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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Chinese Scientists Create World’s Smallest 1-Nanometer Ferroelectric Transistor, Paving Way for Ultra-Efficient AI Chips

 In a breakthrough that could redefine the future of electronics, a team of Chinese researchers has developed the world’s smallest ferroelectric transistor with a gate just 1 nanometer wide. This revolutionary “nanogate” transistor promises to drastically reduce the energy needed to move data in devices like AI chips, wearables, and edge computing systems.

Bridging the Gap Between Memory and Logic

Modern electronic devices rely on two main components: logic circuits, which perform calculations, and memory units, which store information. While logic chips operate efficiently at about 0.7 volts, conventional memory devices like NAND flash need 5 volts or more to write data. This mismatch forces chip designers to include extra circuits to step up voltage, which consumes valuable energy and space.

Even previous ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs), which promised low-power memory, needed over 1.5 volts to operate. In AI chips, this inefficiency is particularly pronounced: 60–90% of energy is spent on moving data, not actual computation. This has been a major roadblock in designing faster, more energy-efficient devices.

The Innovation: 1-Nanometer Nanogate

To overcome this challenge, the team from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Qiu Chenguang and Peng Lianmao, engineered a novel nanogate structure. They used metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as the transistor’s gate electrodes.

These nanotubes act like tiny nanotips, concentrating the electric field in a way that enhances the interaction between the ferroelectric layer and the channel beneath it. The result? The transistor can flip its polarization state at just 0.6 volts — lower than the voltage used in standard logic circuits — while remaining resistant to short-channel effects, a common problem in ultra-small transistors.

Outstanding Performance Metrics

The newly developed device uses molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) in its ferroelectric transistor. According to the research:

  • Current on/off ratio: 2 million, ensuring strong signal distinction.

  • Programming speed: 1.6 nanoseconds, among the fastest reported for FeFETs.

  • Operating voltage: 0.6 volts, enabling direct voltage compatibility between memory and logic units.

This means that devices using these nanogate transistors can eliminate charge pump circuits, which are normally needed to adjust voltage levels. By removing these circuits, the new design saves space and energy while simplifying chip architecture.

Implications for AI and Low-Power Electronics

The breakthrough holds particular promise for AI chips, which require extremely fast and efficient data transfer to handle large model computations. It also benefits edge devices, wearables, and other electronics where energy efficiency is critical.

Traditionally, much of the power in AI accelerators is wasted on shuttling data between memory and processing units. With nanogate FeFETs, memory and logic voltages are compatible, drastically reducing energy loss. This could make large AI models faster, smaller, and less power-hungry — a huge advantage for both cloud and edge applications.

Compatibility and Manufacturing Potential

Another key advantage of this nanogate design is its compatibility with mainstream ferroelectric materials and standard semiconductor manufacturing processes. Unlike many laboratory breakthroughs that are difficult to scale, this technology can potentially be integrated into existing chip fabrication lines, speeding up its adoption in commercial devices.

The researchers emphasize that the underlying principle of field enhancement through nanotip gates can be applied broadly, offering a versatile pathway to ultra-low-voltage, high-performance memory devices.

Future Prospects

With the development of the 1-nanometer ferroelectric transistor, Chinese researchers have opened the door to a new generation of electronics where energy efficiency no longer comes at the cost of performance. Some potential future applications include:

  • Large AI model inference: Faster and more energy-efficient processing.

  • Wearable electronics: Extended battery life for smart watches, AR glasses, and health monitors.

  • Edge intelligence devices: Low-power AI processing at the source, reducing reliance on cloud computing.

  • Next-generation memory chips: Smaller, faster, and more power-efficient storage solutions.

This advancement could mark a major milestone in semiconductor technology, addressing one of the most persistent challenges in electronics: the voltage mismatch between memory and logic. By lowering the operating voltage while maintaining high performance, this nanogate transistor sets a new standard for low-power, high-speed electronics.

Conclusion

The creation of the world’s smallest 1-nanometer ferroelectric transistor represents a significant leap forward in nanoelectronics and AI hardware design. Using carbon nanotubes to enhance the electric field, these transistors operate at an ultra-low voltage of 0.6 volts, outperforming previous FeFETs and eliminating the need for complex voltage-boosting circuits.

This innovation not only reduces energy consumption in AI chips but also promises faster, more compact, and highly efficient electronic devices across a range of industries. With compatibility for standard manufacturing processes, this breakthrough could soon become a practical reality, reshaping the future of electronics and enabling a new era of low-power, high-speed computing.

Reference:
Dehuan Meng et al., Nanogate ferroelectric transistors with ultralow operation voltage of 0.6 V, Science Advances, 12, eaea5020 (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aea5020


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