Single - Electron Device ( SED )

The research on single-electron devices (SEDs) [1] has already spanned a long history. It started with metal or superconductors in the late 80s [2, 3] and then expanded to semiconductors [4-6] in the 90s. Room-temperature operating silicon based devices [7-9] activated the research from the viewpoints of LSI application, and there have been many studies focusing on both device fabrication and circuit design [10]. The inherent low power nature of SEDs is anticipated to be one solution to the power-dissipation issue in CMOS circuits. The choice of materials has now expanded to a wide variety including molecules such as C60 [11] because the operating principle of SEDs allows us to use any conductive material. The purpose of this paper is to describe the present status and future prospects of the research and development of single electrons for LSI application.