Advanced semiconductor materials for future electronic systems: from conventional to quantum devices

Modern electronics have advanced through the continuous improvement of semiconductor technology. However, the fundamental limitations of conventional silicon, including scaling constraints, short-channel effects, and quantum phenomena, necessitate advanced semiconductor materials and next-generation device architectures. This review discusses the development of semiconductor materials from conventional elemental and compound semiconductors to wide-band-gap, two-dimensional (2D), organic, and quantum semiconductors for future electronic systems. It covers semiconductor physics, band structure engineering, material characterization, device performance metrics, and recent advances in crystal growth, epitaxial growth, film deposition, nanofabrication, and doping techniques. This review also examines emerging semiconductor devices, including FinFETs, gate-all-around (GAA) transistors, neuromorphic and memristive devices, spintronics, and quantum semiconductor devices. Atomically thin 2D semiconductors offer remarkable electrostatic control for future miniaturization, while wide-band-gap semiconductors provide higher breakdown field strength and stability than silicon. Furthermore, the review evaluates defect engineering, interface reliability, quantum–material quality, heterogeneous integration, and fabrication compatibility, particularly the BEOL thermal budget below 400 °C, which is critical for integrating new semiconductor channels with silicon logic. Consequently, low-temperature deposition processes such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and selective CVD/MOCVD methods provide beneficial routes for heterogeneous integration.