Ballistic transistor

Ballistic deflection transistors are electronic devices being developed for very high-speed integrated circuits. Instead of switching the flow of several electrons using gates, as it is done in field-effect transistors, they manipulate the course of single electrons using electromagnetic forces. Free flowing electrons are forced around a wedge-shaped obstacle (the 'deflector') on one of two paths, corresponding to a logical '1' or '0'. Initially impelled by the circuits electric field, electrons proceed on their respective paths via this electromagnetic deflection. The 'ballistic' title was chosen to reflect the property of an individual electron traversing the transistor material: a two-dimensional electron gas, acting as a thin sheet semiconductor.^[1]

Advantages

The advantages are a smaller size, reduced noise, lower power requirements and higher speeds (up to the terahertz region). A research prototype has been created, which is still conceptual at the moment. This is a technique currently being investigated by the University of Rochester.

References

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