Research could lead to more efficient integrated circuits

‘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 transistors with indium-gallium-arsenide, a material that could replace silicon within a decade. Each transistor contains three tiny nanowires made from the material that are progressively smaller, yielding a tapered cross section that resembles a Christmas tree.

The research is said to build on previous work in which the team created a 3D structure instead of conventional flat transistors. It is claimed that the approach could enable engineers to build faster, more compact and more efficient integrated circuits and lighter laptops that generate less heat than those currently produced.

New findings show how to improve the device performance by linking the transistors vertically in parallel.

‘A one-storey house can hold so many people, but more floors, more people, and it’s the same thing with transistors,’ Ye said in a statement. ‘Stacking them results in more current and much faster operation for high-speed computing. This adds a whole new dimension, so I call them 4D.’