Nanotechnology: Role in emerging nanoelectronics

Future miniaturized devices, beyond the Moore's law era of silicon, are expected to rely on new, ingenious methods to implement spatially controlled and highly functional nanoscale components synthesized by inexpensive chemistry. Chip technology based on self-assembly would enhance performance and packing density by orders of magnitude, deliver rich on-chip functionality, and operate at molecular level. Low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructues and organic molecules, which offer unique possibilities such as extremely low power dissipation, quantum effects, surface sensitivity and low synthesis cost, could be the building blocks for next-generation electronics. In this paper we discuss the potential successors of the silicon CMOS technology at the end of the ITRS Roadmap (in similar to 15 years). The disruptive technologies, rooted in nanoscale science, would aid in the continued advancement of integrated circuit technology - not necessarily through straightforward transistor geometry scaling - in several mainstream applications such as computing and data storage. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.