Chicago (IL) – 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.
“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.
