Electronic devices miniaturization

We can already deduce that, due to the characteristics of the active medium, compact and miniaturized devices are attainable for semiconductor lasers. This fact, together with the possibility of custom-designed systems, constitutes a real advantage from the viewpoint of integrated opto-electronic devices. In the field of spectroscopy, they are commonly used as pumping sources for other types of solid state lasers, as will be seen later. 

Electronic devices that operate using the spin of the electron and not just its electric charge are on the way to becoming a multibillion-dollar industry—and may lead to quantum microchips (4). As progress in the miniaturization of semiconductor electronic devices leads toward chip features smaller than lOOnm in size, device engineers and physicists are inevitably faced with the fast-approaching presence of quantum mechanics—that counterintuitive, and to some mysterious, realm of physics wherein wavelike properties control the behavior of electrons. 

They will play an important role in miniaturization of electronic devices soon. This information is expected to be helpful for investigators in these fields as well. 

Nanowires can also be deposited from a flowing liquid causing them to lie in the same direction and forming arrays. Changing the direction of flow allows an overlay of a second layer, and such arrays can be used for various electronic devices such as transistors and diodes. The thrust of this type of research is aimed at miniaturization, and ultimately with producing a molecular computer. 

The prospective applications ofmolecular assemblies seem so wide that their limits are difficult to set. The sizes of electronic devices in the computer industry are close to their lower limits. One simply cannot fit many more electronic elements into a cell since the walls between the elements in the cell would become too thin to insulate them effectively. Thus further miniaturization of today s devices will soon be virtually impossible. Therefore, another approach from bottom up was proposed. It consists in the creation of electronic devices of the size of a single molecule or of a well-defined molecular aggregate. This is an enormous technological task and only the first steps in this direction have been taken. In the future, organic compounds and supramolecular complexes will serve as conductors, as well as semi- and superconductors, since they can be easily obtained with sufficient, controllable purity and their properties can be fine tuned by minor adjustments of their structures. For instance, the charge-transfer complex of tetrathiafulvalene 21 with tetramethylquinodimethane 22 exhibits room- temperature conductivity [30] close to that of metals. Therefore it could be called an organic metal. Several systems which could serve as molecular devices have been proposed. One example of such a system which can also act as a sensor consists of a basic solution of phenolophthalein dye 10b with P-cyciodextrin 11. The purple solution of the dye not only loses its colour upon the complexation but the colour comes back when the solution is heated [31]. 

In the future, commercial buildings as well as individual homes may be outfitted with fuel cells as an alternative to receiving electricity (and heat) from regional power stations. Researchers are also working on miniature fuel cells that could replace the batteries used for portable electronic devices, such as... 

Results from mierogravity Fluid physics research will lead to betier understanding of the effects of miniaturization of electronic materials. Advances in the held will lead to ev en smaller and more efficient electronic devices with reduced costs for the consumer. 

Second, the stoichiometry of the melt and of impurities introduced during processing must be controlled to the level demanded by application. Although these constraints vary with application, more control is clearly better in that the demands on purity and spatial uniformity of the material are becoming more stringent with the increasing miniaturization of electronic devices. 

With the onset of the computer age and the increasing trend toward miniaturization of electrical and electronic devices, power quality problems have taken on increasing importance. The designers of computers and microprocess controllers are not versed in power system power quality issues. By the same token, power system designers and operators have limited knowledge of the operation of sensitive electronics. This environment has led to a need for power quality standards and guidelines. Currently,... 

Semiconductor A generic term for a device that controls electrical signals. It specifically refers to a material (such as silicon, germanium or gallium arsenide) that can be altered either to conduct electrical current or to block its passage. Carbon nanotubes may eventually be used as semiconductors. Semiconductors are partly responsible for the miniaturization of modem electronic devices, as they are vital components in computer memory and processor chips. The manufacture of semiconductors is carried out by small firms, and by industry giants such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. 

The natural limitations that are expected to arise by the further miniaturization attempts of semiconductor-based electronic devices have led in the past two decades to the emergence of the new field of molecular electronics, where electronic functions are going to be performed at the single-molecule level, see... 

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