"CHIPS: Hybrid tunnel diodes could leapfrog Moore's Law"
Semiconductor researchers have known since the 1950s that the quantum-confinement effects of tunnel diodes boost circuit speed and current handling while reducing component count and power consumption. But processing difficulties long confined tunnel diodes to exotic materials and discrete devices. Now some researchers say a new CMOS-compatible tunnel diode process could extend the lifetime of existing silicon fabs by leapfrogging the next node in the semiconductor road map (as defined by Moore's Law). Silicon-integratable tunnel diodes might also provide enough current density to allow telecom radiofrequency components to be moved off separate-and costly-gallium-arsenide chips and onto silicon, allowing one-chip cell phone solutions.
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Text: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20031029S0015