Scientists develop world's smallest transistor

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Scientists from South Korea, Japan and Britain have used the so-called quantum effect to successfully create the world's smallest transistor that could be used to enhance the capabilities of mobile electronic devices, a local researcher said Tuesday. Chungbuk National University professor Choi Jung-bum, who led the joint research, said the quantum effect transistor, which is just 2 nanometers in size, can operate in regular room temperature and effectively changes the entire paradigm of such devices. He pointed out that the transistor is much smaller than the 32-nanometer one currently being made by Samsung Electronics Co. and the "revolutionary" 22-nanometer device announced by Intel Corp. earlier this year. "The new transistor uses one-tenth the power compared to existing devices and can carry out computation much faster because it does not rely on the traditional binary code," the physics professor said. Because the new device is made of silicon rather than exotic materials such as graphene or organic materials, manufacturers should be able to place the new transistors on semiconductors and make them work in about five years. "There is no need for manufacturers to change their existing fabs, which can reduce overall commercial development time," he said. The expert stressed that because the new transistor is small and uses little energy, it should be perfect for mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers. The new transistor was introduced in the Nano Letters journal last month. Choi said the multinational team had applied for numerous intellectual patent protections last year. The project, which first began with the South Korean team getting input from researchers in Japan and Britain, took more than 10 years with more than 6 billion won (US$5.5 million) being used so far. South Korea's science ministry, which funded research in the past, extended its support for three years in 2010 so the transistor can be developed for commercial use.