Photo of the Week: Thinner Materials, Smarter Technology

Sungjoon Kim, a postdoctoral appointee at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, retrieves a silicon wafer from an atomic layer deposition reactor and inspects its surface, newly coated with a two-dimensional semiconducting material called molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). These ultra-thin materials retain useful electronic properties at a single atomic layer, enabling faster, more energy-efficient microchips that can dramatically cut power use. As computationally intensive techniques like machine learning and artificial intelligence drive a growing demand for more computing power, Argonne’s research on scalable, industry-ready synthesis of 2D materials supports more reliable, high-performance technologies for everyday life.

Photo Credit: Mark Lopez, Argonne National Laboratory