Nanotechnology and advances in electronic devices

Future miniaturized devices, beyond the Moore’s law era of silicon, are expected to rely on new materials as well as ingenious methods to implement spatially controlled and highly functional nanoscale components. Low-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures and organic molecules, which offer unique possibilities such as extremely low power dissipation, quantum effects, surface sensitivity and low synthesis cost, could be the building blocks for next-generation electronics. New materials are emerging for specific applications, replacing the ubiquitous Silicon technology. This is what is experiencing, for instance, the field of power electronics, where SiC and GaN based devices are seriously challenging the Si-devices, outperforming them in terms of electrical and thermal properties. In this Session two distinguished scientists will present some of the recent advancements in the field of iontronic devices, where electric double layers are exploited to modulate the electrical conduction in semiconductors, and in the devices based on GaN technology for power electronics.