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To: waverider who wrote (52238)	12/2/1999 9:52:00 AM
From: Jenne	Respond to of 152472

Motorola builds world's thinnest transistor Company says computing breakthrough could some day put the processing power of a desktop computer into a device as small as a wireless phone. By Reuters December 2, 1999 5:34 AM PT TEMPE, Ariz. -- Motorola Inc. said on Wednesday it built what it called the world's thinnest transistor, which could some day put the processing power of a desktop computer into a device as small as a wireless phone. Sound off here!! Post your comment to this page. The telecommunications and technology company said it used a class of material called perovskites (pronounced Per-AHV-skites) which will allow future transistors to be smaller and faster while consuming less power. The material would replace silicon dioxide, which has been used for 30 years to form a thin insulating film on silicon, a necessary step in making integrated circuits. The new technology allows for transistors that are effectively three to four times thinner than those built with conventional semiconductor materials. "Eventually, you will see computers, cell phones, everything get faster and more powerful and use less power," Jerry Hallmark, a research manager at Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Labs in Tempe, Ariz., said in a telephone interview. "It will let you have the processing power of a desktop computer in your cell phone." Cell phone conferences? With the new transistor, consumers may soon be able to hold cell phone video conferences, among other things, Hallmark said. He expected devices using the transistors to be commercially available in four to five years. He said Motorola and other companies had been looking for a replacement for silicon dioxide because researchers were unable to shrink that material much further than they already have. As consumers seek smaller and smaller devices, all parts of the semiconductor will have to get even tinier. MORE FROM ZDNET: See ZDNet Topics: Phones and pagers See ZDNet Products reviews for Motorola Motorola unveils versatile wireless chip Motorola doubling Palm megahertz "As devices continue to shrink in size, the gate oxide (insulation) of the transistor also needs to become thinner," Jim Prendergast, general manager of Motorola's physical sciences research lab, said in a statement. "However, we are quickly reaching the limit where we can no longer thin the silicon dioxide which has been used as a gate insulator for the last 30 years. The solution is to use a new family of materials that appear electrically to be much smaller than their actual physical thickness." Shares in Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola closed up 2-11/16 at 116-15/16 on the New York Stock Exchange.