Electronics are getting small, and that is causing big problems

[rpm]

Electronics are getting small, and that is causing big problems

Your television, computer, smartphone or any other electronic device wouldn’t work without being able to shuttle electric charges around their circuits.

Yet, as these devices gain in performance, with their individual components getting smaller and smaller – reaching the nanoscale – it becomes increasingly difficult to precisely channel these electric charges to where they’re needed.

In fact, at the nanoscale, some of these components behave in very strange ways, to the point where even a single atom can influence or disrupt the flow of electrons. A better understanding and control of these nanoscale dynamics is therefore crucial to improve their function.

 

[Turgon]

I have faith that those with vested interests in making sure we cannot see the technological spider's web we are caught in, will succeed in overcoming these challenges.

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

I would be kinda relieved if microelectronics hit a barrier, although this is not the first snag in electronics for which alarm bells raised. We were told some time ago that electronic circuits were getting so small that background radiation would create false 1's and 0's and lead to digital errors. I'm still waiting for that to be a real problem.

 

[j4ck455]

This could be achieved by moving atoms and molecules on a surface of a material in a controlled manner. Another possible way is to use supramolecular self-assembly, where atoms and molecules interact and automatically arrange themselves in desirable patterns at the nanoscale.

Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical for a reason: the cylindrical shape is much more stable and much less prone to the kind of edges/interfaces problem described in this article.

Surely the solution to the problem described in the article would be to create nano circuits that are more spherical/cylindrical instead of linear circuits with vulnerable edges.