Russian scientists develop new generation electronics technology

Russian scientists have developed a new technology to make high speed electronics of the new generation, a researcher of the Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Itar-Tass. “The history of solid-state electronics goes back to 1947 when a transistor device was invented,” said Igor Kazakov, one of the developers of the new technology and a laboratory head with the Physical Institute. “Since then, progress has been following the path of bigger compactness of devices in an integral circuit unit, which is achieved through making them ever smaller. But nowadays devices are so small that they hardly reach several dozens of nanometers in size. But at this point, an electron begins to behave as a wave, i.e. it can either skirt an obstacle or penetrate through it.” Such particle behavior virtually cancels principles underlying the operation of such devices as transistors or diodes. So, what hinders us may help us, the researches assumed and decided to employ new physical principles, i.e. the so-called resonance tunneling, when only electrons of a given energy may penetrate through the obstacle. This principle was used by the developers of the new technology from the research centre Quantum Devices and Nanotechnologies lead by member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Kopayev and corresponding member of that academy Alexander Gorbatsevich. They have made 3D integration of devices operating based on classical physical principles, such as transistors and diodes, with devices built of quantum principles. As a result, their devices are as high speed as superconductor ones. Thus, researchers from the Physical Institute believe that Russian developments have all the chances to dominate the global market of new-generation electronics. “It is a chance for Russia to regain its once lost positions in the area advanced hardware components developments,” said Kazakov. “In the entire human history there were only two such self-sufficient “electronic empires” – the former Soviet Union and the United States. Even Japan lagged behind in the area of military electronics. And if in terms of technology we are now somewhat lagging behind, but we still have very professional physical schools.”