News Article
Infineon develops world's tiniest transistor
German chip-making giant Infineon has unveiled what it claims is the worlds smallest nanotube transistor.
German chip-making giant Infineon has unveiled what it claims is the worlds smallest nanotube transistor.
Researchers at the companys Munich laboratories have constructed a carbon-based transistor with a channel length of just 18nm – a quarter of the size of the most advanced transistors currently in construction
Formed by growing 0.7nm-1.1nm diameter nanotubes in a controlled process, the minuscule transistor opens the way for the creation of smaller and much faster computer chips.
Carbon nanotubes conduct electricity with virtually no friction, allowing electrons to travel through them around 1,000 times faster than is possible with copper wires.
The record-breaking nanotube transistor developed by Infineon can deliver currents of more than 15µA at a supply voltage of 04V (compared with the present norm of 0.7V).
The companys researchers believe that nanotube technology will allow them to achieve supply voltages as low as 0.35V – something the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors did not expect to happen until 2018.
Infineon has been one of the pioneers of carbon nanotube technology for use in computer chips.
It was the first semiconductor company to demonstrate how nanotubes could be grown at precisely defined locations and how transistors for switching larger currents can be constructed.
Researchers at the companys Munich laboratories have constructed a carbon-based transistor with a channel length of just 18nm – a quarter of the size of the most advanced transistors currently in construction
Formed by growing 0.7nm-1.1nm diameter nanotubes in a controlled process, the minuscule transistor opens the way for the creation of smaller and much faster computer chips.
Carbon nanotubes conduct electricity with virtually no friction, allowing electrons to travel through them around 1,000 times faster than is possible with copper wires.
The record-breaking nanotube transistor developed by Infineon can deliver currents of more than 15µA at a supply voltage of 04V (compared with the present norm of 0.7V).
The companys researchers believe that nanotube technology will allow them to achieve supply voltages as low as 0.35V – something the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors did not expect to happen until 2018.
Infineon has been one of the pioneers of carbon nanotube technology for use in computer chips.
It was the first semiconductor company to demonstrate how nanotubes could be grown at precisely defined locations and how transistors for switching larger currents can be constructed.
