New Prospects for Microelectronics: Carbon Nanotubes

Silicon technology has been most successful in the past and will most probably remain viable for another 15 years if lateral scaling can be extended to the 10 nanometer range. However, with the advent of macromolecular structures such as carbon nanotubes, it is possible to realize switching elements without the need for a single-crystal semiconductor substrate. Moreover, wires and vias with even better characteristics than those in the current technology can also be realized. For the first time, three-dimensional arrangements of transistors and interconnects are possible. The as yet unsolved problem of reproducible and rapid placement processes on the nanometer scale could be tackeled by the functionalization of carbon nanotubes and biological assembly techniques.