China Achieves Breakthrough in Mass-Producing ‘Golden Semiconductor’ for Next-Gen Chips

In a landmark breakthrough that could redefine the future of chip manufacturing, Chinese researchers have unveiled a novel method to mass-produce high-quality indium selenide, commonly referred to as the “golden semiconductor.” The development opens a new path for building next-generation chips that could surpass the limits of current silicon-based technology.

The findings, published in the prestigious journal Science on Friday, were led by scientists from Peking University and Renmin University of China. The study addresses a longstanding challenge in the semiconductor world: how to produce indium selenide at scale while maintaining its delicate atomic structure and ideal 1:1 elemental ratio.

“As traditional silicon chips approach their physical and performance ceilings, the global demand for advanced materials like indium selenide is becoming more urgent,” said Professor Liu Kaihui from Peking University’s School of Physics. “This material offers high electron mobility and low energy consumption, critical for applications in AI, autonomous vehicles, and next-gen smart devices.”

The difficulty, according to Liu, has always been in the production. Indium selenide’s precise atomic structure has made it notoriously difficult to synthesize at scale without sacrificing quality. But the research team’s new technique changes that.

Their approach involves heating an amorphous indium selenide film and solid indium in sealed conditions. As the indium vaporizes, it creates a liquid interface at the film’s edge that gradually transforms into well-structured indium selenide crystals. This process guarantees the correct atomic ratio and enables large-area crystal growth.

Qiu Chengguang, a researcher from Peking University’s School of Electronics, confirmed that the team successfully produced 5-centimeter-diameter indium selenide wafers and built high-performance transistor arrays ready for integration into real-world chip devices.

Reviewers at Science praised the research as “an advancement in crystal growth,” signaling not only scientific innovation but also China’s growing capability to shape the future of global semiconductors.

Professor Liu noted that this breakthrough brings indium selenide from the lab into the realm of industrial application. “It breaks the bottleneck that has long hindered its commercial use and sets the foundation for chips that are faster, cooler, and more efficient,” he said.

As geopolitical tensions and technology restrictions intensify, this achievement also underscores China’s strategic push to localize and upgrade its semiconductor supply chain. While the West focuses on scaling AI through silicon-based models, China’s materials science community may have just laid the groundwork for a paradigm shift, one atom at a time.