The world's thinnest transistor is just three atoms thick

There’s a new contender for the world’s thinnest piece of electronics — and at three atoms thick, it’s going to be hard to beat.

Researchers have discovered a new process for producing ultra-thin transistors, according to a paper published today in Nature. The devices are made from an experimental material known as a transition metal dichalcogenide — also called a TMD. TMDs are exciting because they’re so thin, usually appearing as films of just a few atoms, with properties that make them useful for building solar cells, light detectors, or semi-conductors. It's an exciting prospect for physicists and manufacturers alike, but making the materials work consistently has proved extremely difficult.

Today's result unearths the best process...

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The world's thinnest transistor is just three atoms thick