PapersFlow Research Brief
Semiconductor materials and devices
Research Guide
What is Semiconductor materials and devices?
Semiconductor materials and devices is the field encompassing advances in atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology for high-k dielectrics, gate oxides, thin film growth, dielectric breakdown mechanisms, metal gate transistors, interface engineering, and negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) degradation in semiconductor devices.
This field includes 189,511 works with a focus on ALD for nanoelectronics and high-k materials. Key areas cover thin film growth, interface engineering, and NBTI effects on device performance. Growth rate over the past 5 years is not available in the data.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Atomic Layer Deposition
This sub-topic covers ALD processes for conformal thin films, precursor chemistry, and growth kinetics in semiconductor fabrication. Researchers optimize for nanoscale uniformity and purity.
High-k Dielectrics
This sub-topic studies hafnium-based oxides, permittivity, band offsets, and leakage in gate stacks. Researchers address crystallization and mobility degradation issues.
Metal Gate Transistors
This sub-topic explores work function tuning, threshold voltage control, and integration with high-k stacks. Researchers mitigate Fermi level pinning and thermal stability challenges.
NBTI Degradation
This sub-topic investigates negative bias temperature instability mechanisms, hole trapping, and interface state generation in MOSFETs. Researchers develop acceleration models and mitigation strategies.
Interface Engineering in Devices
This sub-topic focuses on passivation layers, dipole formation, and defect minimization at high-k/metal/Si interfaces. Researchers use spectroscopy to characterize traps and band alignment.
Why It Matters
Semiconductor materials and devices enable scaling of CMOS technology below 0.1 μm through high-κ gate dielectrics replacing SiO2, as detailed in 'High-κ gate dielectrics: Current status and materials properties considerations' (2001) by Wilk et al., which identifies key properties for sub-0.1 μm transistors. Atomic layer deposition provides precise thin film control essential for gate oxides and metal gate transistors, per 'Atomic Layer Deposition: An Overview' (2009) by George with 5509 citations. These advances support high-performance applications like silicon nanowire anodes in lithium batteries, shown in 'High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires' (2007) by Chan et al., and extend to spintronics for nonvolatile, high-speed electronics in 'Spintronics: A Spin-Based Electronics Vision for the Future' (2001) by Wolf et al.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
'Atomic Layer Deposition: An Overview' (2009) by George, as it provides a foundational explanation of ALD central to high-k dielectrics and thin film growth in semiconductor devices.
Key Papers Explained
'QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials' (2009) by Giannozzi et al. establishes simulation tools extended in 'Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESPRESSO' (2017) by Giannozzi et al. for density-functional perturbation theory. 'High-κ gate dielectrics: Current status and materials properties considerations' (2001) by Wilk et al. identifies material needs addressed by 'Atomic Layer Deposition: An Overview' (2009) by George. 'Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys' (2001) by Vurgaftman et al. supplies data for modeling in these tools.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Recent preprints address 2D transistors with channels below 35 nm, gate stack engineering, and interconnect materials for integrated devices. News highlights 2D RISC-V microprocessors, full-featured 2D flash chips via ATOM2CHIP, and magnetic semiconductors from UCLA and ShanghaiTech.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project f... | 2009 | Journal of Physics Con... | 27.9K | ✓ |
| 2 | Spintronics: A Spin-Based Electronics Vision for the Future | 2001 | Science | 11.2K | ✕ |
| 3 | Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications | 2004 | Reviews of Modern Physics | 10.9K | ✓ |
| 4 | A roadmap for graphene | 2012 | Nature | 9.0K | ✕ |
| 5 | Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their al... | 2001 | Journal of Applied Phy... | 7.1K | ✕ |
| 6 | Improved tetrahedron method for Brillouin-zone integrations | 1994 | Physical review. B, Co... | 7.0K | ✕ |
| 7 | Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESP... | 2017 | Journal of Physics Con... | 7.0K | ✓ |
| 8 | High-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires | 2007 | Nature Nanotechnology | 6.5K | ✕ |
| 9 | High-κ gate dielectrics: Current status and materials properti... | 2001 | Journal of Applied Phy... | 5.8K | ✕ |
| 10 | Atomic Layer Deposition: An Overview | 2009 | Chemical Reviews | 5.5K | ✕ |
In the News
[News] Chinese and U.S. Researchers Jointly Achieved ...
ShanghaiTech University, has made a remarkable advance in the field of novel semiconductor materials.
Semiconductors get magnetic boost with new method from ...
A new method for combining magnetic elements with semiconductors — which are vital materials for computers and other electronic devices — was unveiled by a research team led by the California NanoS...
A complementary two-dimensional material-based one instruction set computer
advances are needed, this work marks a significant milestone in the application of 2D materials to microelectronics.
A RISC-V 32-bit microprocessor based on two-dimensional semiconductors
Recently the quest for post-silicon semiconductors has escalated owing to the inherent limitations of conventional bulk semiconductors, which are plagued by issues such as drain-induced barrier low...
A full-featured 2D flash chip enabled by system integration
In this study, we present the atomic device to chip (ATOM2CHIP) technology to address the challenges of 2D system integration at both the process and circuit design levels, demonstrating a fully fu...
Code & Tools
## Repository files navigation # ViennaEMC ViennaEMC is a Semiconductor Device Simulation library based on the Multi-Valley Ensemble Monte Carlo ...
## About Excimontec is an open-source KMC simulation software package for modeling the optoelectronic processes in organic semiconductor materials...
## Introduction: **DEVSIM**- TCAD Device Simulator **DEVSIM**is a tool for TCAD Device Simulation, using finite volume methods. The source code i...
# The-OpenROAD-Project/asap5 main Branches Tags Go to file Code Open more actions menu ## Folders and files |Name|Name| Last commit message | L...
OpenLane is an automated RTL to GDSII flow based on several components including OpenROAD, Yosys, Magic, Netgen, CVC, SPEF-Extractor, KLayout and a...
Recent Preprints
Semiconductor Science and Technology - IOPscience
_Semiconductor Science and Technology_ is IOP's journal dedicated to semiconductor research. The journal publishes cutting-edge research on the physical properties of semiconductors and their appli...
Future interconnect materials for highly integrated semiconductor devices
As semiconductor-based electronic technologies continue downscaling, there is an urgent need to overcome the limitations of interconnect architectures and materials that are driving an unsustainabl...
High-performance molybdenum disulfide transistors with channel and contact lengths below 35 nm
As silicon reaches its scaling limits, two-dimensional materials are a promising route for further transistor miniaturization. Advances in contact engineering, channel length ( _L_ CH) scaling and ...
Gate stack engineering of two-dimensional transistors
Article Google Scholar 034. Neamen, D. A. & Biswas, D. _Semiconductor Physics and Devices_ (McGraw-Hill, 2011).
Guidelines for accurate evaluation of photodetectors based on emerging semiconductor technologies
Recent years have witnessed a surge in photodetector research based on emerging semiconducting materials (for example, organic semiconductors, halide perovskites and derivatives, quantum dots, two-...
Latest Developments
Recent developments in semiconductor materials and devices research as of February 2026 include advancements in high-κ dielectric integration on 2D semiconductors for 3D logic systems (Nature Communications), emerging materials such as gallium nitride, silicon carbide, and graphene for power electronics and high-frequency applications (Applied Physics USA), and the continued push toward smaller nodes like 2 nm and Angstrom-class process nodes driven by industry trends (StartUs Insights, ST Blog). Additionally, research into novel 2D materials and heterostructures, such as a two-dimensional material-based one instruction set computer (Nature) and RISC-V microprocessors based on 2D semiconductors (Nature), highlights ongoing innovation in device architecture and materials integration.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What is atomic layer deposition in semiconductor devices?
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a vapor-phase technique that produces conformal thin films through sequential, self-limiting surface reactions. 'Atomic Layer Deposition: An Overview' (2009) by George describes its use for high-k dielectrics and gate oxides. It enables precise control at the atomic scale for nanoelectronics applications.
How do high-k dielectrics improve semiconductor devices?
High-k dielectrics replace SiO2 in gate stacks to reduce leakage currents while maintaining capacitance in sub-0.1 μm CMOS devices. 'High-κ gate dielectrics: Current status and materials properties considerations' (2001) by Wilk et al. outlines materials properties for this purpose. They address scaling limits in metal gate transistors.
What are band parameters for III-V semiconductors?
Band parameters for III-V compound semiconductors include data for GaAs, GaN, InP, and their alloys in zinc blende and wurtzite structures. 'Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys' (2001) by Vurgaftman et al. compiles these values from experimental and theoretical sources. The parameters support device modeling and simulations.
What is spintronics in semiconductors?
Spintronics uses the spin degree of freedom of electrons for electronics, offering nonvolatility and higher speeds than charge-based devices. 'Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications' (2004) by Žutić et al. reviews spin manipulation in solid-state systems. It builds on foundational work in 'Spintronics: A Spin-Based Electronics Vision for the Future' (2001) by Wolf et al.
What tools simulate semiconductor devices?
ViennaEMC uses multi-valley ensemble Monte Carlo for semiconductor device simulation. DEVSIM applies finite volume methods for TCAD modeling. Excimontec models optoelectronic processes in organic semiconductors via kinetic Monte Carlo.
What is Quantum ESPRESSO used for in this field?
Quantum ESPRESSO is an open-source suite for quantum simulations of materials using density-functional theory and plane waves. 'QUANTUM ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials' (2009) by Giannozzi et al. details its capabilities for electronic-structure calculations. Its advanced version appears in 'Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESPRESSO' (2017).
Open Research Questions
- ? How can ALD optimize high-k/metal gate stacks to mitigate NBTI degradation in scaled transistors?
- ? What interface engineering reduces dielectric breakdown in thin film high-k dielectrics?
- ? How do spin-orbit interactions affect spin injection and detection in semiconductor spintronic devices?
- ? Which band parameters most accurately predict performance in III-V alloy transistors?
- ? What two-dimensional materials enable transistor channels below 35 nm with low leakage?
Recent Trends
Preprints from the last 6 months focus on 2D semiconductors for transistors under 35 nm channel lengths and full 2D flash chips with ATOM2CHIP integration.
News reports a RISC-V 32-bit microprocessor using 2D materials and complementary 2D one-instruction-set computers.
Advances include magnetic boosts in semiconductors by UCLA researchers and joint Chinese-U.S. work on novel materials by ShanghaiTech.
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