Eight crystals, eight superpowers
Now that you know what crystals are and what makes them special (lattice order, band gap, piezoelectricity), let's meet the 8 crystals included in CrystalSim. Each was picked because it represents a distinct strategy in the post-silicon design space.
Key Concept
Silicon (Si) — the baseline
High mobility (1400 cm²/V·s), narrow gap (1.12 eV), zero piezo. The incumbent that defines what we're trying to beat. Use it as the reference, not the answer.
Key Concept
Quartz (SiO₂) — the original piezo
Tiny mobility, but a 9 eV gap and a clean d₃₃ of 2.3 pC/N. Use as a precision EM-coupling reference and resonator (this is what's in your watch).
Key Concept
ZnO — the workhorse
Wide-gap (3.37 eV) wurtzite with a strong piezo response (d₃₃ = 12.4 pC/N). The original platform for piezotronic transistors. Strain directly modulates carrier transport.
Key Concept
GaN — the speedster
Best blend in the catalog: 1000 mobility, 3.4 eV gap, 3.1 pC/N piezo, 3.3 MV/cm breakdown. The strongest single-material candidate for a Crystal-EM hybrid channel.
Key Concept
InGaOₓ — the Tokyo breakthrough
Amorphous oxide with a 3.5 eV gap and atomic-layer-deposited uniformity. Great when sub-nm channel thickness matters more than raw mobility.
Key Concept
PZT — the piezo king
d₃₃ = 450 pC/N (off the charts) and dielectric constant 2000. Carries no current itself — pair it as a gate dielectric on a high-mobility channel like GaN.
Key Concept
MoS₂ — the 2D wonder
A direct-gap semiconductor only one atom thick at the monolayer limit. The geometry play silicon cannot match. Sub-nm gates have already been demonstrated.
Key Concept
LiNbO₃ — the photonic ace
The premier electro-optic crystal. Couples EM fields to lattice strain in picoseconds. Powers the high-frequency RF and photonic side of the stack.
Interactive · Crystal Matchmaker — pick the right crystal for the job
Round 1 / 8Score: 0
"I need the fastest channel material"
Highest electron mobility wins.
Lesson Summary
- CrystalSim ships with 8 carefully chosen crystals, each with a distinct superpower.
- Silicon = baseline. Quartz = original piezo. ZnO = piezotronic workhorse. GaN = high-mobility wide-gap.
- InGaOₓ = ultra-thin oxide. PZT = piezo king. MoS₂ = 2D channel. LiNbO₃ = electro-optic.
- Different crystals shine for different jobs — the thesis pairs them (e.g. GaN channel + PZT gate).
Test Your Knowledge · +50 XP
1
Which crystal has the highest electron mobility in CrystalSim?
2
Which is a 2D atomically-thin semiconductor?
3
Which is the best electro-optic crystal?
4
If you need the strongest piezoelectric gate, you pick:
5
Why does the thesis pair GaN and PZT?