2D CMOS Computer Sparks a New Era of Silicon Alternatives

In the world of semiconductor technology, which forms the foundation of modern electronics, silicon (Si) is the most widely used material.

The second most abundant element on Earth after oxygen, silicon has enabled advancements in semiconductor tech through miniaturization. From microprocessors to automation, computers, smartphones, and electric vehicles, it has produced breakthroughs in electronics by significantly reducing the physical size of devices.

But now, challenges in scaling have made it necessary to explore new materials. Here, two-dimensional (2D) materials show potential for unprecedented advances in device performance at the atomic level.

2D materials are ultrathin nanomaterials with a single layer of atoms. They have a high degree of anisotropy and chemical functionality, and their attractive electronic properties make them usable in a wide range of applications. Graphene is a popular 2D material. 

So, with their atomic thickness and high carrier mobility, 2D materials offer a promising alternative. Significant progress has also been made in wafer-scale growth, high-performance field-effect transistors (FET), and circuits based on these materials.

FET is a type of transistor that uses an electric field to control the current through a semiconductor. Serving as a crucial electronic component in modern electronics, a FET acts as a controlled switch in high-voltage and high-frequency power circuits.

While a lot of progress has been made, achieving complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integration remains a challenge. 

CMOS is a type of technology used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits, particularly in computer processors, memory chips, and other digital devices. It helps to regulate the flow of electricity through these components, which is crucial for proper functioning.

Notably, CMOS uses both n-type (NMOS) and p-type (PMOS) transistors in a complementary manner to achieve logic functions. 

N-type transistors conduct electricity using negatively charged electrons as the primary charge carriers and allow for the current to flow. In P-type transistors, the majority of charge carriers are holes (positive charges), and they allow current to flow from the power supply to the output.

In CMOS, metal-oxide-semiconductor refers to the materials used in the construction of the transistors: metal for the gate, oxide for insulation, and silicon semiconductor for the channel. 

What makes CMOS powerful is that it allows the creation of complex electronic circuits on a single semiconductor chip. Also, CMOS transistors use lower power compared to other technologies due to only consuming power when switching between states (on/off). Furthermore, CMOS circuits are known for their high reliability.

Now, researchers from Penn State have overcome the challenge of integrating CMOS with 2D materials. 

What they have done is, they have developed a 2D one instruction set computer based on CMOS technology. It takes advantage of the heterogeneous integration of large-area n-type MoS2 and p-type WSe2 field-effect transistors. 

The team was able to achieve high drive currents and reduced subthreshold leakage by tailoring the threshold voltages for both n- and p-type 2D FETs. This was accomplished by scaling the channel length, for which they incorporated a high-κ gate dielectric and optimized material growth and device postprocessing.

This enabled circuit operation below 3 V with an operating frequency of up to 25 kHz as well as ultra-low power consumption in the picowatt range and a switching energy of about 100 pJ.

Penn State’s 2D CMOS Computer Pushes the Atomic Limit

Silicon is the leader in semiconductor technology, but unlike this chemical element, one-atom-thick 2D materials are able to retain their properties at that scale.

After driving “remarkable advances in electronics for decades by enabling continuous miniaturization of field-effect transistors (FETs),” silicon is facing a major challenge in further making devices better and smaller. 

“As silicon devices shrink, their performance begins to degrade,” noted the study lead, Saptarshi Das, who is the Ackley Professor of Engineering and professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State.

In contrast, 2D materials maintain their exceptional electronic properties even at their atomic thickness, as such, “offering a promising path forward.” Hence, in the pioneering work, the team of researchers used 2D materials to develop a computer that is capable of simple operations.

Published in Nature¹, the study, supported by the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Office, and the U.S. National Science Foundation in part, detailed the big leap in realizing thinner, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics.

As noted above, they have created a CMOS computer without depending on silicon, a tetravalent metalloid that exhibits properties intermediate between metals and nonmetals. Researchers have replaced it with two different 2D materials to develop the two types of transistors required in CMOS computers to control the electric flow.

For n-type transistors, they used molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a class of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) inorganic materials boasting a low friction coefficient, excellent thermal stability, and high wear resistance, conditional to specific conditions. 

For p-type transistors, tungsten diselenide (WSe2) is used. The inorganic compound has a hexagonal crystalline structure similar to molybdenum disulfide and is known for its unique electronic properties, including high carrier mobility, a sizable band gap, and a remarkable on-off ratio. 

CMOS technology requires both n-type and p-type semiconductors to work together to achieve high performance at low power consumption. This, however, has been a key challenge impeding the efforts to move beyond silicon. 

And while studies have shown that 2D materials-based small circuits can be scaled to complex, functional computers, this achievement has not yet been achieved.

According to researchers, that’s the key advancement of their work. For the first time, they have built a CMOS computer entirely from 2D materials, combining large-area grown molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide transistors.

To fabricate the transistor, the team used a process called metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In this process, ingredients are vaporized, forcing a chemical reaction and depositing the products onto a substrate.

Using MOCVD, the team grew large sheets of molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide and fabricated more than 1,000 of each type of transistor. 

Then, through careful changes in the device fabrication and post-processing, the team was able to adjust the threshold voltages of n- and p-type transistors, in turn, allowing the development of fully functional CMOS logic circuits.

According to Subir Ghosh, the first author of the study and a doctoral student of engineering science and mechanics:

“Our 2D CMOS computer operates at low-supply voltages with minimal power consumption and can perform simple logic operations at frequencies up to 25 kilohertz.” 

While this operating frequency is low in comparison to that of conventional silicon CMOS circuits, Ghosh noted that their computer is still able to perform simple logic operations.

“We also developed a computational model, calibrated using experimental data and incorporating variations between devices, to project the performance of our 2D CMOS computer and benchmark it against state-of-the-art silicon technology. Although there remains scope for further optimization, this work marks a significant milestone in harnessing 2D materials to advance the field of electronics.”

– Ghosh

So, while a big achievement, the work isn’t done yet. More research is required to further develop the 2D CMOS computer approach for broader use. However, Das emphasized the quick advancement of the field compared to the development of silicon technology.

“Silicon technology has been under development for about 80 years, but research into 2D materials is relatively recent, only really arising around 2010. We expect that the development of 2D material computers is going to be a gradual process, too, but this is a leap forward compared to the trajectory of silicon.”

– Das

Building Microchips with 2D Materials at Scale

A couple of months ago, scientists in China also reported developing a microchip² using molybdenum disulfide. The chip has 5,931 transistors, each of which is three atoms thick.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is believed by scientists to allow the continuation of Moore’s Law once silicon is unable to provide further progress.

“Although 2D materials have been widely advocated for more than a decade, the real limitation to their current development is not the performance of any single device, as many 2D electronic devices work very well at the laboratory level.”

– Wenzhong Bao, a professor at Fudan University

The practicality of 2D materials is being questioned due to the “lack of an integrated technology system that is scalable, repeatable, and compatible with industrial processes,” he added.

So, the team created a novel microchip called RV32-WUJI. It possesses nearly 6,000 MoS2 transistors fabricated using conventional CMOS technologies, marking the transition from laboratory research to system-level engineering applications.

The microchip is equipped with an RISC-V architecture that can execute standard 32-bit instructions. The new processor is built on a substrate of insulating sapphire that separates one transistor from another electronically. A standard cell library has also been developed for RV32-WUJI, containing 25 types of logic units to perform basic functions. To optimize each step of the process, the team used machine learning. 

The researchers have achieved a manufacturing yield of 99.77%. The chip also consumes a mere 0.43 milliwatts of power when performing arithmetic. 

While silicon chips possess millions of times more transistors and operating frequencies that are just as much faster than the new device, Bao said the new work is based in a laboratory, in contrast to silicon-based semiconductors, in which a huge amount of R&D resources have been invested over the last several decades. If the industry adopts 2D semiconductors, “we believe the pace of catching up with silicon-based performance will be faster than we can imagine,” he added.

The 2D active material molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) recently also got a platinum (Pt) upgrade at an atomic level in a new study³ conducted by the University of Vienna and the Vienna University of Technology.

The researchers embedded individual Pt atoms onto an ultrathin MoS2 monolayer and, for the first time, pinpointed their exact positions within the lattice with atomic precision through an innovative approach.

Their approach, which integrates targeted defect creation in the MoS2 monolayer, controlled platinum deposition, and a high-contrast computational microscopic imaging technique, researchers believe, offers new pathways for understanding and engineering atomic-scale features in 2D systems.

Beyond CMOS: Hybrid 2D Materials and Quantum Pathways

Researchers have been looking for new materials to replace silicon in next-generation electronics for a long time now. These materials must be able to provide higher performance and lower power consumption while having scalability, which tends to take them to 2D materials.

A multi-institutional work co-led by MIT from a couple of years ago actually achieved two technical breakthroughs and was also the first to report that their method, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), to grow semiconductor materials would make devices faster and more energy-efficient.

To create the new materials, the team had to overcome three challenges at wafer-scale or large scale: securing single crystallinity, vertical heterostructures, and preventing non-uniform thickness.

Unlike 3D materials, which undergo roughening and smoothing to achieve an even-surfaced material, 2D materials don’t allow this process, resulting in an uneven surface. This makes it difficult to produce a large-scale, high-quality, uniform 2D material.

So, the team built a confined structure that promotes 2D materials’ kinetic control, which not only resolved all the challenges but also required self-defined seeding growth for a shorter growing time.

The other technical breakthrough was showcasing single-domain heterojunction TMDs at a large scale, layer-by-layer. 

The research into 2D materials is actually ever-expanding, with scientists constantly trying to unlock new functionalities for a more advanced future. 

Just a few weeks ago, materials scientists from Rice University created a genuine 2D hybrid⁴ by chemically integrating graphene and silica glass, two fundamentally different 2D materials, into one compound called glaphene.

According to the study’s first author, Sathvik Ajay Iyengar:

“The layers do not just rest on each other ⎯ electrons move and form new interactions and vibration states, giving rise to properties neither material has on its own.” 

In this cross-continental effort, a two-step, single-reaction method was developed to grow glaphene using a liquid chemical precursor containing both carbon and silicon. Adjusting the levels of oxygen during heating allowed them to first grow graphene and then shift conditions in favor of the silica layer’s formation.

Notably, the method can be applied to a wide range of 2D materials, opening the door to the development of custom-built 2D materials for next-gen electronics and quantum devices.

Scientists in Korea have also utilized 2D semiconducting materials to discover a new quantum state⁵ that can power more stable quantum computers. The new quantum discovered state can also be harnessed in a 2D semiconductor chip to control quantum information more reliably. 

Tiny materials have been leading big advances in quantum computing for some time now, and the latest research from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) is opening avenues for new reconfigurable devices for data storage. 

“We have discovered a new quantum state, known as the exciton-Floquet synthesis state, and proposed a novel mechanism for quantum entanglement and quantum information extraction. This is anticipated to drive forward quantum information technology research in two-dimensional semiconductors.”

– Jaedong Lee of DGIST

Last year, scientists from JMU Würzburg and TU Dresden, meanwhile, developed a protective coating for 2D quantum materials to protect them from environmental influences without compromising their revolutionary properties. 

The scientists had previously discovered that extremely thin quantum semiconductors need sophisticated vacuum equipment and a specific substrate material. Utilizing 2D material in electronic components means removal from the vacuum environment, but even a brief exposure to air leads to oxidation and destroys its properties, “rendering it useless.”

So, the team went on to find a method to protect the sensitive layer from environmental elements using a protective coating. After two years, they had success. The team used advanced ultrahigh vacuum tools to experiment with heating silicon carbide as a substrate for indenene.

The team sees it paving the way for applications that involve extremely sensitive semiconductor atomic layers. The team is now identifying more van der Waals materials to serve as protective layers.

Investing in 2D Semiconductor Tech

Actively working on addressing the challenges of shrinking transistor dimensions, Applied Materials (AMAT ) plays a significant role in the development and scaling of 2D semiconductors. It is actually one of the few companies positioned to enable the industrial transition to 2D semiconductor production through fabrication equipment and process chemistry.

The market performance of the $137 billion market cap Applied Materials also reveals a strong uptrend. 

Applied Materials (AMAT )

Currently, Applied Materials’ shares are trading at $170.50, up 4.9% YTD and down only 33.6% from its ATH hit last summer. Its EPS (TTM) is 8.21, and the P/E (TTM) is 20.78, while the dividend yield offered is 1.08%.

As for company financials, Applied Materials reported revenue of $7.10 billion, an increase of 7% YoY, for the second quarter ended Apr. 27, 2025.

This “strong performance” was delivered “despite the dynamic economic and trade environment,” said Brice Hill, Senior Vice President and CFO. The company also reported no significant changes in customer demand.

Its GAAP gross margin was 49.1% and its non-GAAP gross margin was 49.2%, while GAAP EPS surged 28% to $2.63 and non-GAAP EPS jumped 14% to $2.39. During this period, the company generated $1.57 billion in cash from operations and distributed $2 billion to shareholders through $325 million in dividends and $1.67 billion in share repurchases.

“Applied Materials’ broad capabilities and connected product portfolio are driving strong results in 2025 amidst a highly dynamic macro environment.”

– CEO Gary Dickerson

He pointed to high-performance and energy-efficient AI computing continuing to be the main driver of semiconductor innovation.

Latest Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock News and Developments

Conclusion

By building the world’s first working CMOD computers completely from atom-thin 2D materials, the researchers have not only challenged silicon’s long-held dominance in electronics but also presented a solution to the existing problem of making electronic devices smaller, faster, and better.

Over 2,000 transistors fabricated by the team are capable of executing logic operations on a computer, which removes the need for traditional silicon.

While still in infancy, the breakthrough points to an exciting future where high-performance, more energy-efficient, and slimmer electronics, powered by materials just one atom thick, become the new reality.

Click here to learn why layered semiconductors may be the next leap in memory storage.

Studies Referenced:

^{1. Ghosh, S.; Zheng, Y.; Rafiq, M.; et al. A Complementary Two-Dimensional Material-Based One Instruction Set Computer. Nature 2025, 642 (12), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08963-7}
2. Ao, M.; Zhou, X.; Kong, X.; et al. A RISC-V 32-Bit Microprocessor Based on Two-Dimensional Semiconductors. Nature 2025, 640 (17), 654–661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08759-9
3. Li, J.; Yuan, Y.; Cao, W.; Deng, B.; Li, C.; Cheng, Z.; Wang, H.; Hu, W.; Xu, H. Q.; Wang, L. Programmable P-N Junctions in Two-Dimensional Semiconductor Transistors. Nano Lett. 2025, 25 (12), 5049–5056. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00919
4. Iyengar, S. A.; Tripathi, M.; Srivastava, A.; Biswas, A.; Gray, T.; Terrones, M.; Dalton, A. B.; Pimenta, M. A.; Vajtai, R.; Meunier, V.; Ajayan, P. M. Glaphene: A hybridization of 2D silica glass and graphene. Adv. Mater. 2025, Published Online May 28, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202419136
5. Park, H.; Park, N.; Lee, J. Novel Quantum States of Exciton–Floquet Composites: Electron–Hole Entanglement and Information. Nano Lett. 2024, 24 (42), 13192–13199. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c03100