Germanium Nanowire Transistors

Intel revels that they had developed P-Channel Germanium Transistors,it is combined with complementary III-V N-channel transistors and forms  CMOS architecture. Germanium was found to be limited due to greater current leakage, for many years. Now the focus on germanium is due to the fact that, Germanium is more mobile than Silicon.

For more than a decade, the extensive use of Germanium over Silicon has been discussing, and the first Germanium processors were predicted before 15 years, to arrive in 2007 to 2008 time. Similarly the first Graphine transistors will be arrive around 2020 to 2025.

Intel graded the patent for Germanium as a material choice for compound semiconductors over silicon, which will pave the way for faster processors and lower power consumption. The patent reveals the use of the SiGe anchoring regions and germanium nanowire channel  are formed simultaneously through preferential Si oxidation of epitaxial Silicon Germanium epi layer. Intel uses Silicon fin as a template to place Germanium Nanowire on a chip and Silicon-Germanium anchors are used to mount to the Silicon substrate. Germanium will provide better control over short channel effects such as drain induced barrier lowering and sub threshold slop.

We can hope that the Germanium will became much more critical element in chip manufacturing in future and makes electronics more faster ,improves power consumption etc….