Redox Gating Enables Low-Power Microelectronics

A new type of electronic gating that requires only very low voltages to work could pave the way for ultra-low-energy microelectronics.

This method, known as redox gating, can be used in many applications, including multiple types of semiconductors and even emerging quantum materials, says Wei Chen, a chemist at the Center for Molecular Engineering and the Materials Science division at Argonne National Laboratory.

According to study co-author Dillon Fong, a physicist and post-doctoral researcher at Argonne, another application of this method is in neuromorphic computing, a field that draws inspiration from the low voltage yet high computational power of the human brain.

“One issue now in microelectronics is how to reduce power consumption,” Fong said. “As you pack things closer and closer together, you’re going to generate more heat, so low-power electronics are something that’s being pursued with new technology.”

Gating has long been important in electronics; traditional transistors generate, halt, or amplify electric signals to control the function of electronic devices. In recent years, researchers have increasingly explored using electrolytes as gating materials in electronics, said Hua Zhou, a physicist at Argonne and a co-author of the new study. Instead of a dielectric gate, electrolyte gating involves using a liquid, gel, or solid electrolyte...