Johns Hopkins breakthrough could make microchips nearly invisible

To overcome the limitations of traditional chipmaking, Johns Hopkins researchers developed chemical liquid deposition, enabling nanometer-thin coatings that respond to advanced lasers, allowing circuit etching below the current 10-nanometer industry threshold for microchips

In a major scientific milestone, researchers from Johns Hopkins University, along with international collaborators, have developed a novel material and fabrication method that could revolutionize the future of microchip manufacturing.

As global demand surges for faster and more compact electronic devices, the microchip industry has faced a daunting challenge: how to keep shrinking chip sizes without compromising performance or cost. Traditional lithography methods, especially at the nanoscale, have hit critical limitations—primarily because conventional materials fail to respond effectively to the high-energy lasers used in etching ultra-small circuits.

To solve this, the Johns Hopkins-led team introduced a pioneering method known as chemical liquid deposition (CLD). This technique enables ultra-thin, nanometer-scale coatings of specially engineered metal-organic compounds to be applied to silicon wafers. These newly designed materials are highly responsive to cutting-edge light sources, allowing circuit patterns to be etched smaller than the industry’s current 10-nanometer threshold.

A platform for the future of electronics

“This isn’t just about going smaller,” said Dr. Michael Tsapatsis, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins. “It’s about doing it in a way that works with existing manufacturing systems, making it scalable and cost-effective.”

Published in Nature Chemical Engineering, the research was a global collaboration, involving teams from East China University of Science and Technology, EPFL in Switzerland, Soochow University, and U.S. national labs at Brookhaven and Berkeley. Their experiments revealed that metals like zinc, when bonded with organic molecules, can absorb beyond extreme ultraviolet (B-EUV) radiation far more effectively—an essential capability for the next generation of microchip fabrication.

Opening the door to hundreds of new materials

The most promising aspect of this breakthrough lies in its flexibility. The CLD process allows researchers to test and develop a wide range of material combinations tailored for specific chip functions. “We’ve created a customizable platform,” Tsapatsis noted. “It opens up hundreds of possibilities for next-gen electronics.”

This advancement could mark a turning point in the race to develop smaller, faster, and more efficient microchips—impacting everything from smartphones to AI systems and space technology in the years ahead.