The transistor was a major breakthrough in technology because it allowed manufacturers to make things smaller and ultimately more powerful. In the 21st Century, engineers want to give electronics another round of downsizing and if they can pull it off, nanoelectronics will revolutionize technology again.
To be defined as a nanoelectronic, the technology being utilized is less than 100 nm in size. However, current products operating under this simple definition are not truly nanoelectronics. That’s because their transistors don’t fall into the subatomic realm. One school of thought is that the only way to achieve useful nanoelectronics is to do away with the transistor altogether. A new technology would need to emerge that might look more like the electronics of a living system.
Certainly the stuff of science fiction, you say? That would be a good argument if not for the large amount of research already conducted in the areas of quantum physics and quantum mechanics. Expect nanoelectronics to take on a more practical approach as this new technology becomes more widely understood.
Another huge barrier to furthering this electronic technology is cost. Current manufacturing systems won’t be practical for assembly of products at this scale, so that means a whole new factory system for the semiconductor industry — and that won’t happen overnight. It’s all the more reason to just start over with something that can replace the transistor. And that all points to bio-nanotechnology.
All bodies and living organisms are electrical systems. By studying cellular automata and hybrid Si-biological systems, researchers will likely find what they’re looking for. The collaborations between the electrical engineering field and the medical research field are endless. It’s as if we are just beginning to scale the tip of what biology has to offer technology, and it will be interesting to see how fast nanotechnology can become a reality as it revolutionizes electronics and technology as a whole.