An international team of scientists has discovered a new route to ultra-low-power transistors using a graphene-based composite material.

As transistors are squeezed into ever smaller areas within computer chips, the semiconductor industry struggles to contain overheating in devices.

Now researchers from the University of York and Roma Tre University believe the solution lies in composite materials built from monolayers of graphene and the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC).They discovered these materials could be used to achieve a fine electrical control over the electron's spin -- its tiny compass needle.

The new research, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, could lead the way to much needed low-energy consumption electronics.

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