Scientists have produced the world's smallest transistor. This new design may allow silicon chips to continue to get smaller. It could also double the processing speeds of some chips. This means that the vertical transistor could nearly double the processing speeds of some silicon chips.
Light is used to etch patterns on silicon chips.
However, as transistors continue to shrink in size, light will be unable to produce the smaller features required. The vertical transistor may solve this problem by using the thickness of a precisely-controlled layer of material, rather than light, to set the gate size. If you just tried to paint the line freehand, that would be similar to the light approach. However, if you paint a flat surface, cut it vertically and look at it on edge, you will see a line that's as thin as the layer of paint. A similar principle is used in our transistor to produce the smallest gates ever made with the control that industry requires.