Intel seeks to replace traditional CMOS with emerging technology

A number of companies, including Intel, are attempting to design a viable replacement for traditional charge-based complementary metal–oxide–semiconductors (CMOS). CMOS technology, patented in 1967 by Frank Wanlass, is currently utilized in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM and other digital logic circuits.
##CONTINUE##
"There have been predictions that as CMOS transistors continue to shrink, a point will eventually be reached at which quantum mechanical effects make them unusable or their power dissipation becomes prohibitive," Intel explained in a statement. "[The company] is actively involved in the International Planning Working Group for Nanoelectronics (IPWGN), which collects and publishes data to stimulate and enhance inter-regional research cooperation in nanoelectronics. Some of the research topics include non-Boolean logic devices, metrology and characterization, modeling and simulation, and environmentally benign manufacturing."

Although the IPWGN has reported "a great deal of progress," it has yet to locate a "clear path" beyond scaled CMOS. However, the IPGWN did manage to identify inter-regional collaboration that could lead to a new path for Moore's Law. According to Intel, such a path would ensure the benefits of "more computing capability at a lower cost per function."

Moore's Law, which was formulated by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965, postulates that the number of transistors on a chip will double every two years.

"The future of integrated electronics is the future of electronics itself. The advantages of integration will bring about a proliferation of electronics, pushing this science into many new areas," wrote Moore in 1965.

-----------------------------
BY Aharon Etengoff
Source：TG Daily

© 2009 DD&M Inc.