Scientists Create Semiconductor Junction Only Three Atoms Thick

Scientists at the University of Washington have developed what they believe is the thinnest-possible semiconductor, a new class of nanoscale materials made in sheets only three atoms thick. Two of these single-layer semiconductor materials can be connected in an atomically seamless fashion known as a heterojunction. A heterojunction is the interface that occurs between two layers or regions of dissimilar crystalline semiconductors, both of which have unequal band gaps. This result could be the basis for next-generation flexible and transparent computing, better light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and solar technologies.