IBM Unveils World's Fastest Silicon-based Transistor

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 05, 2002

IBM Unveils World's Fastest Silicon-based Transistor

The IBM on Monday unveiled the world's fastest silicon-based transistor which promises enough power to build future networks.

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The IBM on Monday unveiled the world's fastest silicon-based transistor which promises enough power to build future networks.

In a news release, IBM said the transistor, a key component in microchips, uses a modified design and IBM's proven silicon germanium (SiGe) bipolar technology to achieve speeds of 350 GigaHertz (GHz).

IBM anticipates the new transistor will lead to communication chips with speeds of more than 150 GHz in about two years.

Future home networks that transmit more data at faster rates are a potential application for chips based on the new transistor.

These networks, which would be available for businesses as well, would have the bandwidth to transmit high-quality video, such as uncompressed HDTV (high-definition television) or graphics for television and games.

The transistor is also expected to result in substantially lower power consumption and lower costs for communications systems and other electronic products.

A transistor is essentially an on-off switch for transmitting signals. Millions of them are woven together in circuits, which make up chips.

Transistor speeds are determined primarily by how quickly electrons pass through them.

IBM's SiGe technology embeds germanium atoms at various places into the silicon crystal that makes up a transistor. The addition of the atoms improves the flow of electricity through a transistor, which increases the transistor's performance or can be used to decrease power consumption.

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