Microelectronics utilise various functional materials whose properties make them suitable for specific applications.
Microelectronics utilise various functional materials whose properties make them suitable for specific applications. For example, transistors and data storage devices are made of silicon, and most photovoltaic cells used for generating electricity from sunlight are also currently made of this semiconductor material. In contrast, compound semiconductors such as gallium nitride are used to generate light in optoelectronic elements such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The manufacturing processes also different for the various classes of materials.
Transcending the materials and methods maze
Hybrid perovskite materials promise simplification – by arranging the organic and inorganic components of semiconducting crystal in a specific structure. “They can be used to manufacture all kinds of microelectronic components by modifying their composition“, says Prof. Emil List-Kratochvil, head of a Joint Research Group at HZB and Humboldt-Universität.
Read more at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
Image: A look inside the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT. Major work on the printable perovskite LEDs was carried out here. CREDIT: HZB/Phil Dera
