ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

210 NanoTechnology
Figure 10.17: Electrochemical tunnel switch/atomic memory device. By Conrad
Schneiker (Schneiker, 1986).
During recent talks on his quantum computing ideas, Feynman briefly
speculated on a simple possibility for making nanocomputer components: use
STM tips to make tiny holes in very thin metal sheets, thus forming grids for
tunneling “nanovacuum tubes,” perhaps around 3 to 10 nm in size, or smaller
(Feynman, 1985, 1986). Analogous, but much larger (down to 100 nm scale)
devices with calculated picosecond range switching speeds have been proposed
by Shoulders (1965). Although he considered even smaller and faster devices,
limitations of electron beam micromachining technology at that time prevented
further size reduction (Shoulders, 1986). STM/FMs could solve that problem and
many others. Indeed, the Naval Research Laboratory is now studying
subpicosecond (thousandth nanosecond) submicron vacuum tubes (Robinson,
1986).