New
#1
It brings a whole new meaning to an Atom processor...
A working transistor on a single atom:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/sc...m.html?_r=1&hp
If I didn't miss some points of the reading. I am just curious about the heat created by the dissipation during the transistor operation whether it is going to be less or even greater, and how to handle it.
Just a thought. :)
Kevin
How long until a usable chip can be made?
Nanotechnology is inevitable...
hmm, cynical mickey says you can't make anything out of just one atom - one phosphorus atom on its own can't do very much.
i would say that maybe the transistor includes one atom of phosphorus - it doesn't comprise of one atom and that's it.
Agreed.
It would take many atoms to provide conductors and insulation.
My hypothetical device below, needs at least 15 atoms.
My Hypothesis
I think that it might be an "Electro-Mechanical FET" (for want of a better description).The yellow blocks represent conductors (probably Gold).
The red block represents the Phosphorus atom.
The pink/purple lines represent an electric field.
It is constructed so that the Phosphorus atom normally sits at one end ("0").
When a charge is applied to the conductor, the Phosphorus atom moves to the other end, bridging the conductors at that end ("1").
When the charge is removed the Phosphorus atom returns to the other end ("0").
In the original article it says the transistor can output multiple values, so it's for more then a simple binary switch, in effect making it, for want of a better metaphor, a multi-dimensional variable switch. This is what's so fascinating about it besides the nano-structure...
However it's probably twenty years away...