Atom-sized transistors shatter miniaturisation barrier

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 20 Feb 2009 at 12:02

A new type of nano transistor could pave the way for the next generation of electronics.

Semiconductor technology is beginning to reach the limits of miniaturisation, with Intel announcing recently that it's ready to begin construction of 32nm production plants.

However, a US nano-technology research team now claims to have built an atom-sized transistor which could be used in computers, memory devices and sensors.

The transistor is constructed from two ceramic crystal materials known as lanthanum aluminate and strontium titanate. When sandwiched together, these natural insulators conduct electricity when a positive charge is passed across them.

"The transistor we made is arguably the smallest one that has ever been produced in a deterministic and reliable fashion. And we did it using an instrument that can be miniaturised down to the size of a wristwatch," says Levy.

Independently, teams from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California Berkeley claim to have developed a thin semiconductor film that could allow data equivalent to that of 250 DVDs onto a surface the size of a coin.

Many teams have tried to use polymers to create sheets of semiconductor films but the material tends to lose its structure when spread over large surfaces.

To overcome this, the team lead by Thomas Russell of the University of Massachusetts heated sapphire crystals to create a specific pattern of ridges on the surface. This served as a guide for the semiconductor film.