Molybdenum Disulfide Provides Insight for Chip Revolution

Recently, the EPFL research team used molybdenum disulfide to develop a new type of "brain-like neuron transmission" computer chip, which has the ability to process and store information in the same circuit, and realize a small size for computer equipment. It provides insight for optimization, high efficiency and energy saving.

Molybdenum disulfide is a transition metal chalcogenide two-dimensional material (TMDC), which has a graphene-like layered structure and has the characteristics of a direct band gap semiconductor that graphene does not have. Molybdenum disulfide is composed of three atomic plane layers (S-Mo-S) stacked. It holds a large specific surface area, high electron migration rate, anti-magnetic resistance to radiation, low energy consumption, environmental protection, energy saving and efficiency, and high stability. And can achieve large-scale production, is an ideal material for optical and electronic equipment.

For the first time, EPFL researchers have successfully applied the two-dimensional material molybdenum disulfide to a chip that integrates data storage and logic operations. This will subvert the traditional computer model of processing data by the central processing unit (CPU) and then transmitting it to hard disk storage. Related results are published in Nature.

According to reports, the chips are based on floating gate field effect transistors (FGFETs) and are usually used in flash memory systems in cameras, mobile phones or computer equipment. These transistors can hold a charge for a long time, and molybdenum disulfide with a thickness of only three atomic layers can not only further reduce the volume of electronic devices, but also has a strong sensitivity to the charge stored in the transistor, so logic operations can be implemented at the same time.

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