Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology researchers have designed graphene transistors capable of harnessing rather than resisting quantum tunneling in order to operate at high frequencies using low power:
Building transistors that are capable of switching at low voltages (less than 0.5 volts) is one of the greatest challenges of modern electronics. Tunnel transistors are the most promising candidates to solve this problem. Unlike in conventional transistors, where electrons "jump" through the energy barrier, in tunnel transistors the electrons "filter" through the barrier due to the quantum tunneling effect. However, in most semiconductors the tunneling current is very small and this prevents transistors that are based on these materials from being used in real circuits.
The authors of the article, scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, and Tohoku University (Japan), proposed a new design for a tunnel transistor based on bilayer graphene, and using modelling, they proved that this material is an ideal platform for low-voltage electronics.
[...] Under optimum conditions, a graphene transistor can change the current in a circuit ten thousand times with a gate voltage swing of only 150 millivolts. "This means that the transistor requires less energy for switching, chips will require less energy, less heat will be generated, less powerful cooling systems will be needed, and clock speeds can be increased without the worry that the excess heat will destroy the chip," says Svintsov.
Found at NextBigFuture.
Abrupt current switching in graphene bilayer tunnel transistors enabled by van Hove singularities (open, DOI: 10.1038/srep24654)
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Thursday May 26 2016, @03:43PM
I thought Moores law was dead for good?
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gravis on Thursday May 26 2016, @03:49PM
Moore's law is an observation about the number of transistors in a processor increasing exponentially. This literally has nothing to do with Moore's law.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday May 26 2016, @04:25PM
Wake me up when all the Wondrous Graphene Applications finally leave the lab.
I've got dollars, and I'm not afraid to reward progress.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2016, @05:44PM
TFP states 150mV swing under 'optimal conditions': What are those optimal conditions, and how bad is it under sub-optimal conditions?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2016, @07:46PM
What's required for maintaining something resembling optimal conditions can't be any worse than the liquid nitrogen used by competitive overclockers to "beat" Moore's law.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 27 2016, @01:43AM
DDR4 runs at up to 10x higher voltage so if they can get it in the ballpark of 150 mV they have a win.
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(Score: 2) by butthurt on Friday May 27 2016, @05:00AM
I don't get it. Are you saying that, if these transistors could be made into an SRAM, it would be a good replacement for DRAM? The storage part of DRAM is made up of capacitors, not transistors.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 27 2016, @05:06AM
I'm just saying the voltage is very low in comparison to everything.
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(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2016, @06:40PM
a graphene transistor can change the current in a circuit ten thousand times
For those wondering, this "ten thousand times" is supposed to mean the ratio between the current flowing when the gate is ON and the current flowing when it is OFF (aka leakage current). It is not the frequency at which the current changes. And it's 35000 in the paper, not 10000.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 26 2016, @10:35PM
No, they modelled. Proof requires proof.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Sunday May 29 2016, @01:51PM
Will this kick America into power up their R&D before Russia-Japan run circles around them in the semiconductor switching industry?