#etching
Le Loup dans la neige, Félix Bracquemond, 1864
Search for new semiconductors heats up with gallium oxide
University of Illinois electrical engineers have cleared another hurdle in high-power semiconductor fabrication by adding the field’s hottest material – beta-gallium oxide – to their arsenal. Beta-gallium oxide is readily available and promises to convert power faster and more efficiently than today’s leading semiconductor materials – gallium nitride and silicon, the researchers said.
Their findings are published in the journal ACS Nano.
Flat transistors have become about as small as is physically possible, but researchers addressed this problem by going vertical. With a technique called metal-assisted chemical etching – or MacEtch – U. of I. engineers used a chemical solution to etch semiconductor into 3D fin structures. The fins increase the surface area on a chip, allowing for more transistors or current, and can therefore handle more power while keeping the chip’s footprint the same size.
Developed at the U. of I., the MacEtch method is superior to traditional “dry” etching techniques because it is far less damaging to delicate semiconductor surfaces, such as beta-gallium oxide, researchers said.
“Gallium oxide has a wider energy gap in which electrons can move freely,” said the study’s lead author Xiuling Li, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. “This energy gap needs to be large for electronics with higher voltages and even low-voltage ones with fast switching frequencies, so we are very interested in this type of material for use in modern devices. However, it has a more complex crystal structure than pure silicon, making it difficult to control during the etching process.”
la femme aux raisins by Louis Icart
A lovely etching by French artist Louis Icart. Unfortunately I had to censor it to get by tumblr’s Hayes Office.
Edward Hopper - Night in the Park (1921)