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posted by takyon on Sunday December 02 2018, @11:19PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-dead-yet dept.

New Metal-Air Transistor Replaces Semiconductors

[Researchers] at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, believe a metal-based field emission air channel transistor (ACT) they have developed could maintain transistor doubling for another two decades.

The team has developed a functional proof of concept and is currently working to improve stability and efficiency.

"Unlike conventional transistors that have to sit in silicon bulk, our device is a bottom-to-top fabrication approach starting with a substrate. This enables us to build fully 3D transistor networks, if we can define optimum air gaps," says Shruti Nirantar, lead author of a paper on the new transistor published this month in Nano Letters [DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02849] [DX]. "This means we can stop pursuing miniaturization, and instead focus on compact 3D architecture, allowing more transistors per unit volume."

[...] Looking further ahead, she points out that the theoretical speed of an ACT is in the terahertz range, some 10 thousand times as fast as the speed at which current semiconductor devices work.

The approach also has a number of compelling advantages over traditional silicon semiconductors including far fewer processing steps, simpler fabrication on any dielectric surface, and better resistance to radiation.

Narantir concludes:

"With [industry] help and sufficient research funding, there is the potential to develop commercial-grade field emission air-channel transistors within the next decade—and that's a generous timeline. With the right partners, this could happen more quickly."


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday December 03 2018, @06:48PM (2 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Monday December 03 2018, @06:48PM (#769239)

    To be fair, if you're a Victorian you get a day off for some horse race and the Football Grand Final, you lucky bastards.

    I've been campaigning over here in NZ for the Grand Final holiday too, with not much success yet.

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  • (Score: 2) by gawdonblue on Monday December 03 2018, @08:42PM (1 child)

    by gawdonblue (412) on Monday December 03 2018, @08:42PM (#769280)

    I've been campaigning over here in NZ for the Grand Final holiday too, with not much success yet.

    Best of luck with your endeavours, but I doubt that there are anywhere near enough NZers who are into AFL.

    Go the Tigers!

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday December 03 2018, @09:17PM

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Monday December 03 2018, @09:17PM (#769291)

      St. Kilda promised 10,000 New Zealand members a few years ago, then did exactly nothing.

      I follow Hawthorn but would have bought a St. Kilda membership if they played some games over here.

      The problem is that Auckland doesn't have a cricket stadium, and when St. Kilda played a couple of games in Wellington they made no effort at all to get the locals on board which meant interest dropped off really quickly.

      If we ever get the cricket stadium we're being promised here in Auckland we might get a couple of games and I will be there with bells on. Your weird football is the most wonderful game ever, thanks.