digital logic
A logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing a Boolean function, a logical operation performed on one or more Binary number, binary inputs that produces a single binary output. Depending on the context, the term may refer to an id ...
technologies beyond the
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFE ...
International Roadmap for Devices and Systems The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems, or IRDS, is a set of predictions about likely developments in electronic devices and systems. The IRDS was established in 2016 and is the successor to the International Technology Roadmap for Semico ...
.
CPUs using CMOS were released from 1986 (e.g. 12 MHz
14 nanometer
The 14 nm process refers to the MOSFET technology node that is the successor to the 22nm (or 20nm) node. The 14nm was so named by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). Until about 2011, the node following 22nm was expe ...
processors shipped in Q4 2014.
* In May 2015, Samsung Electronics showed a 300 mm wafer of 10 nanometer
FinFET
A fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a multigate device, a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) built on a substrate where the gate is placed on two, three, or four sides of the channel or wrapped around the channel, f ...
chips.
It is not yet clear if CMOS transistors will still work below 3 nm. See 3 nanometer.
Comparisons of technology
About 2010 the Nanoelectronic Research Initiative (NRI) studied various circuits in various technologies.
Nikonov benchmarked (theoretically) many technologies in 2012, and updated it in 2014. The 2014 benchmarking included 11 electronic, 8
spintronic
Spintronics (a portmanteau meaning spin transport electronics), also known as spin electronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-sta ...
ferroelectric
Ferroelectricity is a characteristic of certain materials that have a spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by the application of an external electric field. All ferroelectrics are also piezoelectric and pyroelectric, with the add ...
, and 1 straintronics technology.
The 2015 ITRS 2.0 report included a detailed chapter on ''Beyond CMOS'', covering RAM and logic gates.
Some areas of investigation
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tunnel junction
In electronics/spintronics, a tunnel junction is a barrier, such as a thin insulating layer or electric potential, between two electrically conducting materials. Electrons (or quasiparticles) pass through the barrier by the process of quantum tunn ...
devices, eg
Tunnel field-effect transistor The tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is an experimental type of transistor. Even though its structure is very similar to a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor ( MOSFET), the fundamental switching mechanism differs, making this dev ...
*
indium antimonide
Indium antimonide (InSb) is a crystalline compound made from the elements indium (In) and antimony (Sb). It is a narrow- gap semiconductor material from the III- V group used in infrared detectors, including thermal imaging cameras, FLIR systems ...
Tunnel field-effect transistor The tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) is an experimental type of transistor. Even though its structure is very similar to a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor ( MOSFET), the fundamental switching mechanism differs, making this dev ...
*
graphene nanoribbons
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs, also called nano-graphene ribbons or nano-graphite ribbons) are strips of graphene with width less than 100 nm. Graphene ribbons were introduced as a theoretical model by Mitsutaka Fujita and coauthors to examin ...
*
molecular electronics
Molecular electronics is the study and application of molecular building blocks for the fabrication of electronic components. It is an interdisciplinary area that spans physics, chemistry, and materials science. The unifying feature is use of mo ...
*
spintronics
Spintronics (a portmanteau meaning spin transport electronics), also known as spin electronics, is the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, in addition to its fundamental electronic charge, in solid-sta ...
photonics
Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...
and
optical computing
Optical computing or photonic computing uses light waves produced by lasers or incoherent sources for data processing, data storage or data communication for computing. For decades, photons have shown promise to enable a higher bandwidth than the ...
*
superconducting computing
Superconducting logic refers to a class of logic circuits or logic gates that use the unique properties of superconductors, including zero-resistance wires, ultrafast Josephson junction switches, and quantization of magnetic flux (fluxoid). Supe ...
Superconducting computing
Superconducting logic refers to a class of logic circuits or logic gates that use the unique properties of superconductors, including zero-resistance wires, ultrafast Josephson junction switches, and quantization of magnetic flux (fluxoid). Supe ...
includes several beyond-CMOS technologies that use superconducting devices, namely Josephson junctions, for electronic signals processing and computing. One variant called rapid single-flux quantum (RSFQ) logic was considered promising by the NSA in a 2005 technology survey despite the drawback that available superconductors require cryogenic temperatures. More energy-efficient superconducting logic variants have been developed since 2005 and are being considered for use in large scale computing.
See also
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International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors
The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) is a set of documents produced by a group of semiconductor industry experts. These experts are representative of the sponsoring organisations which include the Semiconductor Industry A ...
*
International Roadmap for Devices and Systems The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems, or IRDS, is a set of predictions about likely developments in electronic devices and systems. The IRDS was established in 2016 and is the successor to the International Technology Roadmap for Semico ...
*
Moore's law
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of physics, it is an empir ...
*
MOSFET scaling
The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...
* Nanostrain, a project to characterise piezoelectric materials for low power switches
* S-PULSE, the EU Shrink-Path of Ultra-Low Power Superconducting Electronics initiative
* Probabilistic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (
PCMOS
Probabilistic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (PCMOS) is a semiconductor manufacturing technology invented by Pr. Krishna Palem of Rice University and Director of NTU's Institute for Sustainable Nanoelectronics (ISNE). The technology hopes ...