KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

This paper reviews research developments aimed at the design of electronic computers that contain components with dimensions of only a few nanometers. A nanometer, one billionth of meter, is only about 10 atomic diameters. such nanometerscale electronic computers-i.e., elelctronic "nanocomputers"-that contain molicular-scale components are likely to be up to technologies(e.g., mechanical, chemical, quantum) that have been proposed for implementing a nanocomputer. Electronic technology for nanaometer-scale computers has the advantage, though, that it builds upon nearly a nalf century of experience and infrastructure developed for electornic computing. Electronic nanocomputers could be orders of magnitude faster than current electornic computers, as well as many times smaller or more densely integrated. Although some of the operating principles for electronic nanocomputers could be similar to present-day, there is a limit to how far the desings and fabrication technologies for preseint-day microcomputers can e scaled down. This has led some investigators to propose radically different "wireless"designs, quantum cellular automata, and nanometer-scale neural networks, all to be consturcted from nanoscopic quantum-effect devices. These devices anddesigns take advantage of some of the very effects that have been obstacles to making smaller conventional transistors and circutis. Still other investigators have proposed the "self-assembly" of electronic devices with nanometer-scale components in order to circumvents some of thedifficulties that have inhibited the fabrication of sub-micron structures using conventional lithographic techniques. This review examines critically a range of suc htechnologies and desings for electronic nanocomputers. It describes and compares the operating principles, advantagesm disadvantagesm and status of the new technologies and designs that promis to continue the miniaturization of the electornic computer down to the scale of a few tens of nanometers and, ultimately, to the molecular scale. This information is presented in non-mathematical terms internted for a general, technically interested readership