Consumer electronic devices are made from materials that we have been using for more than 60 years, mainly silicon, germanium and copper. Why have semiconductor electronics become increasingly fast over this time?

I would argue that this is due to miniaturization, or the ability to stack an increasingly large number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (microchip). Some may argue that we are starting to reach limits in that miniaturization, as thin films approach a thickness of just about 10 nanometers, or even lower.

These nearly two-dimensional (2D) materials could be used to build the next-generation electronics. However, as electronic materials like silicon are miniaturized, they become less energy efficient.