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Nanotechnology To Replace Conventional CMOS

Posted by timothy on from the until-there's-an-ipod-nano dept.

neutron_p writes "There is a lot of hype around nanotechnology these days, but some things are going to work in a near future anyway. IMEC announced a program aimed at seeking alternatives to the current CMOS manufacturing technologies using nanotechnologies. IMEC will investigate the use of semiconducting wires, carbon nanotubes and spintronics or electron spin." (IMEC describes itself as "Europe's leading independent research center" in the fields of microelectronics and nanotechnology.)

6 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. So... by Brandon+One · · Score: 5, Funny

    Size really does matter afterall. Who knew?

  2. Translation: by Power+Everywhere · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Faster, cooler chips about a decade from now when the whole chip paradigm has shifted. Nanotech will still have an application, but not as a replacement for current methods. Instead nanotech will be integrated into new manufacturing technology from the ground up.

    --

    BLING BLING. Meet the architecture that's changing everything.

  3. Finally! by JorDan+Clock · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Finally an application for nanotechnology that's getting some attention that doesn't involve little machines crawling around my brain and floating through my blood stream.

  4. Electron spin versus magnetic charge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    We've heard this all before ... in hard drives! Back in 1999, manufacturers started using electron spin rather than magnetic charge to store data. From the article ... "Magnetoelectronics manipulates electrons in semiconductors via electron spin, rather than charge." Most hard drives today are GMR (giant magnetoresistance), or technology derived from GMR.

    So it's not too wild to think that they'll be able to do it in RAM and such as well.

  5. Ehh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Big IC manufacturers hate adopting radically new and risky technologies before they are forced to. I wouldn't expect CMOS to be phased out for a good while. Remember CMOS logic was designed in the early 60s, but most IC manufacturers continued to use PMOS and NMOS chips until the late 80s and early 90s when the size and number of MOSFETs going into ICs caused far too much power dissipation using NMOS/PMOS...

  6. We're already surrounded by nanotechnology... by hot+soldering+iron · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's called "biology".

    There are several different ways of getting to a functional nano assembler, and one of the current favorites is taking parts of functioning devices (virii and bacteria) and reassemble them into desired configurations.

    The only difference between a "nano" device and a virus is who designed it, Dr. Putz or Mother Nature, (Mom built hers using trial and error, lots of "bugs").

    --
    When you want something built, come see me. If you want correct grammar and spelling, get a F*ing liberal arts student.