In the novel transistor at TU Wien, both electrons and holes are manipulated simultaneously in a very special way: 'We connect two electrodes with an extremely thin wire made of germanium, which is connected to metal on both sides with special, extremely clean interface. This is then referred to as 'holes'-they can also be moved through the material. How the electric charge is transported in the transistor depends on the material used: Either there are free-moving electrons that carry a negative charge, or an electron may be missing from individual atoms, so that this spot is positively charged. This makes it possible to build simple logic circuits but also memory storage. The transistor is the basis of every modern electronic device: it is a tiny component that either allows current to flow or blocks the flow of current-depending on whether or not an electrical voltage is applied to a control electrode. The special properties of germanium and the use of dedicated program gate electrodes made it possible to create a prototype for a new component that may usher in a new era of chip technology.Īn additional control electrode changes everything It has been presented in the journal ACS Nano. This was a success: The most flexible transistor in the world has now been produced using germanium. In order to achieve this, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) did not rely on the usual silicon technology, but on germanium.

Germanium transistor