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Title: Did Peking U. Just Make the World's Fastest Transistor - Without Using
Silicon?

Link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/05/04/...

"It is the fastest, most efficient transistor ever," proclaims an announcment
from Peking University. "And most important of all, there's no trace of
silicon involved," adds ZME Science. From the South China Morning Post: A
team of researchers at Peking University claims to have shattered chip
performance limits and proven that China can use new materials to "change
lanes" in the semiconductor race by circumventing silicon-based roadblocks
entirely. The researchers, led by physical chemistry professor Peng Hailin,
said their self-engineered 2D transistor could operate 40 per cent faster
than Intel and TSMC's cutting-edge 3-nanometre silicon chips, while consuming
10 per cent less energy.... "While this path is born out of necessity due to
current sanctions, it also forces researchers to find solutions from fresh
perspectives," [Hailin] added. "Peking's major innovation comes from the two-
dimensional nature of their transistors, facilitated by using an element
other than silicon," writes Tom's Hardware: Bi�O�Se, or bismuth oxyselenide,
is a semiconductor material studied for its use in sub-1nm process nodes for
years, largely thanks to its ability to be a 2D semiconductor. Two-
dimensional semiconductors, like 2D Bi�O�Se, are more flexible and sturdy at
a small scale than silicon, which runs into reduced carrier mobility at even
the 10nm node. Such breakthroughs into stacked 2D transistors and the move
from silicon to bismuth are exciting for the future of semiconductors and are
necessary for the Chinese industry to compete on the leading edge of
semiconductors. ZME Science adds this note of skepticism. "Turning laboratory
breakthroughs into commercial chips typically takes years - sometimes
decades..." Thanks to Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the article.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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