Over the years, transistors have become smaller and faster. They have also become cheaper but the material they are made from, Silicon Dioxide, has become smaller and thinner and the gate has become so thin that electrical current has begun to leak through the material. There is much research going on to determine the best solution for this problem. If processors are to continue to become faster this problem must be eliminated.
Intel has announced a breakthrough that they say will lead to billion-transistor processors by the year 2007. This new type of transistor should solve the current problems of power consumption and heat as it will create a smaller and faster transistor for future chips.
Electrically conductive macromolecules of carbon that are self-assembled into tubes are being tested as ultra fine wires and as channels in experimental field-effect transistors.