Transistors that can change properties are important elements in the development of semiconductors of the future. With standard transistors approaching the limit of how small they can be, it’s becoming increasingly important to have more functionality in the same number of blocks, to build small, energy-efficient circuits for improved memory and more powerful computers. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have demonstrated how to build new configurable transistors and control them on a new, more precise level.

With the ever-increasing need for better, more powerful and efficient circuits, there is a great interest in reconfigurable transistors. The advantages are that, unlike standard semiconductors, the properties of transistors can be changed after they are manufactured.

Historically, the computing power and efficiency of computers have increased by reducing the size of the silicon transistor (also known as Moore’s Law). But it has now reached such a stage that the cost of continued development in this direction has become much higher, and quantum mechanics problems have emerged that have slowed development.

Instead, the search continues for new materials, components and circuits. Lund University is one of the world leaders in III-V materials as an alternative to silicon. These are materials with significant potential for the development of high-frequency technologies (such as parts for future 6G and 7G networks), optical applications, and increasingly energy-efficient electronic components.

Ferroelectric materials are used to realize this potential. These are special materials that can change their internal polarization under the influence of an electric field. It can be likened to an ordinary magnet, but instead of magnetic north and south poles, positive and negative electric poles are created on both sides of the material. You can control the transistor by changing the polarization. Another advantage is that it “remembers” the polarization of the material even if the current is turned off.

Using a new material combination, the researchers created ferroelectric “grains” that control tunneling (the electrical bridge effect) in a transistor. This is on an extremely small scale – a particle is 10 nanometers in size. By measuring fluctuations in voltage or current, it was possible to determine when polarization changed in individual particles and thus understand how this affected the behavior of the transistor.

A recently published study Nature Communication And Science Advanceslooks at a new ferroelectric memory in the form of tunnel barrier transistors to create new circuit architectures. Source