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Nanoelectronics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nanoelectronics refer to the use of nanotechnology on electronic components, especially transistors. Although the term nanotechnology is generally defined as utilizing technology less than 100nm in size, nanoelectronics often refer to transistor devices that are so small that inter-atomic interactions and quantum mechanical properties need to be studied extensively. As a result, present transistors (such as CMOS90 from TSMC or Pentium 4 Processors from Intel) do not fall under this category, even though these devices are manufactured under 90nm or 65nm technology.
Nanoelectronics are sometimes considered as disruptive technology because present candidates are significantly different from traditional transistors. Some of these candidates include: hybrid molecular/semiconductor electronics, one dimensional nanotubes/nanowires, or advanced molecular electronics.
Although all of these hold immense promises for the future, they are still under development and will most likely not be used for manufacturing any time soon.
Contents |
- See hybrid nanotechnology
One possibility of using nano-molecules is to compliment present CMOS functions. One example would be memory.
- See carbon nanotubes
Besides being small and allowing more transistors to be packed into a single chip, the uniform and symmetrical structure of nanotubes allows a higher electron mobility (faster electron movement in the material), a higher dielectric constant (faster frequency), and a symmetrical electron/hole characteristic.
Single Molecule devices are another possibility.
- Single electron transistor. This involves transistor operation based on a single electron.
- Spintronics (or Spin-FETs). This involves manipulating the electron spin polarization.
- Molecular self-assembly. This implies having molecules construct a larger structure or even a complete system on their own. This can be very useful for reconfigurable computing, and may even completely replace present FPGA technology.
