Journal Article

Logic Gates and Computation from Assembled Nanowire Building Blocks

Duan, Xiangfeng, Lieber, Charles M., Kim, Kyoung-Ha, Huang, Yu, Lauhon, Lincoln J., Cui, Yi

2001

Overview

Miniaturization in electronics through improvements in established \"top-down\" fabrication techniques is approaching the point where fundamental issues are expected to limit the dramatic increases in computing seen over the past several decades. Here we report a \"bottom-up\" approach in which functional device elements and element arrays have been assembled from solution through the use of electronically well-defined semiconductor nanowire building blocks. We show that crossed nanowire p-n junctions and junction arrays can be assembled in over 95% yield with controllable electrical characteristics, and in addition, that these junctions can be used to create integrated nanoscale field-effect transistor arrays with nanowires as both the conducting channel and gate electrode. Nanowire junction arrays have been configured as key OR, AND, and NOR logic-gate structures with substantial gain and have been used to implement basic computation.

• Publisher: American Society for the Advancement of Science,American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subject: Applied sciences / Circuit properties / Digital circuits / Electric current / Electric potential / Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits / Electronic circuits / Electronics / Exact sciences and technology / Instructional materials / Lithography / Logic gates / Molecular electronics / Molecular electronics, nanoelectronics / Nanotechnology / Nanowires / Oxides / Pn junctions / Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices / Transistors / Truth tables