[extropy-chat] diffraction limit

[Brent Neal]

 (5/31/04 10:48) Dan Clemmensen <dgc at cox.net> wrote:

>The paper we are discussing examines density limits imposed by the 
>Heisenberg uncertainty principle on classical electronics, and is 
>independent of materials. These limits therefore will apply to molecular 
>transistors and all other nano-electronics.  I think they also apply to 
>spintronics. They do not apply to nanomechanical computing.

The problem is that even at this point, we're a lot closer to being able to commercialize spintronics and even quantum computing than we are nanomechanical computing.


>
>Note that nanoelectronics is likely to be unrelated to photolithography. 
>I really hope it can be implemented without the enormous capital costs 
>associated with today's silicon Fabs.

My intuition is that any commerically viable method of nanoelectronics will necessarily start with patterned deposition and move quickly to self-assembly as we get a handle on the chemistry that is involved there. The problem I see most often from researchers is that they assume that the engineering problems are all trivial.[1] This is, of course, utter bull-pucky. I would start out assuming that the first generation of nanoelectronics fabrication facilities will be no less expensive than the traditional CMOS fabs at the time that nanoelectronics go to market. Anything else would be wishful thinking. The hope would be that the rate constant on cost growth for nanoelectronics would be significantly smaller than for CMOS at that time.

Brent


[1] True story: there are two companies that make blue LED devices.  Cree Research, an American company, and Nichia, a Japanese company. Cree used SiC, Nichia used GaN. The Japanese researchers who developed the GaN tech patented the living fsck out of it, hoping to monopolize the market. Cree came along later and ate their lunch using SiC, not because SiC is a better material for the diodes. It isn't. GaN is much better. But, the GaN device that Nichia used was 30% bigger than Cree's SiC device. This let Cree outsell Nichia. Eventually, the two companies cross-licensed their respective technologies and everyone was happy. But this is an object lesson in why you MUST pay attention to the engineering details. The Nichia device would not fit in the standard packaging for LEDs, the Cree device would. Now both companies ship something that looks like Cree's device that uses GaN on SiC substrates (or vice versa. I forget which...)
-- 
Brent Neal
Geek of all Trades
http://brentn.freeshell.org

"Specialization is for insects" -- Robert A. Heinlein