Single Atom Transistor Developed; The Limit Of Moore's Law Reached

Do you still think that storing #-Link-Snipped-#was the best research development in the direction of quantam computing? Well, physicists at University of New South Wales (UNSW) have something bigger for you. According to a #-Link-Snipped-# published in nature journal, they have developed a working transistor with a single phosporous atom.
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The atom used in making of this transistor in phosporous-31 isotope which is placed on base of silicon. According to press release, the UNSW team used a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to see and manipulate atoms at the surface of the crystal inside an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Using a lithographic process, they patterned phosphorus atoms into functional devices on the crystal then covered them with a non-reactive layer of hydrogen. Hydrogen atoms were removed selectively in precisely defined regions with the super-fine metal tip of the STM. A controlled chemical reaction then incorporated phosphorus atoms into the silicon surface. The practical results are also amazing for the device and in order with theoritical predictions. Excited with their success,  Lead author Dr. Martin Fuechsle said in press release, "Our group has proved that it is really possible to position one phosphorus atom in a silicon environment - exactly as we need it - with near-atomic precision, and at the same time register gates."

Here is a video prepared by UNSW:



This achievement is breathtaking in one more way as it is supposed to beat Moore’s law. Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corp predicted in 1965 that the number of transistors on a single chip will be doubled around every 18 months. The silicon industry has been following the law since last 50 years and it is supposed to reach its limit, the maximum number of transistors on a single chip, by the end of the decade i.e. 2020. Gerhard Kilmeck, one of the researchers, said that they have reached the physical limit of Moore’s Law and cant go smaller than this.

There is a limitation: the device needs to be sored at very low tempearature of around -391 degrees, so that the atoms don’t migrate out of their channel. This truly is a big achievement which can provide a strong basis for Quatam Computing. Embedding these transistors in real time computing is a long path to walk, but an exemplary achievement like this is surely trend-changing.
Image credit: #-Link-Snipped-#