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New Silicon Materials Made with Potential Uses in Electronics


Guest_Jim_*

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Silicon remains the dominant material in our electronics, and while it is reaching its limits, that does not mean it is running out of uses. Researchers at Brown University have recently found a way to grow new nanomaterials of silicon telluride, and these materials could have applications in electronics.

Silicon telluride is a pure, p-type semiconductor with a layered structure that could be used for in battery electrodes. What the Brown researchers found is a way to grow it in 2D nanomaterials. They started by vaporizing silicon and tellurium in a furnace and letting it react with a precursor compound on a substrate, causing the silicon telluride to grow on the precursor. By controlling the temperature and the treatments of the substrate, the researchers were able to make nanoribbons from 50 nm to one micron wide, and 10 microns long, as well as nanoplates that were either lying on the substrate, or standing up. Each of these shapes have different orientations to their crystalline structure, which means they also all have different properties. The researchers also found they could dope the silicon telluride structures by using substrates made of different materials.

Though it will have some competition, these silicon telluride nanostructures could be used to bring 2D materials to our electronics. They do have a stability issue in the environment, but the researchers already have a plan to fix that by oxidizing them and then baking off the tellurium. This will leave a coating of silicon oxide to protect the material.

Source: Brown University


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