Near Zero-threshold Voltage P-N Junction Diodes Based on Super-semiconducting Nanostructured Ag/Al Arrays.

Semiconductor devices are currently one of the most common energy consumption devices. Significantly reducing the energy consumption of semiconductor devices with advanced energy-efficient technologies is highly desirable. The discovery of super-semiconductors (SSCs) based on metallic bi-layer shell arrays provides an opportunity to realize ultra-low-power consumption semiconductors devices. As an example, we report the achievement of near zero-threshold voltage in p-n junction diodes based on super-semiconducting nanostructured Ag/Al arrays, realizing ultra-low-power p-n junction diodes: ∼ 3 W per trillion diodes with a working voltage of 1 V, or 30 mW per trillion diodes with an operating voltage of 0.1 V. In addition, the p-n junction diodes exhibit a high breakdown field of ∼ 1.1×10 6  V/cm, similar to that of SiC and GaN, due to a robust built-in field driven by infrared light photons. The SSC p-n diodes with near zero-threshold voltage and high breakdown field allow access to ultra-low-power semiconducting transistors, integrated circuits, chips, etc. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.