A new type of transistor shaped like a Christmas tree has
arrived just in time for the holidays, but the prototype won't be nestled under
the tree along with the other gifts.
"It's a preview of things to come in the semiconductor
industry," said Peide "Peter" Ye, a professor of electrical and
computer engineering at Purdue University.
Researchers from Purdue and Harvard universities created the
transistor, which is made from a material that could replace silicon within a
decade. Each transistor contains three tiny nanowires made not of silicon, like
conventional transistors, but from a material called indium-gallium-arsenide.
The three nanowires are progressively smaller, yielding a tapered cross section
resembling a Christmas tree.