For decades, the speed of transistors has been approaching its physical limit. Now, researchers have built a new type of vacuum/air channel electron tube that completely eliminates a fatal flaw that has kept such devices out of integrated circuits: gate leakage current. By modulating electron concentration at the cathode instead of intercepting electrons mid flight, the device allows all emitted electrons to reach the anode.

A Tiny Vacuum Tube That Could Outrun Today's Transistors - No Gate Leak, No Problem
Chinese Academy of Sciences
