A new type of transistor debuts

Latest update time：2021-10-15 16:28

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Recently , researchers at Purdue University announced the development of a new transistor technology called CasFET that could help further reduce the size of transistors.

The idea of Moore's Law has forced semiconductor manufacturers to double the number of transistors on a semiconductor chip every two years since the development of the first integrated circuit. This doubling has contributed greatly to technological progress by increasing the processing power of devices, increasing memory size, and enabling high-speed communications.

However, transistors are now beginning to reach the atomic scale, and further shrinking their size presents unprecedented challenges to the semiconductor industry. For example, atomic-scale devices exhibit quantum effects such as electron tunneling, making insulating layers difficult to produce. Another challenge facing atomic-scale transistors is shot noise, which is generated by the very small currents used (compared to the random motion of individual electrons).

All of these challenges have led researchers to turn to creative designs and methods to develop functional devices. One of the newer technologies developed by Intel is the RibbonFET, a transistor whose channel is divided into multiple conductors completely surrounded by a gate.

Recently, researchers at Purdue University developed a new transistor technology called Cascade Field-Effect Transistors, or CasFETs for short. The new device looks similar to the RibbonFET, with the channel completely surrounded by the gate. However, the appearance of the CasFET is where the similarities end, and according to the researchers, the new transistor acts very differently.

The first major difference is that unlike standard transistors, which use defined conduction and valence bands, CasFETs use subbands where electrons can exist. According to the researchers, the transistor behaves more like a quantum cascade laser than a typical FET device used in electronics.

The second major difference is that the gate and superlattice (i.e., channel) are perpendicular, whereas the gate and channel of a typical transistor are parallel. Whether this structure is beneficial to the design is not yet clear, but the researchers noted.

The new transistor technology is said to be able to operate over a wider range of voltages than currently available and can be constructed from different materials. In addition, CasFETs offer higher switching speeds, making them ideal for future semiconductor technologies that require faster transistors.

This is a difficult question to answer and depends entirely on the feasibility of such a transistor. While researchers claim that this new technology could be faster and operate over a wider voltage range than current devices, published patents and reports do not mention prototype devices or experiments. In fact, many reports mention that once their design reaches their desired performance goals, the researchers will create a final prototype. This may mean that the CasFET is more of a concept than an actual device at this time.

However, if the researchers are right about CasFETs, the semiconductor industry will have another technology to rely on when creating the next generation of semiconductors. Faster transistors allow for faster processors, which enables more data processing. Using devices that operate at different voltage levels also enables CasFETs to be used in multiple applications, including commercial, industrial, and aerospace.

Overall, we'll have to wait for researchers to produce viable devices that live up to the researchers' promises. While individual CasFET transistors might work well, it could turn out that they can't be integrated the same way as current transistor technology, and therefore wouldn't be suitable for processors and other high-end electronics.

However, reports show that the CasFET process is very likely to be the next step in the development of transistors. The superlattice layer is a groundbreaking new design, deployed perpendicular to the direction of transistor transmission, which can promote further miniaturization of transistors and allow finer voltage control. The research team is currently developing the first transistor prototype using the CasFET process. It is in the design stage of the overall structural Hull material, hoping to find a balance between cost, material availability, performance, and convenience of transistor manufacturing upgrades. This work seems to have seen the light of day, and Purdue University has applied for patent protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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