Cubic boron arsenide is a semiconductor with ultra-high thermal conductivity comparable to diamond. It has received a lot of attention since 2018 and is probably best known as a semiconductor material, but it is unclear whether it can be commercialized or sold.
Until recently, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made significant scientific advances for the first time. In their experiments, they found that cubic boron arsenite crystals provide high carrier mobility for electrons and holes, expanding the potential use of this material in commercial areas.
Especially for processors, one of the most important parts of our computers. So imagine that boron arsenide, a material with 10 times higher thermal conductivity and electron mobility than silicon, could one day change the rules of the game for semiconductors.
The researchers say that a material called cubic boron arsenide could overcome two major limitations, such as low hole mobility and low thermal conductivity. In addition to high electron mobility and hole mobility, cubic boron arsenide also has excellent thermal conductivity. As the best semiconductor material ever discovered, it will be of unparalleled benefit to most industries.
But more work is needed to determine whether cubic boron arsenide can be produced in a practical, economical way, and there are many more hurdles to overcome when it comes to replacing the ubiquitous silicon. Until recently, the MIT team experimentally demonstrated the high carrier mobility of cubic boron arsenide material at room temperature.
Although scientists have proven that cubic boron arsenide has excellent thermal and electrical properties, it is still questionable whether cubic boron arsenide can actually enter the market and device applications due to other properties of the cubic boron arsenide material. Much more still needs to be tested, and the biggest challenge is the large-scale commercial production of purified cubic boron arsenite.
First Image Credit : MIT
