With the increasing miniaturization of electronic
components, researchers are struggling with undesirable side
effects: In the case of nanometer-scale transistors made of
conventional materials such as silicon, quantum effects occur that
impair their functionality. One of these quantum effects, for
example, is additional leakage currents, i.e. currents that flow
“astray” and not via the conductor provided between the source and
drain contacts. It is therefore believed that Moore’s scaling law,
which states that the number of integrated circuits per unit area
doubles every 12-18 months, will reach its limits in the near
future because of the increasing challenges associated with the
miniaturization of their active components. This ultimately means
that the currently manufactured silicon-based transistors—called
FinFETs and equipping almost every supercomputer—can no longer be
made arbitrarily smaller due to quantum effects.
