Sanna Arpiainen, deputy division leader for the 2D Experimental Pilot Line (2D-EPL) project, Graphene Flagship
Could graphene be the answer?
“Never take anything for granted,” so the old saying goes. Unfortunately, this advice wasn’t heeded for semiconductors, as a global shortage affects vital electronic appliances and social infrastructure that underpin our everyday lives. Here, I explain why 2D materials can offer a solution.
Semiconductors, which date back to the 19th century, are used everywhere in electronic devices, from automobile systems and air conditioners to cutting-edge laser systems for beauty and medical treatments. The continuing global shortage in semiconductors impacts how high-tech products are made around the world; the automotive industry alone is expected to lose US$210 billion in revenue, with major players like BMW, Ford and Volkswagen already reporting the effects. In fact, experts predict the shortage, which has simmered since late-2020, could last until the end of 2023. That is, unless there is an alternative.
Firstly though, what caused the semiconductor shortage in the first place? An article written by Leo Sun for The Motley Fool cites several factors. ¹Before the COVID-19 pandemic, declining memory chip prices and sluggish demand caused major players like Samsung and Micron technology to reduce their outputs. Conversely, devices that connect to new technologies, like 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), need a growing number of chips, which the report describes as a ‘super cycle’ of chip upgrades that has disrupted shipments worldwide.
Then, the pandemic, along with harsh weather conditions, became the main disruptor of these shipments. Meanwhile, demand for data centre upgrades and new mobile devices and PCs surged with the rise of homeworking.
Quoted in a press release published by The Guardian, Toshiya Hari, a research analyst at Goldman Sachs, summed it up more succinctly: “The shortage has been caused by a combination of better-than-expected demand and also a very bumpy recovery on the supply side².” He added: It does take a very long time for semiconductor companies to increase output. It takes time to purchase the tools.”
Thankfully, there’s another possible solution to the chip shortage stemming from a question that few are asking, namely is the era of silicon coming to an end?
Several Graphene Flagship partner organisations are involved in developing graphene-integrated wafers like the silicon wafer pictured.
Is the future 2D materials?
Silicon has been used extensively as a semiconductor in an abundance of solid-state devices, from consumer electronics to automotive. Yet, increasingly, this material is being found to have reached its performance limits against the increased speed, reduced latency and improved light detection demands of new AI, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, self-driving cars and 5G and 6G phones.
Could 2D-materials save the day? Experts believe that graphene, a carbon-based material of just a single layer of atoms, just might—with electrical, mechanical and thermal properties that go far beyond what can be done with silicon-based devices.
The 2D Experimental Pilot Line project
The Graphene Flagship, a European Commission (EC) scientific research initiative, has set up a new project known as the 2D Experimental Pilot Line (2D-EPL) to leverage the aforementioned possibilities. This is the first graphene foundry to integrate graphene and layered materials into semiconductor platforms. In 2021, the EC announced a €20 million investment in the 2D-EPL project, an additional commitment beyond its €150 million investment in graphene research and development, which includes 11 spearhead projects and production initiatives.
With the help of several core Graphene Flagship members, the 2D-EPL will pioneer the development of graphene-integrated wafers for new prototype electronics, photonics and sensors. It will also offer comprehensive prototyping services to companies, research centres and academics, so they can develop and test their innovative technologies based on 2D materials.
The primary aims of the 2D-EPL are 1) to use graphene-integrated wafers to accelerate the manufacture of new prototype electronics, photonics and sensors, and 2) to establish a route for graphene-integrated wafers into mass semiconductor manufacturing. These objectives are expected to bring benefits to local producers in Europe through a more resilient and independent infrastructure, and it is predicted that European customers will benefit from cost-based pricing, with an up to 20 percent discount in some cases.
A multi-project wafer
The 2D-EPL’s production facility will focus particularly on the wafer-scale integration of graphene, and potentially other 2D materials. This will involve producing a multi-project wafer (MPW), or planarisation-based generic technology, that will eventually be mass-produced for a variety of applications and sectors relating to electronics, photonics and sensors. Measuring 200 millimetres in diameter, the MPW will be made from polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) graphene and combine technologies from several 2D-EDL partners, namely:
- AMO, a Germany-based, non-profit provider of nanotechnology research and fabrication services;
- Graphenea, a Spain-based manufacturer and supplier of graphene products;
- the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec), a Belgium-based research and development organisation for nanoelectronics and digital technologies; and
- the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a non-profit company that advances commercialisation of research and technology in commerce and society.
Separate project stages will be devoted to developing tools and materials to produce the MPW, the development of the platform itself and, finally, achieving successful production runs of the new wafer technology. These production runs will produce different versions of the MPW for different applications and sectors.
AMO will oversee two production runs. One will be for a version featuring bottom-gated graphene sensors on silicon, useful for technologies like hall sensors and photodetectors. Secondly, AMO will develop a top-gated graphene version for electronic devices and sensors.
VTT will also oversee two production runs. One will be for bottom- and liquid-gated graphene sensors with passivation and channel-opening features, for use in sensors and electronics. The other will be for graphene components on complementary metal–oxide semiconductors (CMOS) for sensors and imagers.
Lastly, imec will develop transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) MPW devices for electronics.
AMO, imec and VTT will offer dedicated processing services for requests to customise the MPW for different applications. There will also be future products from companies such as Aixtron, a Germany-based manufacturer of metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) equipment.
Bringing the MPW to market
However, these efforts must result in successfully bringing the MPW to market, which is where the 2D-EDL’s industrial advisory board (IAB) plays a vital role. The IAB will advise on the project’s technological direction towards the relevant applications and how to integrate graphene-related materials (GRM) technology into manufacturing semiconductors.
The IAB includes key technology representatives from European companies such as ams, an Austria-based designer and manufacturer of sensors and sensing solutions, Infineon Technologies, a Germany-based semiconductor manufacturer, and Nokia Networks, the Finland-based data networking and telecommunications equipment company.
All are committed to realising the significant potential of graphene. As put by IAB member Wolfgang Templ, manager of radio transceiver research at Nokia Networks: “Graphene photonics may change the paradigm. Now is the time to see how [it] can enter mass production in Europe.”
All of these processes combined will aim to bring electronics-, photonics- and sensor-related technologies based on 2D materials closer to the market and do so by addressing the key engineering challenges. Cynthia Ozick, the American short story writer, novelist and essayist, said: “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” Graphene just might win our gratitude as a solution to the global semiconductor shortage.
To find out more about the 2D-EDL, visit: https://graphene-flagship.eu/innovation/pilot-line.
¹Sun, L. (2021). Six causes of the global semiconductor shortage [article]. The Motley Fool. April 27. Available at: https://bit.ly/35OBPQy
²Partridge, J. (2021). Global chip shortage hits car production in China and Japan [press release]. The Guardian. June 30. Available at: https://bit.ly/3hErj13