New devices for computing

Leading semiconductor companies are increasing their research investment in new devices and circuit architectures with the potential to take information technology beyond the inherent limits of the field effect transistor (FET). Some of the devices explored to date, such as tunneling FETs (TFETs) based on III-V semiconductors, promise to open a new low-power design space which is inaccessible to conventional FETs. Nanomagnetic devices may allow memory and logic functions to be combined in novel ways. And newer, more promising device concepts continue to emerge. Despite the growing research investment, the landscape of promising research opportunities outside the “FET box” appears to be vast and still largely unexplored.