The University of Surrey has unveiled a device with unique functionality that could signal a new design philosophy for electronics, including next-generation wearables and eco-disposable sensors.

Surrey University 5G research centre (5GIC)

The device, called the Multimodal Transistor (MMT), has immunity to parasitic effects that reduce a transistor’s capacity to produce uniform, repeatable signals.

These have hindered traditional “floating gate” designs ever since their invention in 1967, but this new structure promises efficient analogue computation for robotic control, AI and unsupervised machine learning.

Traditionally, gate electrodes are used to control a transistor’s ability to pass current. With Surrey’s device, on/off switching is controlled independently from the amount of current passing through the structure.

This allows the MMT to operate at a higher speed than comparable devices and to have a linear dependence between input and output, essential for ultra-compact digital-to-analogue conversion. This also gives engineers unprecedented freedom of design, which could lead to greatly simplified circuits.

The university  has secured an Early Career Fellowship from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council worth more than £1million to support the further development of the MMT