In Brief : Nippon Develops Tiny Transistor

The Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. has developed a tiny new transistor that can be used to build smaller, speedier computers and provide clearer pictures on TV sets, a spokesman said today.

The new “quantum wire transistor” uses wires one-tenth the thickness of those in conventional transistors, a company spokesman said on condition of anonymity. The new wires are five-millionths of a millimeter thick, he said.

The new transistor can be used to perform calculations at six times the speed possible with existing high electronic mobility transistors, the spokesman said.

He also said the small size of the new transistor would permit the development of lap-top high-speed computers.

The transistor also could be used to develop more sophisticated amplifiers for receiving broadcast waves from satellites and other objects in space, the spokesman said. He said the advance would help provide clearer pictures on TV sets.