Atomically Thin Integrated Circuits for Technology in the 21^st Century

Abstract: The manufacture of paper, which started two thousand years ago, simplified all aspects of information technology: generation, processing, communication, delivery, and storage. Similarly powerful changes have been seen in the past century through the development of integrated circuits based on silicon. In this talk, I will discuss how we can make these integrated circuits thin and free standing, just like paper, using two-dimensional materials and how they can impact modern information technology.

To build these atomically thin circuits, we developed a series of approaches that are scalable and precise. They include water-scale synthesis of three-atom-thick semiconductors and heterojunctions, a water-scale patterning method for one-atom-thick lateral heterojunctions, and atomically thin films and devices that are vertically stacked to form more complicated circuitry. Once developed, these atomically thin circuits will be foldable and actuatable, which will further increase device density and functionality. The fact that these circuits could be developed and function without any substrate will allow them to be used tether-free (or wirelessly) in environments not previously accessible to conventional circuits, such as in water, air, or space.