World's most complex 2D, one-nanometer-thick semiconductor chip developed in China

Yahoo

05-04-2025

Scientists in China have developed the world's most complex two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor microprocessor, which is less than one nanometre thick.Scientists across the world are turning to 2D materials like molybdenum disulphide and tungsten diselenide for microprocessors at a time when silicon-based integrated circuits approach the physical limits of miniaturization.
These materials are usually only one atom thick and exhibit remarkable physical properties for game-changer functionality in next-generation circuits.
Named the Lingyu CPU, the microprocessor is developed by RiVAI Technologies. The chip is also China's first fully self-developed high-performance RISC-V server chip.Designed to support high-performance computing, the RISC-V server chip can also support large open-source language models like DeepSeek.
Published in journal Nature, the research reveals that Chinese scientists introduced a reduced instruction set computing architecture (RISC-V) microprocessor capable of executing standard 32-bit instructions on 5,900 MoS2 transistors and a complete standard cell library based on 2D semiconductor technology.The library contains 25 types of logic units. In alignment with advances in silicon integrated circuits, researchers also co-optimized the process flow and design of the 2D logic circuits.
"Our combined manufacturing and design methodology has overcome the significant challenges associated with wafer-scale integration of 2D circuits and enabled a pioneering prototype of an MoS2 microprocessor that exemplifies the potential of 2D integrated-circuit technology beyond silicon," said researchers in the study.It can support vector instruction set, ultra-wide vector width and offer stronger computing power to meet diverse computing needs such as machine learning.
RISC-V is an open-source instruction set that allows Chinese firms to design and manufacture processors without external restrictions. The push for RISC-V adoption comes in response to ongoing trade tensions and sanctions that have limited China's access to advanced foreign-made chips.
Reports have revealed that the resulting processor involves 5,900 individual transistors and is capable of implementing the full 32-bit version of the RISC-V instruction set, which necessarily means it includes sophisticated circuitry like the RISC-V instruction decoder. At the same time, some aspects are intentionally kept simple; while it can perform the addition of two 32-bit numbers, it does so by operating a single bit at a time, meaning it takes 32 clock cycles to perform the operation.
In recent times, the search for post-silicon semiconductors has escalated owing to the inherent limitations of conventional bulk semiconductors. But these are plagued by issues such as drain-induced barrier lowering, interfacial-scattering-induced mobility degradation, and a constrained current on/off ratio determined by semiconductor bandwidth.
Reports revealed that these challenges have prompted the search for more advanced materials, with atomic-layer-thick two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors emerging as a potential solution.