All articles tagged with #transistors
IBM unveiled the world’s first sub-1-nanometer semiconductor chip, using a nanostack architecture to vertically stack transistors and fit nearly 100 billion transistors on a fingernail-sized wafer, with up to 70% energy efficiency gains over its 2nm predecessor. Production isn’t imminent, as IBM aims to enter markets within five years and continues work on thermal management and integration challenges.
MIT DMSE PhD Camille Cunin developed mille-feuille-like polymer–metal stacks to make soft, stretchable organic transistors for bioelectronic interfaces, addressing ion–electron transport in hydrated tissues and mechanical compatibility with the body; the layered design, created with collaborators, advances brain-implantable electrode concepts and has led to a patent application. She completed her PhD in February and now works near Boston on soft electrodes, while also organizing MIT Polymer Day and pursuing salsa dancing and Blender-based journal art.
Researchers from Fudan University embedded a complete circuit inside a 50-micrometer fiber by printing transistors on a flexible elastomer film and spiraling it into the fiber, creating fiber-integrated circuits (FIC) capable of performing analog and digital processing. With about 100,000 transistors per centimeter, the ultra-thin fiber withstands extreme bending, twisting, washing, and even heavy loads, and its fabrication is compatible with standard semiconductor tooling. The breakthrough could enable interactive clothing, tactile interfaces, VR gloves, and medical implants (including brain and cardiovascular applications), marking a major advance in wearable electronics as reported in Nature.
An international team of physicists, co-led by Jairo Velasco, Jr. from UC Santa Cruz, has experimentally confirmed the existence of 'quantum scars'—patterns in the chaotic movement of electrons confined in quantum spaces. Using advanced imaging techniques on graphene, the researchers observed electrons following predictable paths, known as unique closed orbits, rather than chaotic trajectories. This discovery, based on a theory proposed 40 years ago, has significant implications for developing more efficient electronic devices by utilizing these quantum phenomena to enhance information processing.
Researchers have developed a new single-molecule transistor that utilizes quantum interference to control electron flow, potentially leading to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient transistors. By exploiting quantum effects, the transistor demonstrates a high on/off ratio and stability, with the ability to operate for hundreds of thousands of cycles. This breakthrough could pave the way for the development of new types of transistors that are more efficient and reliable, with potential applications in various electronic devices.
Researchers have developed a moiré synaptic transistor that exhibits room-temperature neuromorphic functionality. The transistor, based on moiré heterostructures, demonstrates the potential for integrating memory and computing in a single device. This advancement could pave the way for more efficient and powerful neuromorphic computing systems.
In 2009, Chiang Shang-yi, head of research and development at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., proposed exploring chip packaging as a solution to the chip industry's problem of fitting more transistors onto smaller chips. This alternative approach aimed to make chips more powerful without relying solely on shrinking their size.
Researchers have developed a new reconfigurable field-effect transistor (FET) and memory device based on a 2D heterostructure. The transistor, which can be modulated via a photo-induced trapping mechanism, combines the characteristics of unipolar n- and p-type semiconductors. It can switch between a transistor and memory mode, and multiple FETs can be used to create logic circuits. The device's unique design could enhance the performance of computing and memory devices, and it also shows potential for neuromorphic computing applications.
Scientists have used AI to design proteins that can switch between two different configurations, similar to biological transistors. Previous AI-generated protein structures were static, but this new study introduced flexibility to designer proteins, allowing them to stabilize into two different forms depending on an external biological "lock." These AI-designed proteins have the potential for a wide range of applications, from forming nanostructures that respond to chemicals in the environment to drug delivery. The ability to design proteins with multiple configurations could revolutionize biotechnology and synthetic biology.
Researchers from Peking University and other institutes in China have demonstrated the scaling of carbon nanotube transistors to below sub-10 nm nodes, potentially outperforming silicon-based transistors. By implementing a new contact scheme called "full contact," the researchers were able to downscale the carbon nanotube transistors while maintaining their performance advantages. This breakthrough could lead to the development of smaller and more efficient carbon nanotube-based transistors, with implications for the advancement of electronics.
Scientists from the University of Groningen and their international partners have confirmed the existence of a superconductive state, the FFLO, that was theoretically predicted in 2017. Their device, which utilizes a double layer of molybdenum disulfide to control this state, could significantly advance the field of superconducting electronics. The FFLO state, which has been elusive and difficult to create in conventional superconductors, was observed in an Ising superconductor at higher temperatures and with a weaker magnetic field. This breakthrough could lead to new insights into superconductivity and the development of controllable superconducting devices such as transistors.
Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed the first fully organic bioelectronic device that can acquire and transmit neurophysiologic brain signals while providing power for device operation. The device, about 100 times smaller than a human hair, is based on an organic transistor architecture that is biocompatible, flexible, and stable in the long term. It incorporates a vertical channel and a miniaturized water conduit, demonstrating high electrical performance, low-voltage operation, and long-term stability. The device has the potential to revolutionize medical implants and improve diagnostics and treatment for patients with neurological disorders.
Researchers from the University of Twente have discovered that germanene, a two-dimensional material made of germanium atoms, behaves as a topological insulator, making it more energy-efficient than current electronic materials. Germanene is unique in that it's made from just a single element, and it has the ability to switch between "on" and "off" states, comparable to transistors. This paves the way for designing topological field-effect transistors that could replace traditional transistors in electronic devices, resulting in electronics that no longer heat up.
Scientists have developed a method to create transistors using wood by removing lignin and adding a conductive polymer to create a lattice structure. This method offers advantages such as sustainability, lower cost, recyclability, and physical flexibility. Wood can be worked in a number of ways once the lignin is removed, and it can also be made relatively transparent.
MIT researchers have developed a low-temperature growth process that can "grow" layers of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials directly on top of a fully fabricated silicon chip to enable denser integrations. The technology allows 2D semiconductor transistors to be directly integrated on top of standard silicon circuits. The new process grows a smooth, highly uniform layer across an entire 8-inch wafer, and can grow a uniform layer of TMD material in less than an hour over entire 8-inch wafers.