Japanese Nanotech Research Enables Smaller Devices

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed the thinnest ever independent nanosheet of barium titanate, a material that helps store electric charge, which is just 1.8 nanometers thick. To put that in perspective, something as tiny as a human cell is ten thousand nanometers thick. This breakthrough allows the material to retain its ferroelectric properties, a polarization that can be reversed in an electric field, rendering it useful for computers to retain memory.

The ability to develop ever-thinner materials with new electronic functions is relevant, and thus, a fiercely competitive research area. Led by Professor Minoru Osada, the research was published to the journal of Advanced Electronic Materials. As the materials used in these devices become smaller, they exhibit unexpected properties that complicate their industrial use. The "size effect" occurs when the material's thickness reduces to a few nanometers, and its ferroelectric properties disappear.

In contrast to the conventional synthetic method that requires temperatures of 1000°C or higher, the team synthesized BaTiO3 nanosheets at temperature as low as 60°C. This not only saves energy, but offers an entirely new approach to miniaturize devices. Their findings help innovate materials for the production of smaller and more efficient electronics.