P-type transistor is 4x faster than competing devices

By that standard, the device is claimed to be twice as fast as previous experimental p-type transistors and almost four times as fast as the best commercial p-type transistors. The device's speed is attributed to the fact that it uses germanium instead of silicon. It also features a trigate design, which the researchers believe could solve some of the problems that plague computer circuits at extremely small sizes. "The germanium part helps in increasing the drive current, and the trigate part helps in reducing the leakage in the off state," noted lead researcher Judy Hoyt, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. "So a combination of those two just gives you an ideal transistor for the next generation." Hoyt believes the device represents a 'step forward' for the microchip industry, and says it "could help sustain the rapid increases in computing power that consumers have come to expect."