New kind of transistor could shrink communications devices on smartphones

Integrating a new ferroelectric semiconductor, it paves the way for single amplifiers that can do the work of multiple conventional amplifiers, among other possibilities. Study: Fully epitaxial, monolithic ScAlN/AlGaN/GaN ferroelectric HEMT (DOI: 10. One month after announcing a ferroelectric semiconductor at the nanoscale thinness required for modern computing components, a team at the University of Michigan has demonstrated a reconfigurable transistor using that material. The study is a featured article in Applied Physics Letters. "By realizing this new type of transistor, it opens up the possibility for integrating multifunctional devices, such as reconfigurable transistors, filters and resonators, on the same platform-all while operating at very high frequency and high power,” said Zetian Mi, U-M professor of electrical and computer engineering who led the research, "That's a game changer for many applications. At its most basic level, a transistor is a kind of switch, letting an electric current through or preventing it from passing. The one demonstrated at Michigan is known as a ferroelectric high electron mobility transistor (FeHEMT)-a twist on the HEMTs that can increase the signal, known as gain, as well as offering high switching speed and low noise.