As the global race to advance semiconductors reaches the atomic scale, 2D materials are regarded as a key technology for extending Moore's law. Alongside industry's demand for wafer-scale process stability, mass production feasibility, and equipment self-reliance, academia is also actively exploring new material properties and advancing device research.

The National Center for Instrumentation Research (NCIR) of the National Institutes of Applied Research (NIAR) has established a "Wafer-Scale 2D Material Process Equipment and Inspection Technology," in collaboration with the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), the University of Tokyo, and the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) of NIAR.

The research team broke through the limitations of traditional 2D semiconductor processing to establish a wafer-scale 2D material processing and equipment R&D platform. The team successfully achieved 100% full-coverage, highly uniform continuous film growth of monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS₂) on 6-inch wafers.

At present, apart from NCIR, only the research collaboration involving imec (Belgium), ASML, and TSMC has demonstrated a large-area wafer featuring a continuous monolayer 2D material film with complete 100% surface coverage.

Electrical channels within traditional silicon-based integrated circuits become increasingly narrow and highly susceptible to "short-channel effects" and "tunnelling leakage,"— phenomena where electrons break free of control, slipping through gates or drifting off course. This erratic electron behavior not only degrades overall component performance but also causes severe overheating issues.

Scientists have discovered that coating silicon with a unique single-atom planar structure (refers to 2D material), such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) like tungsten disulfide (WS₂) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), is like applying an ultra-thin sticker. This prevents uncontrolled electron scattering and enables precise control of electron transport within the current channel, thereby enhancing device performance while reducing power consumption. Consequently, 2D materials are widely regarded as one of the key technologies for overcoming the fundamental limits of Moore's law.

Featuring a single-atom planar structure, 2D materials possess excellent optical transparency and mechanical flexibility. They can be applied to flexible displays, wearable devices, and sensors, drawing significant attention from the industry. However, a significant technological gap remains between small-scale laboratory demonstrations and large-area, stable mass production for industry. This includes critical challenges such as precise growth, layer-number control, defect management, and wafer-scale metrology and others.

NCIR Successfully Developed Wafer-Scale 2D Material Processing Technology

NCIR has long been dedicated to vacuum technology and has developed vacuum coating technology and related process systems. Since 2020, NCIR has carried out multiple projects funded by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to build its own metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems for 2D materials research and fabrication.

An 8-to-12-inch-scale 2D materials processing equipment platform has been successfully developed, enabling the growth of monolayer 2D materials on a 6-inch wafer-compatible scale with 100% full coverage. NCIR has successfully overcome the material non-uniformity and defect issues commonly encountered in wafer-scale growth of 2D materials, demonstrating highly uniform continuous films and excellent process stability.

NCIR provided 6-inch wafers coated with continuous 2D material films to TSRI, which fabricated and tested electronic devices using the films. The successful results demonstrated the feasibility of applying these 2D material films to real-world devices, establishing a complete technology chain from equipment and fabrication processes to inspection and component integration. 
Collaborating with top-tier research teams from Taiwan and Japan, NCIR has established a comprehensive technology verification framework on this platform.

Professor Wen-Hao Chang of NYCU utilized the platform to validate 2D material fabrication processes, confirming both epitaxial quality and uniformity. The platform was also used to analyse and verify the 2D material characteristics. The research has been accepted in the prestigious international journal Nature Electronics, underscoring NCIR platform's capacity and value in supporting world-class, cutting-edge research.

Professor Vincent Tung from the University of Tokyo used NCIR's materials characterisation platform to verify the thickness, crystal structure and electrical conductivity of a novel 2D boron carbon nitride material, confirming that it exhibits the defining properties of a 2D material. The findings were subsequently accepted in the leading international journal Nature.

NCIR's development of "Wafer-Scale 2D Material Process Equipment and Inspection Technology" marks a significant step forward for Taiwan's capabilities in critical 2D material manufacturing. Through collaboration with Japan, NCIR has also strengthened inspection and validation capabilities, helping industry enhance its global competitiveness while supporting greater chip self-reliance and a more secure, resilient semiconductor supply chain.

During the equipment's development, NCIR has accomplished several Academia-Industry Collaborative Projects supported by NSTC. Looking ahead, NCIR plans to transfer the technology to industry to accelerate the commercial application of its research.

NCIR will also continue optimising its 8-inch and 12-inch processing platforms, integrating data-driven and smart manufacturing technologies to speed the industrial adoption of 2D materials in advanced logic devices, optoelectronics and sensing applications. The effort is expected to provide a key foundation for Taiwan's next generation of semiconductor technologies.

Group photo (from left to right: Prof. Tung of UTokyo / Prof. Chang of NYCU / President Tsai of NIAR / Director General Pan of NCIR / Deputy Director General Lin of NCIR / Division Director Chen of NCIR)