[sasvari]

but I just can't see the 300GHz ever becoming a reality given the constraints that physics imposes on this.

There are already proven cutoff frequencies for InP-based bipolar transistor up to 755 GHz with demonstrated amplifiers with fmax = 324 GHz.

http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/Faculty/Rodwell/publications/2008_10...

[jacquesm]

Sure, but that does not translate in to computing speed.

I would not be surprised if that turned out to be 1/10th or less of the device theoretical maximum switching speed.

300GHz is a frequency at which just about every conductor is a coil of sorts. Stripline all the way :)

Or did you miss the 'in chip terms'?

[sasvari]

Or did you miss the 'in chip terms'?

Sorry, you are right. The more complex your chip is going to be, the more trouble you have with RF issues.

Nevertheless, what I meant is, there will be components working in the low THz range, as they are already demonstration objects. Most probably you won't see this components in consumer products or in computing, due to cost, scaling and implementation issues. But for some applications I think this will be applicable.