A team led by Professor Thomas Ximel of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany has developed a single-atom transistor, a quantum electronic component that uses current to control a single atomic displacement to achieve switching. Single-atom transistors operate at room temperature and consume Very little power, which opens up new applications for future information technology. This achievement has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Digitalization has a huge demand for energy. In industrialized countries, information technology currently accounts for more than 10% of the total industrial electricity consumption, whether it is computer processing centers, personal computers, or embedded applications from washing machines to smart phones. System. Currently a few euros of USB memory contains hundreds of millions of transistors. The future of single-atom transistors developed by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology can significantly improve the energy efficiency of information technology, Professor Ximel said, 'With this quantum electronic component The energy consumption will be 10,000 times lower than that of traditional silicon technology electronic components. Professor Ximel is the director of the Center for Single Atomic Electron and Photon Research at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and is known as the pioneer of single atomic electronics.
In a paper published in Advanced Materials, the researchers showed how to create two tiny metal contacts between gaps with a single metal atomic width to achieve the minimum limits that current transistors can achieve. Professor Himmel says. 'We are in this gap by electronically controlling the pulse to move a single silver atom to complete the circuit closure; when we move the silver atom out of the gap, the circuit is cut off', thereby achieving the control of a single atom in the world's smallest transistor with power on. Reversible motion. Unlike traditional quantum electronic components, single-atom transistors do not need to operate at near-zero temperature conditions. They can operate at room temperature all the time, which is a decisive advantage for future applications.
In order to develop single-atom transistors, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology researchers have also developed a completely new process. Single-atom transistors are made entirely of metal and contain no semiconductor materials. The result is extremely low voltage, so energy consumption is extremely high. Low. Researchers have previously relied on liquid electrolytes to make monoatomic transistors. Now Professor Himmel and his team have applied the working principle of solid electrolytes for the first time, combining water-soluble silver electrolyte gels with fumed silica gel electrolytes. Improved safety and easier handling of single atom transistors.
