Scientists of the Vienna University of Technology they managed to produce a revolutionary new transistor, which could change the future of technology forever.
In particular, the company's new electronic component could help devices adapt to artificial intelligence, working in perfect harmony with AI.
To achieve this, the research team decided to rely on a new technology, abandoning silicon and replacing it with germanium.
The result is an incredibly flexible transistor, probably the most flexible in the world.
The transistor can be considered as the basis of any modern electronic device. Its role is to allow proper flow of power, so that the device is able to process information and perform most of its functions.
The flow of current is connected to the transport of the electric charge, which occurs thanks to the production material. Apparently, germanium can carry the electrical charge better than silicon.
We don't want to completely replace the established silicon-based transistor technology with our new transistor, that would be presumptuous. (…) The new technology is more likely to be incorporated into computer chips as an add-on in the future. For some applications, it will simply be more energy efficient and cost-effective to rely on adaptive transistors.
Masiar Sistani
The new transistor from TU Wien
In the new transistor, the electrons and holes are manipulated simultaneously.
In this regard, the Doctor Masiar Sistani, researcher at TU Wien, gave us a clarification:
"We connect two electrodes with an extremely fine germanium wire, via extremely clean, high-quality interfaces. Above the germanium segment, we place a gate electrode like those found in conventional transistors. What is decisive is that our transistor is equipped with an additional control electrode, which is placed on the interfaces between germanium and metal. It can dynamically program the transistor function"
(...)
"The fact that we use germanium is a decisive advantage. This is because germanium has a very special electronic structure: when voltage is applied, the current flow initially increases, as you would expect. After a certain threshold, however, the current flow decreases again – this is called negative differential resistance. With the help of the control electrode, we can modulate at what voltage this threshold is located. This results in new degrees of freedom that we can use to give the transistor exactly the properties we need right now"
This incredible new technology could lead to the production of superior electronic instruments, capable of connecting directly to artificial intelligence.
Will germanium be the material of the future?
