New project to deliver next generation electronic chips
Making electronic chips faster and more powerful is the goal of the EU-funded DUALLOGIC (Dual-channel CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) for (sub)-22nm high performance logic) project, which has just got underway. The project, which will last three years, is set to receive €5.8 million from the 'Information and communications technologies' (ICT) theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Its nine partners include leading European semiconductor manufacturers, technology development laboratories, research centres and universities. Currently, to boost the performance of individual transistors, researchers use germanium and compound semiconductors separately. The aim of the DUALLOGIC project is to investigate, for the first time, the possibilities of combining two different channel materials (germanium and a compound material) in a single chip made on a silicon substrate. The project partners hope that the viability of this approach will be determined by the end of 2009. Ultimately, they hope that their results will stimulate further development and provide a solid basis for more research in the field in Europe. 'It is an enormous challenge to incorporate these new materials efficiently into existing device structures and manufacturing processes,' said Dr Chiara Marchiori, a researcher at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory. 'As members of the DUALLOGIC project, we will endeavour to meet this challenge collaboratively.' One of the partners of the project is Glasgow University in the UK. Professor Asen Asenov of the university's department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering welcomed the funding, noting that the results could have implications in a range of fields. Professor Asenov is also involved in two similar projects, NANOSIL and REALITY, which will be launched later this year. 'The results of the projects will be particularly important for the vibrant and innovative UK design industry, which increasingly needs wider access to this kind of technology and device knowledge in order to remain competitive in an international market,' he commented. 'Ten years ago mobile phones were designed to make phone calls, now they are used for taking photos, listening to music and accessing the internet. Who knows what this research will bring us in the next 10 years?'
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