Communications of the ACM
Silicene: The Future of Electronics?
Scanning transmission microscopy image of the various surface domains of silicene.
Credit: R&D Magzine
Italian researchers say they have developed a new kind of silicene, an atomically thin form of silicon, that could revolutionize nanoelectronics.
The silicene structure consists of one atomic layer of silicon atoms, making it similar to graphene. Silicene exhibits a band gap without modification and it has inherent compatibility with silicon technology already in use.
The researchers grew thin layers of silicene on silver substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, various domains of silicene were observed, showing markedly different surface symmetries. The researchers also were able to show that the buckled structures, where the strict two-dimensional symmetry was broken, exhibited qualitatively different electronic properties than the non-buckled phases.
The researchers say that understanding the details of silicene's structures and controlling them could lead to a new generation of computers.
From R&D Magazine
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