Carbon nanotube digital electronics

It is anticipated that the scaling of silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices will end around 2020, but alternative technologies capable of maintaining advances in computing power and energy efficiency have not yet been established. Among various options, carbon-nanotube-based electronics has been shown to be one of the most promising candidates. A range of methods have been developed to prepare high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotubes suitable for use in integrated circuits, and 5 nm nanotube transistors with superior performance to that of silicon CMOS have been demonstrated. Here, we explore the potential of carbon nanotube digital electronics. We examine the development of nanotube-based CMOS field-effect transistors and the different nanotube material systems available to build integrated circuits. We also highlight the medium-scale integrated circuits created to date and consider the challenges that exist in delivering large-scale systems.