Posted on 08/08/2002 6:32:59 AM PDT by JameRetief
IBM exposes sub atomic transistors
Microscope delivers future vision
By : Thursday 08 August 2002, 13:51
The microscope allows observers to see individual atoms, measuring four-billionths of an inch wide. It was developed to check on the tiddly transistors used in advanced semiconductors.
The science journal Nature, says today, "The ability to use electron microscopy to identify and locate individual atoms will have a wide impact on materials, physics and biological sciences".
IBM and Nion, have been working on the microscope design since 1997. They say the device is smaller and cheaper the other lower-rsolution microscopes, weighing at a mere million dollars a pop. µ
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What does a million dollars weigh? Is that in small bills or larger denominations?
What weighs more, a pound of dollar bills, or a pound of dollar coins?
Maybe so, but perhaps they are talking about being able to inspect things inside of a transistor like the oxide (which can be only a few atoms thick), the channel, depletion region and all that stuff that makes up the device.
Although the article claims that the resolution is at 1 angstrom (3.937 x 10-9 inches), I doubt that the microscope can see inside of the atom due to either the wave nature of matter or to the electron cloud, whichever theory you prefer.
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