Even as we enter the nanotechnology era, we are now encountering the 50th anniversary of the invention of the IC. Will silicon continue to be the pre-eminent material and will MooreTM s Law continue unabated, albeit in a broader economic venue, in the nanotechnology era? This monograph addresses these issues by a re-examination of the scientific and technological foundations of the micro-electronics era. By better assessing and understanding the past five decades of this era, it is proposed that a firmer foundation can be laid for the research that will ensue and possibly provide a glimpse of what is next to come in the nanotechnology era."

Issues relating to the high-K gate dielectric are among the greatest challenges for the evolving International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). More than just an historical overview, this book will assess previous and present approaches related to scaling the gate dielectric and their impact, along with the creative directions and forthcoming challenges that will define the future of gate dielectric scaling technology.

Even as we enter the nanotechnology era, we are now encountering the 50th anniversary of the invention of the IC. Will silicon continue to be the pre-eminent material and will MooreTM s Law continue unabated, albeit in a broader economic venue, in the nanotechnology era? This monograph addresses these issues by a re-examination of the scientific and technological foundations of the micro-electronics era. By better assessing and understanding the past five decades of this era, it is proposed that a firmer foundation can be laid for the research that will ensue and possibly provide a glimpse of what is next to come in the nanotechnology era."

Issues relating to the high-K gate dielectric are among the greatest challenges for the evolving International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). More than just an historical overview, this book will assess previous and present approaches related to scaling the gate dielectric and their impact, along with the creative directions and forthcoming challenges that will define the future of gate dielectric scaling technology.