postsilicon

Postsilicon is a broad term used to describe technologies and materials intended to succeed silicon-based semiconductors after the era of traditional scaling. It denotes a shift from continuing improvements in silicon CMOS toward alternative materials, device concepts, and computing paradigms designed to sustain performance and energy efficiency gains.

The scope includes new materials such as wide-bandgap semiconductors (silicon carbide and gallium nitride), III-V compounds (gallium arsenide, indium phosphide), and two-dimensional materials (graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides). It also covers heterogeneous integration that combines these materials with silicon to create advanced devices and circuits. In practice, postsilicon aims to extend functionality beyond what silicon alone can deliver, addressing power density, leakage, and thermal constraints.

Device concepts associated with postsilicon include tunneling field-effect transistors, spintronic memories (MRAM), and photonic integrated circuits that use light for signal transmission and processing. Additional avenues include quantum devices and quantum dots pursued for specialized computing and sensing tasks. Beyond individual devices, postsilicon encompasses new computing paradigms such as neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, and photonic or in-memory computing, as well as architectural approaches like three-dimensional integration and chiplet-based designs.

Industry status is development-stage rather than mainstream; production-scale adoption faces challenges in fabrication, cost, reliability, and thermal management. Ecosystem maturity, supply chains, and standardization of materials and interfaces are ongoing concerns for widespread deployment. See also Moore’s Law, post-silicon era, neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, photonic integrated circuits, spintronics, and materials science.