Transistors are basically switches that process the ones and zeroes in the computer environment. A gate is used to turn transistors on and off, and a gate dielectric (Sio2) is an insulator under the gate where its job is to separate the gate from the channel where the current flows.
The gate dielectric is also designed to prevent current leakage between the electrode, the source and the drain (see diagram above) Image from, http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/01/27/intel_45nm_technology _overview/1
If we put things to perspective and refer back to the previous post, we find that for the past few years, engineers were increasing transistor density in processor architecture by removing layers of the gate dielectric in terms of atomic layers. This can cause negative effects as current leakage through the SiO2 increases exponentially when the dielectric gate walls get thinner. As we know excessive leakage causes power release and heat output.
Besides that, manufacturers will run into other problems because as the dielectric gates get thinner, engineers run out of atoms to increase transistor density. Something is needed to be done because this problem imposes a limit on the extensibilty of Moore's Law and that is where the new materials come into play.
In the next post, I will describe more on how our modern processors are being built and following on, the concept and new materials on how future processors will be created.
3 comments:
Hey just how thin can a dielectric gate get?
It can get as thin as a few atomic layers. But the limitation on its thickness is based on the efficiency of the transistor. As said in the post, the effects of current leakage increases as the dielectic gate gets thinner.
ahh ic.. thanks for the info ^^
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