Will other materials replace silicon for use in transistors for integrated circuits?

Moore's Law states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Due to the physical limits of silicon transistors, there is a need for a material with better development potential than silicon to make transistors, in order to develop more advanced integrated circuits. Looking back at the literature, research has been going on for decades, and currently the promising materials are gallium and germanium, which have different properties; gallium compounds are well suited for semiconductors, Gallium nitride can withstand higher electric fields and conduct electrons more efficiently than silicon. Compared to other materials, germanium transistors offer a cost-effective solution and can be mass-produced efficiently. In general, people are bound to work out more significant integrated circuit. Gallium transistors and germanium transistors will certainly take over part of the transistor body market, but will not be able to completely replace silicon as the main material for integrated circuits.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advances in Engineering Innovation
Published
2025-04-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.54254/2977-3903/2025.22395
Primary Topic
Semiconductor materials and devices
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Will other materials replace silicon for use in transistors for integrated circuits?

R. Wang
3 links
Advances in Engineering Innovation
Semiconductor materials and devices
article

Will other materials replace silicon for use in transistors for integrated circuits?

R. Wang
article en

Abstract

Moore's Law states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Due to the physical limits of silicon transistors, there is a need for a material with better development potential than silicon to make transistors, in order to develop more advanced integrated circuits. Looking back at the literature, research has been going on for decades, and currently the promising materials are gallium and germanium, which have different properties; gallium compounds are well suited for semiconductors, Gallium nitride can withstand higher electric fields and conduct electrons more efficiently than silicon. Compared to other materials, germanium transistors offer a cost-effective solution and can be mass-produced efficiently. In general, people are bound to work out more significant integrated circuit. Gallium transistors and germanium transistors will certainly take over part of the transistor body market, but will not be able to completely replace silicon as the main material for integrated circuits.

Advances in Engineering InnovationVol. 16(4)
UNSW Sydney (AU)
Openalex Percentile: Top 93%
Semiconductor materials and devices
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