摘要

Nanocomponents are devices that are in the size range of billionth of a meter (1 x 10(-9)), and therefore are built necessarily from individual atoms. A nanocomponent fails if the component stops performing its intended function. If one dimension of a component is reduced to the nanorange (below 100 nanometers) while the other two dimensions remains large, then we obtain a nanocomponent with a structure known as a quantum well. If two dimensions of a component are reduced to nanorange and one remains large, then we obtain a nanocomponent with a structure known as a quantum wire. If all three dimensions are reduced to nanorange, then we obtain a nanocomponent with a structure known as a quantum dot. The family of two dimensional nanocomponents (2-D nanocomponents) encompasses all the nanocomponents where their individual atoms can move in two directions. Usually, a nanocomponent with the quantum well structure is a 2-D nanocomponent. However, there are nanocomponents with a quantum wire or a quantum dot structure that can be 2-D nanocomponents. In this article, we assess the 2-D nanocomponent's reliability, which is the probability of the nanocomponent not failing. We consider the 2-D nanocomponent at a fixed moment of time, say the present moment. We assume that the present state of the 2-D nanocomponent depends only on the present states of its atoms, and focus on two types of 2-D nanocomponents. Both cases describe the relationship between failure of a 2-D nanocomponent and its atoms. Our results indicate that there are situations where both types of nanocomponents have reliability virtually zero, i.e., they are highly unreliable. Also, we provide situations where both types have reliability virtually unity, i.e. they are highly reliable.

  • 出版日期2010-3