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Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have developed a proof of concept that can pass currents over an air channel rather than silicon.
The university said the new type of transistor is faster, less likely to heat up and removes the use of any semiconductor.
"Every computer and every phone has millions to billions of silicon-made electronic transistors, but this technology reaches its physical limits where silicon atoms hinder the flow of current, limiting speed and generating heat," wrote the main author of the research Shruti. Nirantar said.
"Our air channel transistor technology circulates the current in the air, so there is no collision to slow it down or resistance in the material to produce heat."
Nirantar added that the research could be used to create an "electronic nano" because of the limitations of silicon-based transistors.
"This technology simply borrows a different path from the miniaturization of a transistor to enforce Moore's law for many more decades," said Nirantar.
In one article, the team wrote that the air gaps used were less than 35 nanometers and that having a small channel allowed for a "vacuum-like carrier" under conditions of ambient temperature.
"The gap is only a few tens of nanometers, 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, but it's enough to fool the electrons into thinking they're traveling in the vacuum and recreate a virtual outer space for the electrons inside the nano range, "said associate professor Sharath Sriram, head of the research team.
"This is a step towards an exciting technology that aims to create something from scratch to dramatically increase the speed of electronics and keep pace with rapid technological progress."
Last month, the Australian National University (ANU) announced the invention of tiny diamond electronic components, which could outperform the performance of currently used devices.
UNA scientists, alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States and Israel's Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, have developed a new type of ultra-thin diamond transistor in phase Proof of Principle, with lead researcher Dr. Zongyou Yin predicts that diamond transistors technology could be ready for large-scale manufacturing within three to five years.
Also in October, the ANU announced the invention of a partially organic semiconductor, claiming that this development paved the way for flexible devices.
The thin and flexible semiconductor is composed of organic and inorganic materials that, according to the ANU, can convert electricity into light very effectively.
The ANU explained that the organic component of the semiconductor has the thickness of a single atom and that it is composed solely of carbon and hydrogen. The inorganic component has a thickness of about two atoms.
The hybrid structure can effectively convert electricity into light for displays on mobile phones, TVs and other electronic devices, the university said.
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