AMD CLAIMS SMALLEST TRANSISTOR EVER - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
claims it has developed the smallest double-gate transistor that uses industry-standard
manufacturing processes. Transistors relay data in a binary mode as electrical currents are
switched on and off, and the gate is the point on the transistor through which the current
passes. Double-gate transistors can transmit twice the electrical current of a single-gate
transistor. The size of the new transistor could allow chips that currently hold 100 million
transistors to hold as many as 1 billion. AMD said that the new transistors, which were
developed in cooperation with researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and
supported by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, are not yet ready for the market
but that details of the research will be presented in December at the International Electron
Devices Meeting. See the article at: http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19370.html
(NewsFactor Network, 11 Sept 02 - Edupage 11 Sept 02)