A new “superatomic” material has been discovered, which is the fastest semiconductor known to date. This breakthrough could potentially lead to computer chips that are hundreds or even thousands of times faster than the ones currently available. The traditional silicon semiconductors used in computer chips rely on the flow of electrons to transmit data. However, electrons tend to scatter, wasting energy and slowing down the data transmission process.
Researchers at Columbia University in New York, led by Milan Delor, have found a more efficient semiconductor in a material called Re6Se8Cl2. This material, made of rhenium, selenium, and chlorine, is a superatomic material where atoms form clusters and still behave like the original elements in some ways.
While particles called excitons move through this material slower than electrons move through silicon, they travel in straight lines, covering longer distances much more quickly. If a transistor using excitons could be made with this material, it would allow for data to travel from one side of the transistor to the other without scattering. This would result in data transmission speeds that are between 100 and 1000 times faster than electrons in a silicon chip.
The potential performance gains of this new material are significant. Delor explains that current gigahertz processors could potentially reach hundreds of gigahertz or even terahertz in switching speed with the new material. However, it is important to note that a fully functional computer chip utilizing this material is still several decades away. Engineers have spent years perfecting silicon chip manufacturing techniques, and switching to a new material would require starting almost from scratch. Additionally, rhenium is a rare element compared to silicon, making chips made from Re6Se8Cl2 more suited for niche applications like spacecraft and quantum computers.
