The discovery that it was possible to isolate graphene, a single-atom thick sheet of carbon, has opened the door to the development of a variety of atomically thin materials, many with distinctive properties. But developing devices using these 2D materials is challenging. A lot of the traditional techniques for manipulating their behavior either don't work or require that the 2D material be linked to bulkier, three-dimensional hardware.
Now, some researchers may have taken a tiny step toward developing a device that's entirely one atom thick. They've managed to create a key electrical junction, used in devices like diodes and transistors, from two different 2D materials. The border between these materials is atomically sharp, and the sheets themselves are only a few hundred picometers deep.
The device in question is called a p-n junction. It's formed at the boundary between (wait for it) p-type semiconductors and n-type semiconductors. The p-type tends to have "holes" that are missing an electron, while the n-type is characterized by an excess of electrons. Normally, these are formed by "doping," or adding small numbers of other atoms to a crystal of silicon. They're key components of diodes, transistors, LEDs, and photovoltaic cells, so being able to produce them is critical to pretty much all of modern electronics.
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