Prototypes of the vertical transistor, on the other hand, already have a gate length of 50 nanometres, and it should be possible to make them smaller still.

ECONOMIST: Transistors: A tall story | The

The vertical transistor, however, does not rely on lithography and etching to define its gate length.

ECONOMIST: Transistors: A tall story | The

The shorter gate length, and the fact that the gate length does not vary from transistor to transistor, should help chips that are built using vertical transistors to run faster.

ECONOMIST: Transistors: A tall story | The