By Tony Hallett, 16 November 1999 15:03
NEWS Scientists at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs have announced the "world's smallest transistor", and in the process possibly solved an age-old electronics conundrum. Pioneering research could allow faster chips well into the next century, dispelling fears that the Moore's Law rate of semiconductor improvements will ease up as manufacturing processes reach their limits. Lucent said it has produced a 50-nanometer vertical transistor, so-called because its components are built on top of a silicon wafer and current flows vertically. Conventional transistors measure 180 nanometers. The Bell Labs findings will be revealed next month at an IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting in Washington DC.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below