2D materials: India’s chance to leapfrog semiconductors

For decades, national power was measured by gross domestic product (GDP), industrial output, and control over natural resources.

- BVR SUBRAHMANYAM & DEBJANI GHOSH

But the axis of power has shifted. Today, semiconductors, algorithms, data flows, rare minerals, and clean energy have become the new levers of influence. Mastery over these frontier technologies determines not only economic competitiveness but also national security and global leadership.

Among these, semiconductors are the most strategic chokepoint. The US has built an almost unassailable lead across the value chain. For emerging economies, trying to “catch up” by replicating this trajectory is a near-impossible task. We have to figure out the faultlines that allow us to leapfrog entrenched players.

This is where two-dimensional (2D) materials come in. If silicon defined the semiconductor era of the 20th century, 2D materials could define the future — not just of semiconductors, but of computing, quantum, and advanced energy systems.

What are 2D materials — and why do they matter?

Imagine a material just one atom thick — about 1/80,00oth the width of a human hair. Despite its thinness, it can not only replace and advance silicon but can do much more than silicon could offer.

Graphene, discovered in 2004 by isolating a single layer of carbon atoms, sparked a revolution. It is 200 times stronger than steel and conducts electricity more efficiently than copper. Since then, more than 700 2D materials have been identified — ranging from graphene to transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and Xenes. These materials exhibit extraordinary properties: