Breakthrough in computer technology with atomic semiconductors
Scientists have just created a semiconductor using a phosphorus atom on a silicon crystal base, helping to increase processing and calculation speed billions of times faster than today's computers.
Professor Simmons's schematic diagram of the atomic transistor |
This work has just been announced by a group of scientists from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the Korea Institute of Information Science and Technology, Purdue University and several universities in Sydney and Melbourne, led by Professor Michelle Simmons.
Professor Michelle Simmons and her colleagues report that they have successfully fabricated a single-atom transistor (nano transistor) by positioning a phosphorus atom between metal electrodes, also made of phosphorus, on a silicon crystal surface. This work marks the first important milestone in the fabrication of atomic devices.
The device is fabricated using a technique of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and hydrogen resist lithography. The surface of a clean silicon wafer is covered with a layer of hydrogen gas, and then the tip of the STM (with a suitable voltage applied) is used to remove hydrogen from specific regions of the surface.
When the wafer is exposed to phosphine (PH3), the remaining hydrogen layer acts as a mask and the phosphorus can only bond to the surfaces in the areas where the hydrogen has been removed. Scientists have thus “written” nanostructures using phosphorus atoms into silicon wafers.
Finally, the nanostructure is fixed by coating with a new layer of silicon that holds the phosphorus atoms fixed in their positions.
Transistors were first created in the 1950s and revolutionized the electronics industry. Since then, their size has shrunk to increase the number of transistors squeezed onto a dual circuit to help computers calculate faster and store more.
About every two years, the number of transistors on a chip doubles according to the law of
Previously, in mid-2011, a number of major electronics companies in the world, including Samsung, Intel, Toshiba... joined hands to carry out a research project to develop new generation semiconductor manufacturing technology with the goal of narrowing the 10nm gap.
This project is expected to last until 2016.
According to Tuoi Tre
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