From sub-60 mV switching to 13 nm channels, this advancement could reshape how we build faster, smarter, ultra-compact electronics.
Shrinking transistors is no small feat—but researchers may have just cracked a major challenge in 2D electronics. A new study shows that freestanding hafnium zirconium oxide (HZO) membranes can act as high-performance insulating layers for ultra-thin transistors based on 2D materials like molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). The result? Smaller, faster, and more power-efficient devices may be on the horizon.
Traditional silicon is nearing its physical limits, and 2D semiconductors—just a few atoms thick—are the front-runners for next-gen miniaturization. But integrating these atomically thin materials with high-κ dielectrics (the crucial insulating layer between the gate and channel in field-effect transistors, or FETs) has been a persistent bottleneck.
Instead of growing directly on a substrate, these membranes are fabricated separately and then transferred—giving engineers new flexibility. The international research team, led by scientists from National Chung Hsing University, Kansai University, and others, reported their breakthrough in Nature Electronics.
The team demonstrated that HZO membranes, with adjustable thickness from 5 to 40 nm, could be reliably layered onto MoS₂. A 20-nm-thick membrane showed a dielectric constant of 20.6, low leakage currents, and even ferroelectric behavior—all while meeting key industry standards.
Using these HZO dielectrics, the team built MoS₂-based transistors that delivered impressive performance:
- On/off ratios up to 10⁹
- Subthreshold swing < 60 mV/dec across four orders of magnitude
- A working 13-nm channel transistor, plus full logic circuits like inverters and 1-bit adders
This approach not only enables better electrostatic control in ultra-scaled devices but also opens doors to logic-in-memory architectures where computing and storage live on the same chip. The membranes may finally unlock the full potential of 2D transistors—delivering high-κ insulation, compatibility, and scalability in one elegant package.