Nanotechnology-enabled energy efficiency in semiconductors: plasmon-induced super-semiconductors and ballistic transport devices
Date
2025-08-21
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers in Nanotechnology
Abstract
The semiconductor industry consumes staggering amounts of electricity annually, surpassing the energy usage of over 100 nations. This immense consumption not only underscores the environmental impact but also generates substantial heat within semiconductor devices, adversely affecting their performance, lifespan, and reliability, posing significant challenges to the advancement of nanodevices. To address these challenges, reducing energy consumption through the use of advanced, energy-efficient technologies has become a priority. Energy-efficient electronics (EEE), enabled by nanotechnology, have the potential to drastically reduce energy consumption in semiconductor devices while simultaneously enhancing their performance. From this perspective, this discussion focuses on two nano-semiconductor technologies poised to advance EEEs: plasmon-induced metal-based semiconductors and ballistic transport in nanostructured semiconductors. For example, p-n junction diodes constructed with the metal-based semiconductors can reduce power consumption by 3-4 orders of magnitude compared with silicon-based devices due to their low resistivity; similarly, the excellent ballistic transport property of InSe FETs enables an energy-delay product of ∼4.32*10−29 Js/μm of the devices, one order of magnitude lower than the Si counterparts. This perspective examines the offerings of each of these disciplines and explores how nanotechnology can be utilized to conserve energy and enhance performance. Differences from traditional technologies and limitations in existing research will also be assessed.
Description
This article was originally published in Frontiers in Nanotechnology. The version of record is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fnano.2025.1560733
© 2025 Li and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are
credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords
nanotechnology, nanomaterials, energy efficiency electronics, plasmon resonance, ballistic transport
Citation
Li Z and Wei B (2025) Nanotechnology-enabled energy efficiency in semiconductors: plasmon-induced super-semiconductors and ballistic transport devices. Front. Nanotechnol. 7:1560733. doi: 10.3389/fnano.2025.1560733