The question is: where do we go now?
The 3D design is a major part of the answer.
How Have Computers Continued to Get Faster?
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
Generally speaking, the more transistors you have, the smarter and more capable your setup will be.
Today, things are different.
But theres a problem: transistors are getting too small.
Paper 29.6, “Complementary Field-Effect Transistor (CFET) Demonstration at 48nm Gate Pitch for Future Logic TechnologyScaling,” S. Liao et al, TSMC)
Why Cant Transistors Keep Getting Smaller?
As transistors get smaller, they become increasingly difficult to manufacture reliably.
Even the best methods available result in waste, though that isnt always a terrible thing.
However, sometimes the defects impact something critical, and the entire thing has to be thrown out.
As transistors have gotten smaller, this problem has gotten more severe.
Just like island cities, modern transistors are being designed to take advantage of vertical space.
CFET is one 3D design that we’re likely to see by the early 2030s or so.
Those are options that may ultimately be limited by the laws of physics.
