New Spin On Old Method to Develop More Efficient Electronics

With the advent of semiconductor transistors -- invented in 1947 as a replacement for bulky and inefficient vacuum tubes -- has come the consistent demand for faster, more energy-efficient technologies. To fill this need, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are proposing a new spin on an old method: a switch from the use of silicon electronics back to vacuums as a medium for electron transport -- exhibiting a significant paradigm shift in electronics.