Single electron is key to prolonged power in electronic devices

The technology, led by researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and published online in Nature Communications, taps into the power of a single electron to control energy consumption inside transistors.

Researchers from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science found that by adding a specific atomic thin film layer to a transistor, the layer acted as a filter for the energy that passed through it at room temperature. The signal that resulted from the device was said to be six to seven times steeper than that of traditional devices. Steep devices use less voltage but still have a strong signal.

‘The whole semiconductor industry is looking for steep devices because they are key to having small, powerful, mobile devices with many functions that operate quickly without spending a lot of battery power,’ said Dr. Jiyoung Kim, professor of materials science and engineering in the Jonsson School and an author of the paper. ‘Our device is one solution to make this happen.’