Dec. 6, 2001 – East Fishkill, NY – IBM has unveiled advances in the development of an alternate type of transistor that could lead to performance, function, and power consumption improvements in semiconductors within several years.

Called a double-gate transistor, the device can carry twice the electrical current, operate at up to twice the speed, and be reduced in size well below today’s conventional transistors, touted IBM.

The breakthrough was made possible by a series of innovations from IBM in new device designs and materials such as SOI, according to the company. IBM’s work in SOI is allowing scientists to alter the design of the transistor in new ways, while still allowing them to be built on conventional manufacturing lines.

IBM’s work on the double-gate transistor and the latest SOI developments will be presented as part of more than 20 papers delivered at the International Electronic Device Manufactures conference in Washington, D.C.

“SOI is changing the rules in semiconductors,” said Bijan Davari, VP of semiconductor development at IBM Microelectronics. “Other than getting smaller, the basic transistor has largely gone unchanged for decades, but it has now been shrunk nearly to a point where it will cease to function.”

Improved transistors are expected to be needed in five-to-ten years, when transistors shrink so small, it becomes difficult to shut them off.

The work on double-gate transistors is the culmination of a multi-year collaborative effort between the IBM Research and Microelectronic Divisions.