Graphene-based composite puts ultra-low-power transistors in a spin

It is now possible to place 100 million transistors in each square millimetre of a computer chip, but such advances come at a cost in relation to devices overheating.

Researchers from York University and Roma Tre University in Italy believe the solution lies in composite materials built from monolayers of graphene and the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC). They found these materials could be used to achieve a fine electrical control over the electron’s spin.

The new research, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, could lead to low-energy consumer electronics.

Lead researcher Dr Aires Ferreira, from York University’s Department of Physics, said: “For many years, we have been searching for good conductors allowing efficient electrical control over the electron’s spin.

“We found this can be achieved with little effort when two-dimensional graphene is paired with certain semiconducting layered materials. Our calculations show that the application of small voltages across the graphene layer induces a net polarisation of conduction spins.