  An extension of fluctuation-dissipation theorem is used to derive a "speed
limit" theorem for nonlinear electronic devices. This speed limit provides a
lower bound on the dissipation that is incurred when transferring a given
amount of electric charge in a certain amount of time with a certain noise
level (average variance of the current). This bound, which implies a high
energy dissipation for fast, low-noise operations (such as switching a bit in a
digital memory), brings together recent results of stochastic thermodynamics
into a form that is usable for practical nonlinear electronic circuits, as we
illustrate on a switching circuit made of an nMOS pass gate in a
state-of-the-art industrial technology.
