Major advance in creating new semiconductor materials

MIT engineers report creating the first high-quality thin films of a new family of semiconductor materials. The feat, which lead researcher Rafael Jaramillo refers to as his "white whale" because of his obsession in pursuing it over the years, has the potential to impact multiple fields of technology if history repeats itself. The ability to create high-quality films of other families of semiconductors led to computers, solar cells, night-vision cameras, and more. The new family of semiconductors, known as chalcogenide perovskites, could have applications in solar cells and lighting, Jaramillo says. He notes, however, that "the history of semiconductor research shows that new families of semiconductors are generally enabling in ways that are not predictable." Jaramillo is excited about the new materials' potential because they are ultrastable and made of inexpensive, nontoxic elements. The thin films his team created are composed of barium, zirconium, and sulfur in a specific crystal structure, "the prototypical chalcogenide perovskite," Jaramillo says. "You can make variations by changing the composition. So it is indeed a family of materials, not just a one-off."

The work is scheduled to be published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials the first week of November 2021. It is already available online.

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