UK scientists secure $8 million for 2D chip research

A team of UK scientists at Queen Mary University of London, University of Nottingham and University of Glasgow has received a £6 million (about USD 8 million) EPSRC programme grant, “Enabling Net Zero and the AI Revolution with Ultra-Low Energy 2D Materials and Devices (NEED2D).” 

This will develop energy efficient, atomically-thin semiconductors to dramatically reduce the electricity demand from AI data centres and high-performance computing, according to a media release.

“Governments around the world are spending billions building wind, solar, nuclear and gas power stations to meet the huge energy demands of AI data centres. Our approach is to tackle the problem at the source: by reducing the power these centres consume in the first place,” said Sir Colin Humphreys, Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London, who leads the project. “To do this we will use the latest new materials, called two-dimensional materials, which are atomically thin. This will save over 90% of the energy required by data centres and computers, reduce the cost of electricity, and help to enable Net Zero.”

Beyond AI data centres, the 2D materials could be used to reduce the energy costs of other devices, including smartphones. 

“We are excited about the potential impact of our research and the project’s comprehensive approach, spanning from computational modelling and materials synthesis to device fabrication and industrial engagement,” said Amalia Patanè, Professor of Physics at the University of Nottingham and deputy project lead. “2D semiconductors behave in a fundamentally different way from their bulk (3D) counterparts and their unique electronic properties can support entirely new effects at the atomic scale. We will advance the precise engineering of 2D semiconductors, pushing the limits of what we can create, probe and exploit.”

“This is a truly exciting project that will utilise the extensive state of the art semiconductor fabrication and prototyping capabilities of the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre at University of Glasgow and complementary capabilities at Queen Mary and University of Nottingham to develop truly next generational low-power electronic devices and systems,” said David Moran, Professor of Advanced Semiconductors at the University of Glasgow.