Post CMOS nanoelectronics research for the next generation logic switches

Electron charge has been the computational state variable for decades. The industry has benefited by scaling charge-based devices to provide better performance per unit cost (Figs. 1 and 2). However, a new switch is urgently needed because scaling may fail to keep providing benefits at the historical rate. We discuss charge switch thermal dissipation limits, the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) effort, and emerging technologies in this paper. © 2008 IEEE.