Taking transistors into a new dimension

A new breakthrough could push the limits of the miniaturization of electronic components further than previously thought possible. A team at the Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS) and Institut d'Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN) has built a nanometric transistor that displays exceptional properties for a device of its size. To achieve this result, the researchers developed a novel three-dimensional architecture consisting of a vertical nanowire array whose conductivity is controlled by a gate measuring only 14 nm in length.