work had given assurance to the industry of the practical applications of the 2D material.

“We proved to the industry that this is scientifically feasible and instilled confidence. If there are industrial demands in the future, progress in this field will advance by leaps and bounds,” Liu said.

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China restricts critical metal exports following Western semiconductor curbs in latest trade war

In collaboration with Professor Liu Can at Renmin University of China and Professor Zhang Guangyu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, his team developed the manufacturing strategy in Beijing and verified it at Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan. They published a paper of their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 30.

Revolutionising the semiconductor industry: Chinese scientists unveil 12-inch wafer with groundbreaking 2D materials

Researchers have managed to produce new 12-inch wafers that are just one atom thick and have low production costs Work still needs to be done to transform them into a usable chip but scientists expect they will eventually complement silicon chips

Researchers have managed to produce new 12-inch wafers that are just one atom thick and have low production costs

Work still needs to be done to transform them into a usable chip but scientists expect they will eventually complement silicon chips