June 11, 2003

New Technologies Required for Growth of Electronics Industry

 — Nanoengineering Research at NC State Focuses on Molecular Transistor Development

The beginning of commercial production of silicon transistors 49 years ago this month resulted in an electronic revolution. The increased power outputs and stability of silicon transistors began a growth industry that has shaped our way of life.

There’s a catch, though, with silicon transistor chips: the amount of data that can be stored on a chip is finite. In 1965 Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, stated that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits doubles every year. This observation is called Moore’s Law, and its current definition indicates that data density doubles every 18 months. However, Moore himself in 1997 predicted that transistor miniaturization will reach physical limits by 2016.

When that happens, our world could change dramatically. According to Dr. Paul D. Franzon, professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University, this event will have a major impact on the world economy because the growth of electronics will slow down substantially.

“Silicon chips will be finished in 2016,” he said. “We need to develop new technologies if we are to continue to progress, so there’s a lot of investment going on to find a way to extend Moore’s Law and to find replacements for silicon chips.”

Franzon’s research in nanoengineering could provide one candidate to replace silicon chips: molecular transistors, or single-molecule molecular switches.

Franzon is working with chemists and physicists on the molecular transistor project. “I’m the engineer in the group,” he said. “Here at the university we’re doing one of the things NC State is best known for — hard-nosed engineering.” Franzon sees his role in the research group as twofold. First, he raises practicality issues. Second, he and his graduate students figure out ways to actually build working molecular circuits.

One of the rewarding aspects of the project for Franzon is the way the researchers work together toward their goal. “Science is a voyage of discovery; engineering is a voyage of construction,” he said. “We need to build things together, knowing what each of us is good at.”

It’s fortunate that the group works well and is making progress because time is critical. According to Franzon, “We’ve got 10 years to get this right, and it’s a very complicated system. Nanoengineering is an emerging area that will only increase in importance.”

— rudd —

Technical Contact:

Dr. Paul D. Franzon, 919-515-7351, paulf@ncsu.edu

Media Contact:

Linda E. Rudd, 919-515-3848, linda_rudd@ncsu.edu

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