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November 2012
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INDUSTRY VIEW
A single-electron memory cell. The narrowest region is 40 nanometres wide
or over 40 years, electronic components on silicon chips have been steadily reducing in size. From the very beginning in the 1960s, Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, predicted that the number of transistors on a silicon chip would double every two years. This prediction, the famous Moore’s Law, has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, driving the advances needed for each new generation of silicon chip and creating one of the most remarkable technological revolutions in history. The basis of microelectronics is the field-effect transistor, the valve that controls the currents flowing around the chip. In 1970 the smallest part of these transistors was the width of a human hair, but has now reduced in size almost 1,000 times to just 35 nanometres. On a silicon chip, smaller means faster and it is this extraordinary reduction that has led to the dramatic increases in speed of electronic circuits. Things change dramatically if dimensions drop below 10 nanometres. Progress then runs into a tough barrier – quantum mechanics. We now enter a world where electrons behave as waves rather than particles. Electrons can tunnel through barriers meant to hold them, increasing the chip current and causing overheating.
Each electron has a specific energy and the smallest transistors now resemble artificial atoms or quantum dots. While the demise of the transistor has often been predicted and proved wrong, quantum effects change the fundamental nature of the device. Thankfully, with problems come opportunities. Because the energy needed to add even one electron to such a small transistor becomes large enough to turn off the current flowing through it, we can now control individual electrons. Such a device, a single electron transistor, has until recently only been studied in the laboratory. But the reduction in size below 10 nanometres brings with it the promise of practical applications with the performance of silicon chips beyond that possible with conventional transistors. The ability of single-electron transistors to control individual electrons raises the exciting possibility of chips using only one electron to define one ‘bit’ of information. At Imperial College, we are working to put this ultimate limit of electronics into everybody’s hands. That’s a development even Gordon Moore would have had trouble foreseeing. Dr Zahid Durrani is a senior lecturer at Imperial College London 0207 5946232 www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/z.durrani
Are you an ‘imagineer’? Collaboration across the supply chain is needed to bring new technologies to life
55 billion kWh of electrical power consumed daily around the world. Technologies like this face a conundrum – they don’t become economical until adopted in high volume. The task, therefore, is to collaborate with companies across the manufacturing INDUSTRY VIEW chain to accelerate this process. Designs must evolve as new he founders of GaN semiconductor processes Systems, Girvan Patterson, mature. New packaging solutions John Roberts and Geoff must support faster speeds, Haynes swept up – like many higher power dissipation and of our contemporaries – by the harsher environments. Novel electronics revolution of the late circuit topologies are Sixties are still surfing the semiconductor wave. 55bn kWh required to realise the promised performance. And now, with strong of electrical North American venture power is used Higher frequency and temperature demand capital funding, GaN every day more of companion Systems is launching yet inductors and capacitors. another new technology. System advantages must be The company’s novel approach proven and demonstrated. These to the design of transistors – built challenges span the gamut of in a thin layer of gallium nitride engineering disciplines. on the surface of a silicon wafer – While GaN Systems’ original promises to dramatically reduce ideas were born in Canada, the the cost of generation, conversion, UK offers a perfect environment distribution and control of the
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The future of electronic systems
Electrifying possibilities F The electronics industry is close to an exciting breakthrough using single electrons
Business Technology
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for their gestation. An innovative supply chain supports international companies with talented local design teams; strong trade associations underpinned by government funding are fuelling research and development collaborations
CEO G holdin ir van Patters ga on Nitride wafer of Ga lliu power transis m tors
with excellent universities. The stream of constant change that has propelled our careers will undoubtedly continue to accelerate. Now, more than ever, companies need inspiration from the next generation of “imagineers”. They have a unique talent to share – they don’t know what can’t be done. If you are a student passionate about building the future from the discoveries of your fellow pure scientists, strive to engage with the industrial world as early as you can. You can make a real contribution to industry during the summer vacation or even during your course. If your thirst for knowledge attracts you to postgraduate study, seek sponsorship from a prospective employer and start to drive the future of our exciting industry. Dream to change the world. Geoff Haynes is MD of GaN Systems Ltd ghaynes@gansystems.com www.gansystems.com