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Molybdenite is throwing up lower-energy chip possibilities, according to Swiss researchers

Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), commonly called molybdenite and mainly used as a lubricant in industrial applications, can be used as a substitute for silicon-based substrates in electronic components such as transistors, microprocessors, light-emitting diodes and solar cells. It also looks promisingly likely to use 100,000 times less energy.

The discovery could have an important effect on current developments in photonic chip research which is always on the lookout for innovative improvements in chip design elements.

If research at Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) continues successfully, the fairly commonplace compound could replace the current heir to silicon’s throne, graphene. The advantage of molybdenite is that it works well when spread thinly, a third of the thickness of silicon.

More at: Eweek Europe