In their work, published in the journal Science, the scientists showed that cubic boron arsenide solvestwo
Boron arsenide showed all the qualities necessary forgood semiconductor, scientists said. In previous studies, they showed that boron arsenide has a very good band gap and high thermal conductivity. In the new work, they studied the mobility of electrons and holes, quasiparticles with a positive charge that form in place of an electron that has passed to a neighboring atom.
The results of the study showed that mobilityboth electrons and holes in the new material surpasses those of silicon. The scientists note that the electronic properties of cubic boron arsenide were originally predicted based on quantum mechanical calculations of the density function. The experiment fully confirmed the calculations.
This is important because, of course, in semiconductorswe have both positive and negative charges equally. So, if you're building a device, you need a material where both electrons and holes move with less resistance.
Gan Chen, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-author of the work
Silicon is one of the most commonelements on Earth, and in its pure form this material has become the basis of many modern technologies, from solar cells to computer chips. But its properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal, the authors of the work note. Although it easily passes electrons through its structure, it is much less adaptable to "holes". In addition, silicon does not conduct heat very well, creating overheating problems.
Scientists note that the new material is potentiallyable to replace silicon. But first, it is necessary to develop cheap methods for the high-quality production of this material. In addition, a number of other properties of boron arsenide need to be assessed, such as how well it will perform in the long run.
Previously, Hi-Tech talked about the development of a technology for creating cheap semiconductors from magnesium diboride.
Cover image: Christine Daniloff, MIT
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