A new form of germanium, germanane, may emerge as a viable replacement to silicon in future electronic devices, leading to more efficient LEDs and lasers, according to researchers at Ohio State University.

After Assistant Professor of Chemistry Joshua Goldberger created a one-atom-thick sheet of germanene in 2013, he and his team began playing with the atomic bonds across the sheet's top and bottom, creating hybrid versions of the material that include other atoms, like tin.

Their goal was to make a material that transmits electrons 10 times faster than silicon and that also is better at absorbing and emitting light. Goldberger’s team found that by adjusting the nature of these bonds, the electronic structure of the material could be adjusted, and the energy it absorbs could be increased or decreased.

“Potentially we could make a material that traverses the entire electromagnetic spectrum, or absorbs different colors, depending on those bonds,” Goldberger says.

The research team expects that the tin version of the germanene material could conduct electricity with 100% efficiency at room temperature.

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