SnO: First Stable P-Type 2D Semiconductor Discovered (phys.org)

New submitter Namarrgon writes: Transistors made with Ashutosh Tiwari's new semiconducting material could lead to computers and smartphones that are more than 100 times faster than regular devices. While researchers in this field have recently discovered new types of 2D material such as graphene, molybdenun disulfide and borophene, they have been materials that only allow the movement of N-type, or negative, electrons. In order to create an electronic device, however, you need semiconductor material that allows the movement of both negative electrons and positive charges known as "holes." The tin monoxide material discovered by Tiwari and his team at the University of Utah is the first stable P-type 2D semiconductor material ever in existence.

Comments

Negative charges

[sjbe]

they have been materials that only allow the movement of N-type, or negative, electrons. In order to create an electronic device, however, you need semiconductor material that allows the movement of both negative electrons and positive charges known as "holes."

Captain pedantic here. Electron holes are not positive charges. They are the absence of an electron in a lattice where one could exist. This "hole" can be treated for convenience and practicality like a positively charged particle but that isn't technically the same thing.

Re:Negative charges

[jouassou]

If you really want to be pedantic, then the negative charges aren't really electrons either. Both the positive and negative charges are quasiparticles, which are particle-like excitations of a large sea of actual electrons in the semiconductor. The collective behaviour of all these electrons then results in something that looks like a single electron with a different mass and sometimes the wrong charge. But it's usually easier to just call these quasiparticles "electrons" and "holes", because that's what they intuitively behave like.

Re:No, you don't

[fyngyrz]

n-type (negative) electrons

ha

ha ha ha

blargh hah ha hah ha

N-type semiconductors... the materials have excess electrons, and leverage that.

P-type semiconductors... the materials have an electron deficit, creating "holes" in the structure, and the material leverages those deficits.

There are no "positive" electrons. Well, there are, sort of, but they have little to nothing to do with n-type and p-type materials. Unless physics has completely rewritten semiconductor theory while I wasn't looking, which I suppose is possible.

Re:What the heck is "2D"?

[serviscope_minor]

What's wrong with calling it 2D? Electron motion is effectively limited to two dimensions, and it doesn't make much sense to talk about lateral movement through the degenerate dimension. And if you hate this you'll be even more angry that scientists often refer to quantum dots as zero dimensional.