Skip to main content
Environment

Wafer-scale epitaxy growth of high-mobility p-type boron carbon nitride.

| Source: Nature

A long-standing bottleneck in realizing two-dimensional (2D) CMOS technology lies in the lack of high-performance p-type semiconductors 1-4 . Strong electron-doping tendencies, orbital localization and pronounced hole scattering have collectively impeded the development of stable, efficient p-type 2D materials. Here we report the epitaxy growth of boron carbon nitride (BCN) as a high-performance p-type semiconductor. By engineering the dehydrogenation and surface reaction pathways of monomethyl

A long-standing bottleneck in realizing two-dimensional (2D) CMOS technology lies in the lack of high-performance p-type semiconductors 1-4 . Strong electron-doping tendencies, orbital localization and pronounced hole scattering have collectively impeded the development of stable, efficient p-type 2D materials. Here we report the epitaxy growth of boron carbon nitride (BCN) as a high-performance p-type semiconductor. By engineering the dehydrogenation and surface reaction pathways of monomethyl ammonia borane (MMAB) and ammonia borane (AB), we overcome a crucial barrier: the spatial and temporal mismatch in the delivery of boron (B), carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) atoms, which disrupts lattice uniformity. The result is a wafer-scale, monolayer 2D BCN in which C atoms and dimers primarily substitute for N sites within a continuously crystallized, locally distorted boron nitride lattice, leading to a sizable bandgap of 1.90 eV. Wafer-scale arrays of p-type BCN FETs exhibit benchmark performance, with a field-effect hole mobility of 100 cm 2  V -1  s -1 , on-current >0.9 mA μm -1 , on-off ratio of 10 8 and threshold voltage of -0.45 V, surpassing current state-of-the-art p-type 2D semiconductors. Our findings establish BCN as a scalable and stable p-type platform, bridging a critical gap in the materials palette for three-dimensional monolithic integration of complementary electronics.

Read the original source →

Related Stories

Environment

Continuous UV irradiation played an inconclusive role in selecting the canonical genetic alphabet.

An abundance of heterocyclic molecules analogous to canonical nucleobases (i.e., adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil) used as the genetic alphabet in DNA and RNA could have been present in various prebiotic environments on early Earth. However, extant biology generally uses the canonical nucleobases and nucleosides as the genetic alphabet, and not any number of possible noncanonical counterparts. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was likely abundant on the surface of the early Earth and h

Continue reading
Environment

Fault-controlled natural hydrogen reservoirs as underground hydrogen storage sites.

Underground hydrogen storage requires geological formations with demonstrated hydrogen containment, yet no conventional storage candidate (salt caverns, aquifers, or depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs) offers direct, prior evidence of H 2 -specific sealing. We propose that subcommercial natural hydrogen reservoirs, where H 2 has accumulated over geological timescales, can serve as precertified storage sites. This proposition is evaluated using the Bulqizë fault-controlled natural H 2 reservoir

Continue reading
Environment

Meteoritic organic matter records primitive oxygen reservoirs of the solar system.

Unraveling the complex formation and alteration history for extraterrestrial organic matter is key to understanding the chemical evolution of the solar system (SS) and potentially even life's emergence on Earth. In this study, we performed high-precision triple oxygen isotope measurements on insoluble organic matter (IOM) sourced from a diverse suite of carbonaceous chondrites (CCs). Remarkably, the IOM from primitive Type 1 and 2 CCs-including CI, CM, CR, Bells, and Tarda-have oxygen isotope co

Continue reading
Environment

Compound drought-heat wave hazards are concentrated in US regions with multiple social vulnerabilities and agricultural dependence.

Compound drought and heat wave (CDHW) events are becoming more frequent and intense across the contiguous United States, increasing risks to human health, ecosystems, agriculture, and energy production systems. However, their distribution across socioeconomically vulnerable communities remains largely unexplored at the national scale. In this study, we develop a CDHW metric by integrating weekly US Drought Monitor classifications with daily temperature extremes from 2000-2021, allowing consisten

Continue reading
Environment

An RNA thermogenic therapy to preserve lean mass and enhance metabolic health during GLP-1 weight loss.

Current obesity therapies reduce weight but often fail to preserve lean mass or sustain metabolic benefit. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) improve obesity-associated metabolic disease, but weight loss is often accompanied by reduced energy expenditure, loss of lean mass, and rapid fat-predominant regain after treatment discontinuation. We hypothesized that pharmacologic activation of adipose thermogenesis could specifically target fat loss, complement appetite suppression by

Continue reading