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To: E. Graphs who wrote (19301)	7/16/1999 6:42:00 PM
From: Grand Poobah	Read Replies (2) of 25814

E. re: The end of silicon's glory days have now been pegged: 2012 I wouldn't get too worried yet. Research is well underway on replacing the current transistor insulating material (which Bell Labs says will run out of gas in 2012) with other materials that will extend the life of the silicon transistor. <<technical stuff on>> The insulating layer (gate dielectric) is currently made of silicon dioxide, which is easy to grow on a silicon wafer. The thickness of the insulating layer shrinks as the transistors get smaller. This improves the coupling between the gate of the transistor and the transistor's channel, which increases the switching speed of the transistor. The same effect can be accomplished by using a material with a higher dielectric constant, such as tantalum oxide or titanium oxide, as the insulating material. <<technical stuff off>> This transformation has not been done until now because it's easier to do it the way we do it now and the new materials have not yet been proven. But I don't think making the change in a decade is too much to ask for. So you can sleep a little more soundly with all your semi $$$ again. Regards, G.P.

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