| Nov 24, 2025 |
Germanium on silicon sets mobility record for next-generation chipsA strained germanium epilayer on silicon achieves a record hole mobility, enabling faster low-power electronics and scalable quantum-ready semiconductor platforms.(Nanowerk News) Most modern semiconductors are fabricated of or on Silicon (Si), but as devices get smaller and denser, they dissipate more power and as a result, are reaching their physical limits. Germanium (Ge)— once used in the first transistors of the 1950s — is now making a comeback as researchers find new ways to harness its superior properties while keeping the benefits of silicon’s established manufacturing technologies. |
| In a new study, published in Materials Today ("Hole mobility in compressively strained germanium on silicon exceeds 7 × 106 cm2V-1s−1"), a team led by Warwick’s Dr Maksym Myronov achieved a major step towards the next generation of electronics — creating a material using a nanometre-thin, compressively strained germanium epilayer on silicon, that allows electrical charge to move faster than ever before in a material compatible with modern chipmaking. |
| Dr. Maksym Myronov, Associate Professor and leader of the Semiconductors Research Group, Department of Physics, University of Warwick says: “Traditional high-mobility semiconductors such as gallium arsenide (GaAs) are very expensive and impossible to integrate with mainstream silicon manufacturing. Our new compressively strained germanium-on-silicon (cs-GoS) quantum material combines world-leading mobility with industrial scalability — a key step toward practical quantum and classical large-scale integrated circuits.” |
| The breakthrough was achieved by carefully engineering a thin germanium layer on top of a silicon wafer. By applying just the right amount of strain to the germanium layer, they created an ultra-clean crystal structure that allows electrical charge to flow almost without resistance. |
| When evaluated, the material demonstrated a record hole mobility of 7.15 million cm² per volt-second, meaning charge can move through it far more easily than in silicon. This could enable future chips to run faster and dissipate less energy. |
| Dr Sergei Studenikin, Principal Research Officer, National Research Council of Canada adds: “This sets a new benchmark for charge transport in group-IV semiconductors – the materials at the heart of the global electronics industry. It opens the door to faster, more energy-efficient electronics and quantum devices that are fully compatible with existing silicon technology.” |
| The research establishes a new pathway for ultra-fast, low-power electronics, with potential applications spanning quantum information processing, spin qubits, cryogenic controllers for quantum processors, AI, and data-centre hardware with reduced energy and cooling demands. |
| Source: University of Warwick (Note: Content may be edited for style and length) |
