HP unveils successor to transistor
Feb 6, 2005 8:00 AM, Beyond The Headlines e-newsletter
Hewlett-Packard’s researchers have proven that a technology the company invented could eventually replace the transistor, a fundamental building block of electronics.
In a paper published in the Journal of Applied Physics, HP said three members of its Quantum Science Research group have devised a “crossbar latch,” which provides the signal restoration and inversion required for general computing without the need for transistors, Reuters reported.
HP said the technology could result in computers that are thousands of times more powerful than those that exist today.
Stan Williams, one of the authors of the paper, said the crossbar latch provides a key element needed for building a computer using nanometer-sized devices that are relatively inexpensive and easy to build.
Phil Kuekes, another one of the paper’s authors, said transistors would continue to be used for years to come with conventional silicon circuits.
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