Nanoelectronics

With the continued demand for faster and smaller electronics, the physical limitations of existing technologies are swiftly approaching. U.Va. researchers are pushing the frontiers in collaboration with industry to explore the leading technological candidates that will become the foundation of the future generations of electronics. Novel methods to store and manipulate information are being explored including: spintronics (spin transport electronics), quantum dot electronics, molecular electronics, and carbon nanotube electronics.

• Spintronics (spin transport electronics)
• Spintronics exploit the spin property of the electron instead of the charge to store and manipulate information.  Advantages of spin based electronics include faster processing speeds, lower power consumption, smaller devices, and non-volatility (information is not lost when computer is turned off)
• Quantum Dot Electronics
• Quantum dot electronics presents a new paradigm for very low power electronics to enable future generation of nanoelectronics. Self-assembled GeSi quantum dot molecules, with the patterns generated by focused ion beam, shown to left.
• Molecular electronics
• There are specific molecules--DNA, for example--with unique electrical properties enabling devices with the potential for faster processing speeds and reduced heating.
• Carbon nanotube electronics
• Carbon nanotubes can be conducting, like a metal, or semiconducting, like materials such as silicon, enabling new concepts in circuit design.