Introduction

Abstract

With the miniaturization of electronic circuits, the number of transistors per integrated circuit continues to follow Moore’s law by doubling every 18 months. The demand for reduced size and therefore increased speed of operation is a continuous challenge for modern device technology on the nanometer scale. It can be foreseen that further reduction will finally lead to basic changes in the principles of device operation. The physical phenomena playing a role at reduced dimensions attract, therefore, a lot of attention in fundamental research.