this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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I wouldn't say there is no room to grow after 1-2nm chips, I'd say that is where things get interesting, since we could be working with science-fiction level technology after that point. But I do agree with there being diminishing returns at first.
There's no room with silicon because you start getting into problems like quantum tunnelling which makes it basically impossible to isolate signals on the chip. It's basically like trying to make an ever smaller vacuum tube, at some point you hit a limit. Where things get interesting is where we move away from using silicon. There are a number of substrates that we know are possible, and have been shown to work in the lab. It's not a question of whether it's possible, but just a question of putting this stuff into mass production. This is why that MoS2 wafer is so exciting. It's the first alternative substrate that looks like it might be possible to mass produce in the near future.